HYDE-SMITH, AG COMMITTEE APPROVE GRAIN STANDARDS MEASURE, CLEARING IT FOR SENATE CONSIDERATION
Senate Ag Committee Also Advances Forest Management & Lands Bills
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) today voted with her colleagues to advance legislation necessary to reauthorize the U.S. Grain Standards Act (USGSA), a statute used to facilitate the marketing and export of Mississippi-grown rice, soybeans, corn, and other grains.
Hyde-Smith serves on the Senate Agriculture Committee that amended and unanimously approved the USGSA reauthorization measure (HR.4550), which makes it available for consideration by the full Senate. The House passed the measure in July.
“Our farmers, even with all the challenges they face today, need an updated U.S. Grain Standards Act on the books to help them market their harvests. The Agriculture Committee has worked on a bipartisan basis to get this done,” Hyde-Smith said. “I am particularly pleased with provisions that should reduce red tape so the USDA can be more flexible in adopting new inspection technologies and processes.
The USGSA authorizes the federal government to establish marketing standards for grains and oilseeds and to provide procedures for grain inspection and weighing. Exported grains and oilseeds must be officially inspected and weighed to maintain the U.S. standard quality.
As discussed by Hyde-Smith during a July hearing on renewing the USGSA, the committee-passed bill prioritizes the adoption of improved grain grading technology and research. It also gives the Secretary of Agriculture greater flexibility on determining whether the Federal Grain Inspection Service or another official agency is best suited to provide inspection services for domestic grain at export port locations.
At Tuesday’s business meeting, the Senate Agriculture Committee also approved the Fix Our Forests Act (S.1462) and a package of lands bills that included Hyde-Smith’s bill (S.2440) related to Okhissa Lake and rural economic development in Franklin County.
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