House Agriculture Committee Holds Two Key Hearings
Published Friday, June 12, 2026
The House Committee on Agriculture has been busy the past week, holding an oversight hearing with U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, and a hearing covering the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement and trade. In the first hearing, all of California’s four Agriculture Committee members—Reps. Salud Carbajal, Jim Costa, Adam Gray and David Valadao—emphasized the importance of extra support for specialty crop producers and programs. Several also noted the ongoing challenges around the glassy-winged sharpshooter and the threats it poses to grape growers. Trade, labor and other input costs, and mechanization were also brought up with the secretary.
In the USMCA-focused hearing, our delegation flagged the tariff and nontariff barriers impacting California producers. President and CEO of Western Growers, Dave Puglia, joined a panel that included a varied representation of the agriculture community and was able to emphasize the importance of specialty crops and the overall role export markets play in California agriculture. Nontariff barriers that persist include food safety and inspection disparities between U.S. and foreign producers, potential dumping and growing overlap between harvest seasons at home and abroad, and several other challenges. With the USCMA trade agreement up for review this summer, trade has taken a renewed focus in Washington, D.C., during the past several months. Staff contact: Matthew Viohl, mviohl@cfbf.com.
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