-9999
Floor Speech
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. CARPER. Mr. President, it is good to see you, and it is good to see my colleague John Cornyn here in the Senate today, all the pages, and folks who came back to go to work. There is a lot of work to do.
One of the first items of business before us is a critical nomination, a nomination for the Department of Agriculture--and not just any job at the Department of Agriculture but the No. 2 job, the Deputy Secretary of Agriculture.
The person who has been nominated is a woman who serves currently as the Under Secretary at the Department of Agriculture, and she has been nominated to be the Deputy Secretary for the Department. She has a hard name to pronounce, and it is a name I have never seen before. It sounds something like this: So-cheel, like S-O, cheel, like C-H-E-E-L. You look at it down on paper, and you say: How would you pronounce that name? That is the way to pronounce it.
But the rest of her name is Torres Small. She is somebody I have known for a relatively brief period of time. You know who knows her really well? It is a guy who used to serve with us for many years, a Senator from New Mexico, Tom Udall. In fact, as I recall, I think she actually worked for Tom Udall when he was a U.S. Senator.
Agriculture is a hugely important part of our economy in Delaware. I see Senator Stabenow is going to speak immediately after me. I know it is hugely important in Michigan. As she is the chairman of the Ag Committee, she knows that much better than I do.
The Department of Agriculture, the No. 2 job--huge industry, important in every State in our country. This is a big deal. This is a big deal. As it turns out, the administration has given us a terrific nominee.
The Department of Agriculture plays a critical role in ensuring that people from every corner of this country have something to eat-- hopefully, something nutritious to eat--and also helps us with respect to farming and farming agriculture and farming economy, public health, broadband, and a whole lot more.
And the role of the Deputy Secretary of the Department is a big deal, a very big deal. It requires someone who is diligent. It requires someone who is sharp. It requires someone who ultimately understands the Department. It is a big department. It requires someone who is diligent, and I know that Under Secretary Torres Small possesses all of those qualities and a whole lot more. In her current position as the Under Secretary of Agriculture for Rural Development, she has been involved with every function of the Department, including overseeing the deployment of $2 billion for rural broadband that was secured in the bipartisan infrastructure law that we passed here by almost a unanimous vote more than a year ago.
This month, we saw States across our country receive this significant funding to expand broadband access for literally millions of people in many parts of our Nation--rural parts of our Nation--including Delaware's own Sussex County, one of the largest counties in the country. We only have three counties in Delaware. The second largest is Sussex. It is one of the top counties in the country for growing corn and soybeans, and it is one of the top counties in the country for growing chickens. We have, in Delaware, over 200 chickens for every person. So it is a big deal for us, big deal for us.
Prior to serving at the Department of Agriculture, Under Secretary Torres Small has had a history of serving her country. She was a U.S. Representative for New Mexico's Second Congressional District, where she grew up as--get this--a granddaughter of farmworkers.
As a U.S. Representative, she served as a member of the House Agriculture Committee, among other committees, and previously spent time on the ground in New Mexico, as I mentioned earlier, as a field rep for our old friend and colleague Senator Tom Udall, who is now the U.S. Ambassador to New Zealand.
I talked to him about a month ago, and, I say to Senator Stabenow, he thinks he has the best job on the planet. If the Senator talked to him, she will know what I mean.
But Xochitl is also an accomplished attorney, practicing water and natural resources law, and served as a former clerk in the U.S. District Court for a fellow named Judge Robert C. Brack. All these experiences help make her well suited to take on the role of Deputy Secretary because I know that she understands our Nation and understands this on a human level as well.
That was made especially clear during her nomination hearing. Under Secretary Torres Small spoke of her goals to better communicate through the role of the Department across our country so that programs are deployed more efficiently, more effectively, more humanely. She also highlighted how she will work to support underserved producers and small farmers by raising awareness of the Federal resources that they may be eligible for.
So, in closing, before yielding to Senator Stabenow, I strongly urge our colleagues to confirm Under Secretary Xochitl Torres Small as the Deputy Secretary for the Department of Agriculture. She will make us proud. She will make New Mexico proud. She will make our country proud.
With that, I will just stop talking and yield the floor to Senator Stabenow.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Source