Sen. Lincoln conducts first meeting as Agri committee chair

U.S. Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., the first woman to ever chair the powerful U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, gaveled in the first meeting during her new tenure as committee chair.

The agenda for the Wednesday meeting was to consider two nominations for posts within the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
 
Harris Sherman of Colorado is being considerd for the Under Secretary for Natural Resources and the Environment, including management of the Forest Service and the Natural Resources Conservation Service. Edward Avalos was nominated to serve as the Under Secretary of Marketing and Regulatory Programs.

Political watchers have said Lincoln’s new role could help her in what is shaping up to a be a tough 2010 election cycle for Lincoln. She has been shown to be behind or vulnerable in many polls. Several Republicans have stepped up to the challenge. Also, Arkansas Sen. Bob Johnson, a Democrat and the most recent president of the Arkansas Senate, has said he is considering challenging Lincoln in the Democrat primary.

Following is an excerpt from Lincoln’s opening comments as new chair of the Senate Ag committee.
The U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry will come to order.
 
Allow me to begin on a personal note since this is my first opportunity to officially Chair this Committee.  It is a tremendous honor to serve as Chairman of this Committee and I will endeavor to be the type of steward of this position that the American people and the people of Arkansas deserve.
 
As all of you know, the Senate Agriculture Committee has a well-earned and time-honored reputation for bipartisanship and for working together to promote policies that are borne not out of partisanship but out of consensus as to what policies are proven to work.
 
I have the privilege and benefit of serving beside five previous Chairmen of this Committee and one previous Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, each of whom served with great distinction and from whom we have learned a lot.
 
Also, among our Committee’s membership, I count four chairmen and three ranking members of other very important Senate Committees, as well as a former Secretary of Agriculture, and the Senate Republican Leader, each of whom adds to the collective experience, strength, and wisdom of this panel.
 
Let me also say that I truly appreciate the regional diversity that is reflected on this Committee and the unique areas of expertise and interests possessed by each of our Members.  Despite significant policy challenges that we have faced over the years, and even differences of opinion now and again, this Committee has always pulled together and risen to the occasion.
 
In short, I am very proud of each Member’s contribution to this Committee, and I appreciate what each of you brings to the table.
 
I look forward to working with you to promote economic opportunity and jobs in rural America; to meet the nutrition needs of our school kids, the elderly, and low income families; to continue to build on our successful resource conservation efforts; to enhance America’s energy “independence; and to ensure that the men and women who have clothed and fed this nation in a manner that is unrivaled in history continue doing what they do best.
 
In this last regard, I would like to quote our late President, John F. Kennedy, who said, “Our farmers deserve praise, not condemnation; and their efficiency should be cause for gratitude, not something for which they are penalized.”
 
With 6.8 billion people sharing this world we live in today, compared to the roughly 3 billion in 1960, President Kennedy’s words ring truer today than ever before.
 
Whether you are from Iowa or Arkansas, Georgia or Vermont, California or Idaho:  if you work to feed and clothe this nation, and people all around the globe, this Chairman and this Committee are firmly on your side.
 
I know that the Ranking Member of the Committee, my friend Saxby Chambliss, shares these goals and sentiments.  I could not have a greater friend or a more respected Senate colleague than my partner on this Committee, Saxby Chambliss.