Recently, I released the following statement after U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack refused to answer a letter sent by me and a number of colleagues in the House and Senate regarding the Pure Prairie Poultry bankruptcy that resulted in nearly 50 farmers and more than two million chickens throughout Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa being left without feed or processing options:

The silence from USDA is deafening. Secretary Vilsack is not only ignoring Members of Congress but is also telling our small- and medium-sized farmers that they are not worth the time to take the proper corrective measures to ensure this never happens again. No federal agency will go unchecked for a failure of this magnitude, and I demand USDA and Secretary Vilsack to answer immediately for their blatant neglect of America’s farmers. Congress is a co-equal branch of government, and it is about time the Biden administration starts respecting our Constitution.

The letter we sent on October 25, 2024 had a response deadline of November 8, 2024. In the letter, the Members highlighted the lack of oversight and accountability by USDA and requested answers from the agency on their loan and grant processes, as well as their knowledge of Pure Prairie Poultry’s bankruptcy filing. To read the full letter, click here.