U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet participated in the confirmation hearing for President Joe Biden’s secretary of agriculture nominee Tom Vilsack on Tuesday.
Vilsack, former governor of Iowa and secretary of agriculture in the Obama administration, was questioned by members of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee about a variety of topics, including trade, farmers, climate change and ethanol. Vilsack is one of many of Biden’s Cabinet nominees who also held positions during the Obama administration.
“I think we are faced today with a number of ‘why not’ opportunities and moments in agriculture, in the food industry and in rural America,” Vilsack said in his opening statement.
Vilsack focused on the opportunity for change in his opening statement. He listed COVID-19, climate change, food security, nutrition insecurity and equity within agriculture as his main concerns.
During the confirmation hearing, Bennet, D-Colo., asked Vilsack about his priorities for the country’s national forests. Bennet said forests are “critical infrastructure” and properly managing them can help reduce carbon emissions and prevent wildfires.
“Yet we still aren’t managing our forests like the critical infrastructure they are,” Bennet said. “And with climate change driving hotter and drier conditions, we’re experiencing more catastrophic wildfires across the West, including the three largest in Colorado’s history last year.”
Vilsack agreed on the importance of funding forest management and maintenance.
“To me, (forests) represent a major infrastructure for the country,” Vilsack said.
Bennet also addressed forest restoration in December 2020 with the Outdoor Restoration Force Act. That legislation would increase forest and watershed restoration in the West while creating 2 million new jobs.
In his response to Bennet, Vilsack said was “encouraged” by Biden’s call for a conservation corps.
Establishing a new conservation corps is another topic that Bennet has addressed through new legislation in the Senate.
In 2018, Bennet’s 21st Century Conservation Corps Act, which he co-sponsored with the late U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., was approved by the Senate committee on energy and natural resources. The bill would amend the Public Lands Corps Act of 1993 and create new national service positions aimed at protecting, restoring and improving America’s public outdoor spaces.
At the end of his time, Bennet expressed his support for Vilsack, and he said he was looking forward to working with him. He also invited the nominee to Colorado to discuss climate issues and wildfires in the state.
“We’d roll the red carpet out for you,” Bennet said.
Grace George is an intern for The Durango Herald and The Journal in Cortez and a student at American University in Washington, D.C.
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