Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue this week makes his first appearance before lawmakers since taking office, and he’s expected to defend his department’s reorganization plan that includes eliminating the undersecretary for rural development.
 
 Perdue, who testifies Wednesday before the House Agriculture Committee, also is likely to be asked what he can do to help cotton growers and dairy producers. The two sectors lost a bid to get assistance included in the fiscal 2017 budget agreement enacted at the end of April.
 
Perdue’s reorganization plan would create a new position of undersecretary of trade, and House Agriculture Chairman Mike Conaway said he looks forward to that office “playing an active role in gaining additional market access for our products, while working to ensure that our trading partners honor the commitments they have made.”
 
Conaway promised that the committee would “take a very close look at each of the proposed changes, and this will be one of many important topics we cover when the Secretary appears before the committee next week.”
 
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