Minority News

WASHINGTON, DC –U.S. Senator Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), ranking member of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee, raised questions about the “Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food” initiative, saying it isn’t steeped in reality since most food Americans consume isn’t grown locally. “This report highlights...

WASHINGTON, DC – With less than 24 hours remaining before the Environmental Protection Agency begins enforcing their controversial and duplicative pesticide permitting rule, Senator Roberts called on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to call up and approve compromise legislation to prevent costly fall-out for public health officials and...

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) today said roundtable discussions on customer collateral protections held by the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) pre-judge the MF Global investigation and have limited participation by farmers and ranchers, many of whom are still missing their own funds in the wake of the...

WASHINGTON, DC –U.S. Senator Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), ranking member of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee, today said the Conservation title of the 2012 Farm Bill should streamline programs while maintaining options for producers and eliminating burdensome regulations. “A single program will not meet the needs of all...

Washington, DC – Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Chairwoman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, and Ranking Member Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Ks.) today urged the Internal Revenue Service to provide former MF Global customers, who may need to file their taxes with incomplete information, with guidance as income...

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry today fought to improve food security in the United States by securing further commitment from U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack that building a National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF) in Manhattan,...

WASHINGTON, DC -- At a hearing of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, U.S. Senator Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), the Committee's ranking member, today examined policies critical to rural communities and called out the Obama administration for dusting off tired budget proposals that target crop insurance, the most important safety...

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Pat Roberts (R-Kans.) Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry today released the following statement on the President’s FY 2013 Budget Proposal: “Once again, the Obama Administration has ignored feedback from producers, and a bipartisan majority of the Senate...

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Pat Roberts, ranking member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture Nutrition and Forestry today announced the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has opened general sign-up for the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) from March 12-April 6, 2012. “CRP is one of the most proven conservation programs we...

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Pat Roberts today blasted Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chairman Gary Gensler’s role in developing recommendations for new regulations and rules following the bankruptcy of MF Global. These actions have occurred  even though the CFTC’s own investigation is not complete, and despite...

WASHINGTON, D.C. –U.S. Senator Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), ranking member of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee, today pushed for a task force to be created to review the findings and develop recommendations from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) investigation into the MF Global bankruptcy. The request for the...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) today sent a letter to Gary Gensler, chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), seeking answers on the timing of his decision to recuse himself from matters related to MF Global’s bankruptcy. “Mr. Chairman, I cannot emphasize enough the importance of having a...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry today made the following opening statement before an oversight hearing on the MF Global bankruptcy: “Thank you Madam Chairwoman for calling this hearing on MF Global’s bankruptcy and its effect on our...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today during a Senate Agriculture hearing on continuing oversight of the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, U.S. Senator Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) called for answers from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), on why MF Global collapsed, leaving thousands of investors, farmers, ranchers and small...

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Pat Roberts (R-Kans.), ranking member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, today applauded Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) for honoring his repeated requests for a hearing solely examining the MF Global bankruptcy and for also responding to his calls asking for former MF Global CEO Jon Corzine to...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, today announced his concern over the timing and circumstances of Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chairman Gary Gensler’s recusal from the CFTC’s handling of the MF Global bankruptcy. “I have many...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), ranking member of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee, today issued the following statement regarding the failure of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction: “Today’s announcement by the Joint Committee on Deficit Reduction means that a Farm Bill...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) today once again called on the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry to hold a special hearing examining the MF Global bankruptcy after it was discovered that the total amount of missing client funds may have doubled to $1.2 billion. Sen. Roberts also said former MF Global...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) today called on Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) to hold a hearing on the collapse and bankruptcy of MF Global, given its devastating effect on the agriculture industry. Roberts has also called on the Commodities and Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), ranking member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, today demanded that Commodities and Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chairman Gary Gensler clarify his role in CFTC actions regarding the collapse of MF Global. Roberts made this demand following Chairman Gensler’s failure to respond to...