With the somewhat tardy appointment of former Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue as secretary of agriculture combined with Senate Democrats taking their time with the confirmation process, there’s going to be a backup of some other important appointments at USDA and across the federal government.
And the backup is occurring even
Continue Reading Top food safety job and others remain to be filled at USDA
It has been almost two years since Dr. Elisabeth Hagen stepped down as our most recent USDA under secretary for food safety. President Obama has not appointed, nor has the Senate confirmed, anyone to fill that vacancy since Hagen departed. It’s now also been 21 years since, on Oct. 19,
Continue Reading Letter From the Editor: A 10-Year Term is the Vacancy Solution
Food Safety News has learned that Brian Ronholm has been named acting under secretary for food safety at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Brian Ronholm joined USDA in April 2011 as deputy under secretary for food safety. He previously served as an Agriculture Appropriations associate on the staff of Rep.
Continue Reading USDA Names Acting Under Secretary for Food Safety
Dr. Elisabeth Hagen is departing government in mid-December, again leaving America without a Senate-confirmed under secretary for food safety. How common are these periods when USDA is without an under secretary for food safety? More common than not, it seems. 
It was just over 19 years ago, on Oct. 19,
Continue Reading Letter From the Editor: A 10-Year Term
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) just might have an Under Secretary for Food Safety this grilling season.
The Senate Agriculture Committee yesterday approved the nomination of Dr. Elisabeth Hagen to lead the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), five months after President Obama announced the nomination, and 21
Continue Reading Top USDA Food Safety Nominee Clears Ag Committee
Chairwoman of the Senate Agriculture Committee Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) defeated labor-backed Arkansas Lt. Governor Bill Halter in a heated Democratic primary runoff Tuesday, bucking the notion that Lincoln might be the third Senate incumbent casualty of strong anti-Washington sentiment this year.
Lincoln, a conservative Democrat, pulled ahead of Halter, a
In another act of the ongoing catfish regulatory drama, the advocacy group Food and Water Watch sent a letter yesterday to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Secretary of Health Kathleen Sebelius recommending they work together to get catfish inspections rolling as soon as possible.
The 2008 farm bill mandated
Though the Senate Agriculture Committee recently held a hearing to consider Dr. Elisabeth Hagen, the Obama Administration’s nominee for Under Secretary for Food Safety at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the timeline for Hagen’s expected confirmation by the full Senate remains unclear.
According to Ag Committee sources, there is
Continue Reading No Timeline for USDA Food Safety Nominee
Today the Senate Agriculture Committee will take the first step in the confirmation process for Under Secretary for Food Safety, a post at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) that has been vacant for 19 months. The Committee is holding a nomination hearing this morning to consider President Obama’s pick
Continue Reading Ag Committee to Consider USDA Food Safety Nominee
Career service appointments in the federal government must go on even if the U.S. Senate has become a black hole for political appointments.
At the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS)–second only to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in importance as food safety regulatory agencies–that means making Alfred V.
