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Hoosier Deputy Ag Secretary?

(April 15 column)

I felt like the punch line in a Jeff Foxworthy joke last night when my husband had to drive the 4010 through the rushing 2-plus feet of water over the concrete crossing in front of our house to retrieve me and the groceries I’d picked up on my way home from work. The torrential rains had no time to soak in to the already soaked ground, so the branch that runs south, then east to west through the center of our property (on it’s way to Howard’s Creek on the west side of our property) was moving swiftly and violently, carrying with it logs, rocks and other debris that lay in the path of the raging water.

Spring is here and with it the thunderstorms and flash floods we have grown accustomed to in the Midwest. Further east, in Washington, D.C., the “flood” of undersecretaries and other staffers leaving posts at USDA is beginning to slow to a trickle. President Bush’s nominee for Deputy Ag Secretary, Chuck Conner, a native Hoosier, will replace Jim Moseley, also a native Hoosier, who left his post last month.

Conner is no newbie to agriculture inside the beltway, having served as chief of staff for the Senate Ag Committee and most recently serving President George W. Bush as special assistant for food, agriculture and trade. As was the case with Agriculture Secretary Johanns, Conner has received rave reviews from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. During his confirmation hearing before the Senate Agriculture Committee, Conner told members he would be the bridge and the “reconciler” on ag budget items when Congress needed someone to talk to about the spending.

There is no question that ag spending will be a topic of discussion and debate in the coming months. Senate Ag Committee members spent most of the time during Chuck Conner’s confirmation hearing praising him, but it wasn’t all warm and fuzzy.

Committee Chair Republican Senator Saxby Chambliss of Georgia and the committee’s Ranking Democrat, Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa, both voiced concern over the President’s proposed budget. Lawmakers did not hold back their feelings of frustration and disappointment. Senator Harkin told Conner, “We stayed within the budget in writing the farm bill, but since then the President’s budget and appropriations bills have diverted funds from conservation, rural economic development, research, and renewable energy. On top of that, the President insisted that disaster assistance had to be offset by drawing funds out of the Conservation Security Program.”

Conner acknowledged the differences on key policy issues between the Congress and the White House and promised to work to bridge that gap. He did, however, defend the President’s budget cuts, and said he and USDA Secretary Johanns were working to build stronger ties to Capitol Hill.

The general consensus from most of the farmers I talk with is that ag spending cuts come as no surprise. Lines are being drawn and battle gear readied for the writing of the 2008 Farm Bill. This won’t be Conner’s first rodeo. He cut his teeth on the 1985 farm bill and has worked as an ag committee staffer through others since. The big difference this time is that instead of assisting lawmakers, Conner, if formally approved as Deputy Secretary of Agriculture, will be in the thick of things on the Administration’s team.