WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Representative Austin Scott (GA-08) today asked USDA Under Secretary for Rural Development Xochitl Torres Small and Administrator Dr. Karama Neal why the Biden-Harris administration continues to blame the Russian invasion of Ukraine for inflation in the U.S. when it started way before the invasion.

“I’m someone who is worn out with the Biden-Harris administration using the war in Ukraine as an excuse for inflation inside the United States.” Rep. Scott told witnesses.

“I want to make this clear. The price of fertilizer, the price of diesel, the input prices for agriculture had gone up well in excess of 50% before Putin ever invaded Ukraine. And it’s a little- in fact, I would tell you it’s very disingenuous for President Biden, and the Biden-Harris administration to continue to use the war in Ukraine as an excuse for why the input costs are so high when he took more oil off of the markets with his polices than has come off because of the Russian sanctions.” Scott said.

The full exchange can be seen here, or below:

Rep. Scott: “Madam Under Secretary, I appreciate your time. Sorry, I’m not there in person. Like many, I’m juggling multiple hearings this morning. I want to go back to what the Ranking Member said about a part of your testimony and blaming the increase in prices in the U.S. on Putin’s war in Ukraine.

I want to make this clear. The price of fertilizer, the price of diesel, the input prices for agriculture had gone up well in excess of 50% before Putin ever invaded Ukraine. And it’s a little- in fact, I would tell you it’s very disingenuous for President Biden, and the Biden-Harris administration to continue to use the war in Ukraine as an excuse for why the input costs are so high when he took more oil off of the markets with his polices than has come off because of the Russian sanctions. And so, I want to make that clear, I mean the input costs for the farmer had gone up well in excess of 50% before Russia invaded Ukraine and that is because of bad policies of the Biden-Harris administration.

And with that said, Madam Under Secretary, you mentioned that these new sources of energy are reliable or affordable but the fact of the matter is every morning in America, farmers wake up and they’re going to fire up a couple hundred horsepower- a diesel tractor in most cases to farm. And I’m just extremely concerned about the increasing number of factors that are impeding the ability of our farmers- input costs especially- to produce the food and fiber that we all depend on. Now knowing that the increased cost of fuel increases the cost of food, what is your agency doing to help reduce the costs of inputs in agriculture?”

Under Secretary Torres Small: “Thank you so much Congressman for your question, and your recognition of the complexity of impacts currently that folks are facing both when it comes to at the supermarket or at the gas pump. The challenges that we faced with Covid, from war, and other challenges that we face especially related to the supply chain.

When we look at rural development, our opportunity really is to support farmers and rural communities who are grappling with these challenges. Whether it’s working to provide more offerings within a market, like expanding investments in the food supply chain, or whether it’s working to also create more energy independence from a reap side or more energy efficiency.

To talk a little bit more about the work we’ve been doing in the food supply chain I’ll defer to my colleague Administrator Neal.”

Administrator Neal: “Thanks for the opportunity to speak about that. I think that one of the things that is important to recognize is that we are in the United States a net exporter of food, so we are in a good position to feed ourselves. We recognize there have been prices increases and there have been challenges there, so we are supportive of and helping implement the administration’s action plan around creating a fair, more resilient, more competitive meat and poultry supply chain. We’ve seen that work both in terms of meat and poultry. But then also in terms of the broader food supply chain.

Under Secretary Torres Small mentioned our food supply chain work, we have a food supply chain guaranteed loan program which is already receiving applications, throughout to support activities throughout the middle of the food supply chain so that folks have access to capital to build their businesses, to help in support of the aggregation, the distribution, the wholesaling, the various kinds of activities that are important to get food, food products from the farm to the table. So that people can eat and have the food that they need at an affordable rate. And so, those are just a couple of the kinds of things we are doing. There’s a significant amount of work that’s happening throughout the department, rural development, RBCS has some of those activities, but not all of them.

And we’re excited to work in partnership with our colleagues throughout the department to make sure that those programs are effective, are doing the kinds of things we want them to do, and making a difference both for the producers who are growing those foods, growing those food products, and also for the consumers who are all of us who eat those food products.”

Rep. Scott: “Well, I think there’s a very serious disconnect between what the Biden and Harris administration believes is good policy, and what’s happening at the grocery store. I don’t see how anybody who shops for groceries could believe in any way, shape, form, or fashion, that what Biden and Harris have done through their administration is helping the American consumer with regard to their grocery bill. So, I look forward to the continued discussion, but I’m someone who is worn out with the Biden-Harris administration using the war in Ukraine as an excuse for inflation inside the United States.”

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