Items Tagged with 'civil rights'

Democratic leaders are pushing for House passage of President Joe Biden’s package of social and climate spending priorities this week, while the Senate is set to debate an Agriculture Department nominee who will be key to carrying out the administration's climate policy.

President Joe Biden has selected a veteran civil rights lawyer who teaches at the University of Michigan to lead the civil rights office at the Agriculture Department, which is under pressure to address long-standing complaints about discrimination.

On Tuesday, Vilsack took part in a wide-ranging interview with Agri-Pulse from his home in Iowa, touching on subjects ranging from helping farmers through the COVID-19 pandemic to addressing the “cumulative effect of discrimination over a long period of time.”

The Senate on Tuesday voted to confirm Vilsack as the nation’s Secretary of Agriculture, giving the former Iowa governor another term at the helm of USDA.

The Senate Agriculture Committee on Tuesday advanced a trio of Agriculture Department nominees who were originally named in 2018 but never confirmed by the Senate before the last Congress adjourned.