2004-12-13
I'm Gwen Outen with the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.
Nebraska Governor Mike Johanns
grew up on a farm. As he likes to say, everything in life has seemed
easy since then. Now Mister Johanns is President Bush's choice for
the next agriculture secretary.
The president says Mister Johanns knows the needs of farmers. He
says his nominee is a strong supporter of fuels such as ethanol and
biodiesel that are made from farm products. And Mister Johanns has
led farm delegations to a number of countries.
Mike Johanns was born in Iowa. He is fifty-four years old. He was
elected governor of Nebraska in nineteen ninety-eight. Voters in the
Midwestern state re-elected him in two thousand two. As governor, he
has sought to cut property taxes and to expand agricultural trade
for his state.
Mister Johanns must be confirmed by the Senate to replace Ann
Veneman, who is resigning.
Mizz Veneman has not had an easy time as agriculture secretary.
Last December the first, and so far only, confirmed case of mad cow
disease was found in the United States. The discovery in Washington
state led more than thirty nations to ban imports of American beef.
Also, bird flu spread among some chicken farms in parts of the
United States. This was not the severe form of virus that has killed
people in Southeast Asia. Still, the outbreak led several nations to
ban imports of American chickens.
In recent years, American farmers have also faced greater foreign
competition. In fact, next year, the Agriculture Department expects
imports of farm products into the United States to equal exports.
This has not happened in almost fifty years.
And the next agriculture secretary will have to deal with another
threat: the risk of a terrorist attack on the nation's food supply.
The Agriculture Department is responsible for areas of food
safety and for agricultural research. It is also responsible for
programs including farm loans and development. In addition, the
department works to expand markets for American agricultural
products. And it supervises national forests and other natural
resources.
Congress established the Department of Agriculture in eighteen
sixty-two. The department is one of the largest in the government.
It has over one hundred thousand employees. Its two thousand five
budget is more than eighty thousand million dollars.
This VOA Special English Agriculture Report was written by Mario
Ritter. I'm Gwen Outen.