Rep. Pombo to get prominent position on Agriculture Committee 

 

Republican congressional leadership yesterday appointed House Resources Chairman Richard Pombo (R-Calif.) as vice chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, which means he is in line to take over the panel's top post when Rep. Bob Goodlatte's (R-Va.) term expires in 2008.

 

The House restricts committee chairmanships to six years, and Pombo's position on the House Resources Committee expires in two years.

 

The announcement drew immediate concern from environmentalists. Sierra Club spokesman Eric Antebi said the new post will allow Pombo to continue favoring big business over public health and the environment. The group is especially worried, based on Pombo's votes and legislation, about an erosion of pesticide regulations.

 

Farmers took a different perspective. "It's great to see someone appointed who has been so dedicated to agriculture," said San Joaquin Farm Bureau Federation executive director Bruce Blodgett, "and someone who understands our district" (Lisa Vorderbrueggen, Contra Costa Times, March 21).

 

"It certainly has helped to have someone in Congress with an agricultural background representing constituents in the Central Valley," said Michael Marsh, chief executive officer of Western United Dairymen. "From our perspective, it's a big win to have somebody with that kind of knowledge"

(Rebecca F. Johnson, Tri-Valley Herald, March 21).

 

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