Diverse, Knowledgeable Speakers at Legislative Meetings

May 9, 2019

UEP is pleased to announce a powerful lineup of speakers participating in the Legislative Board and Committee Meetings next week in Washington D.C. Click here for the meeting schedule.

Stephen Censky, USDA Deputy Secretary of Agriculture
Deputy Secretary Censky is involved in all programs of the department, including egg products inspection at the Food Safety and Inspection Service, voluntary grading and commodity procurement at the Agricultural Marketing Service, and export promotion through the Foreign Agricultural Service.

 

 

Senator Joni Ernst (R- IA)
Elected in 2014 and a strong voice for agriculture, Senator Ernst helped lead the fight to secure funding to stamp out avian influenza in Iowa in 2015. In the 2018 Farm Bill, she played a major role in the effort to secure $350 million in new mandatory funding to combat animal ag pest and disease, create a national vaccine bank and strengthen research to combat pests and diseases.

 

Congressman Collin C. Peterson (D-MN) (Invited)  Congressman Peterson is chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture which has jurisdiction over a wide range of agriculture issues including the Farm Bill, animal and plant health, rural development, disaster assistance, nutrition, conservation, agricultural research and others.

 

 

Congressman Jim Costa (D-CA) (Invited)
A third-generation family farmer, Congressman Costa has applied his farming background to fighting for agriculture and the economy. On the Agriculture Committee he has worked to increase federal support for agriculture through the Farm Bill and other programs.

 

 

Joseph A. Levitt, Partner, Hogan Lovells
Levitt is the former director of FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition and has 25 years of FDA experience. This year Levitt wrote an editorial published in Food Safety News,WGS surpasses FDA as top fear factor for food companies,” which provides guidance on whole genome sequencing (WGS) findings and responding to the FDA.

 

 

Brian D. Eyink, Counsel, Hogan Lovells
Eyink advises on the full scope of regulatory issues facing the food and agriculture sectors, ranging from USDA and FDA enforcement actions and federal investigations to regulatory compliance, import and export issues, comment preparation, legislative drafting, and policy development.