House Agriculture Chairman Collin Peterson, D-Minn., said his panel has had little say in the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) developed by USDA.
“I am concerned that the Ag Committee has basically been neutered in this whole process and we don’t have really anything to say about anything. We’re getting all the flak from people,” Peterson said earlier this week in a phone interview with CQ Roll Call.
He said constituents have been calling to complain about flaws they see in the structure of the payments and do not believe his explanation that he has little input beyond voting for the March 27 legislation.
However, he pledged the panel will do a “top-to-bottom” review of how the COVID-19 situation has impacted agriculture. But he said the House scheduled does not allow enough time for an in-person hearing and it would be difficult to find a hearing room large enough for the 47-member panel given social distancing provisions.