Senators quiz Perdue on trade, budget at Agriculture confirmation hearing

In front of a panel of U.S. senators Thursday, former Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue said he would look for efficiencies but also advocate for important programs if he’s confirmed to lead the U.S. Department of Agriculture, an agency that the president has just targeted for a major budget cut.

Perdue said he saw the president’s budget proposal in the same way he used to see the recession-era Georgia revenue reports that showed the state’s income shrinking by billions of dollars.

“I didn’t like it … but we manage to do it,” Perdue told the U.S. Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee.

Republican President Donald Trump’s budget proposal would see the USDA’s discretionary budget cut by $4.7 billion, to $17.9 billion.

Perdue gave the answer when asked if he supports USDA programs that help small towns get clean water, and telemedicine, that link farmers with research and rural businesses with capital.

Perdue said that with the dedication of Georgia’s state workforce, the state did do more with less on his watch.

“Some of that has to do with efficiency and effectiveness. I look forward to engaging this USDA federal workforce and inspiring them, we can do more. Obviously, it takes some money in many of these areas and I promise to you I’ll be a strong and tenacious advocate for that,” Perdue said.

Senators also pressed him on trade, looking for his assurance that he supports exporting United States’ food and fiber. They have one eye on the administration of a president who has shown skepticism of freer trade.

His answers satisfied Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D.

“You kind of had me when we were visiting, when you entered my office and you said three words: trade, trade, trade. And I knew that you and I were on the same wavelength, that that is a critical component,” she told Perdue at the hearing.

Two Georgia politicos introduced Perdue: former Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss and current Democratic Rep. David Scott. They both painted him as a man who works across the aisle.

Perdue, a Houston County native, was elected the state’s first modern Republican governor in 2002. He started his professional life as a veterinarian, but later moved into agribusiness and trucking.

No questions came up about Perdue’s policies as Georgia governor or his business history. The committee includes his cousin, Georgia Republican Sen. David Perdue. The senator wished his cousin luck, but skipped questioning him.

Committee Chairman Pat Roberts, R-Kansas, said the committee had received numerous letters supporting Perdue, including one signed by 700 food or agriculture organizations; and another signed by six former agriculture secretaries who served both Democrat and Republican administrations. Roberts said the committee would schedule a vote as soon as possible.

This story was originally published March 23, 2017 at 2:31 PM with the headline "Senators quiz Perdue on trade, budget at Agriculture confirmation hearing."