The key topic at a hearing last week for USDA General Counsel-nominee Janie Simms Hipp was concerns that meatpackers are using their market power to drive down prices paid to producers.
Several GOP senators led by the panel's ranking member John Boozman, R., Ark., were joined by Committee Chair Debbie Stabenow, D., Mich., in calling for a hearing on the matter to "look for solutions," Stabenow stated.
Hipp said that she needs an economist and a scientist "at my elbow" to inform her about the technical issues in agriculture.
Regarding biofuels, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D., Minn., asked Hipp if she would defend the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) to the Environmental Protection Agency. Hipp promised she will be "a big voice at the interdepartmental table."