Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Ill., has been tapped to be on the House Agriculture Committee. Her office announced the selection Friday.
This is Bustos’ second committee. She already had been appointed to the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
On a conference call with reporters Friday, she said she wanted to see a five-year farm bill, rather than the short-term extension that was approved over the New Year’s holiday as part of the fiscal cliff legislation. She added that she planned to meet with agriculture experts and with the panel’s ranking Democrat to make sure any bill met the needs of her district.
Bustos’ predecessor, Republican Bobby Schilling, also sat on the Agriculture Committee, which produced a controversial farm bill last year. The measure, which made cuts to food stamp spending among other changes, drew opposition from many Democrats, particularly those from large urban areas.
The nine-month extension of current agriculture policies came after pressure put on House Speaker John Boehner to bring a bill to the floor last year failed.
The House Agriculture Committee’s top Democrat, Rep. Colin Peterson of Minnesota, wrote to Boehner on Thursday, telling him it made no sense to participate in the drafting of a new bill until he would pledge to bring something to the floor.
Bustos, who was sworn in Thursday, had no opinion on the tactic on the conference call but said her appointment to the Agriculture Committee, along with the transportation panel, encompassed important interests for her district. She noted Deere & Co. and Caterpillar are both headquartered in the district. Also, many of the district’s area economies are centered on agriculture.
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