Ga. Rep. Scott First African American Chair Of U.S. House Agriculture Committee

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The U.S. House Democratic caucus on Thursday ratified Rep. David Scott’s selection to chair the Agriculture Committee, making him the first African American and the first Georgian to lead the panel.

Credit: Georgia Recorder

The U.S. House Democratic caucus on Thursday ratified Rep. David Scott’s selection to chair the Agriculture Committee, making him the first African American and the first Georgian to lead the panel.

“I was born on my grandparents’ farm in rural Aynor, South Carolina, during the days of segregation, and the hardships of those, on whose shoulders I now stand,” said Scott, who represents who represents a southwest suburban Atlanta district. “I owe this historic selection as the first African American Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee to a diverse coalition of members from across our nation.”

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) announced Scott’s position Thursday, along with other committee leaders.

“With their gavels, our brilliant chairs will harness their diversity of backgrounds and experiences to unify our Caucus as our House Majority, in partnership with the Democratic Biden-Harris Administration, continues to work together to deliver results For The People,” Pelosi said in a statement.

The House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee, which makes recommendations on committee leadership, had voted on Wednesday for Scott over Rep. Jim Costa, (D-Calif.), 32-19. Scott’s tenure will start in January for the 117th Congress.

The Agriculture Committee has jurisdiction over the U.S. Department of Agriculture and is tasked with crafting the farm bill every five years, among other federal agriculture policies such as school meals and water conservation.  The next farm bill is due in 2023.

Scott, who grew up during the era of Jim Crow segregation laws, said he wants to focus on how climate change is a threat to the farming industry and also work to bring economic equity to farmers.

“I will use this critical opportunity to represent the values of our entire caucus and advance our priorities for trade, disaster aid, climate change, sustainable agriculture, SNAP, crop insurance, small family farms, specialty crops, and rural broadband,” he said. “The fault lines dividing our rural and urban communities are running deep, and climate change is now threatening our nation’s food supply.”

Scott will replace longtime Rep. Collin Peterson, a Minnesota Democrat who lost his reelection race to Rep.-elect Michelle Fischbach, a Republican. Peterson was first elected in 1990.

On the GOP side, Rep. Glenn Thompson, a Pennsylvania Republican, was chosen by his party Thursday to serve as the committee’s ranking minority member. The top Republican, Rep. Mike Conaway of Texas, is retiring.

Thompson said in a statement that he comes from a long line of dairy farmers and was humbled to be chosen to lead Republicans on the panel.

“The challenges ahead of us are considerable, but we will continue to put farm families first and ensure our country has the most safe and affordable food supply chain on the planet,” he said.

This story comes to GPB through a reporting partnership with Georgia Recorder.