Times Observer photo by Josh Cotton Congressman Glenn Thompson Presented Patrick Nuhfer’s He gave his son medals DanAt the City This is Warren Municipal Building In October. Thompson Has been elected chairman House Agriculture Committee.

The Warren County A representative will take the helm of a House Committee for the upcoming Congress term.

Glenn Thompson Elected to serve as Chairman The House Agriculture Committee. The The decision was taken by House Republican Steering Committee.

Statement from the House Agriculture Committee This highlights the fact Thompson It will become the first Pennsylvanian To lead the committee for almost 170 years.

“I am deeply honored to lead the Agriculture Committee and build on the successes of the last two years as a Ranking Member.” Thompson said.

“The political scene in Washington may be fractured, but as chairman, I will be focusing on the needs of our growers and rural communities, the backbone of this country.” added. “We will work hard to deliver principled solutions, effective oversight, and a Farm Bill that meets the needs of the nation’s farmers, ranchers, and foresters.”

Thompson I sat down and had a conversation with the Times Observer In October He also outlined his priorities if elected president. In Cryptocurrency regulation, in addition to the farm bill will be at the top. The These regulations are even more important after the collapse of FTX.

According The Congressional Research ServiceThe farm bill covers several years. “It governs a series of agricultural and food programs. It provides an opportunity for policymakers to comprehensively and regularly address agricultural and food issues.”

The According to the CRS bill, generally, bill focuses on “Agricultural Commodity Program support for a handful of commodities: corn, soybeans, wheat, cotton, rice, peanuts, dairy, and sugar.”

Thompson The current iteration will end in September 2023, and dubbed it the “the single most important piece of legislation impacting rural America.”

He He said that there are three options. “It is not an option” It would allow for the introduction of agricultural regulations to the Dust Bowl The current bill is currently in effect for only a era. “kick the can” Or, you can create a new bill. “only option.”

“We are way behind” He is stressed. “Under Democratic Leadership is not what it should be. If If we have the chance to be a presider, we will. January. It’s It will be very intense.”

The other major legislative priority may not seem like an agricultural issue at all: cryptocurrency-related regulations.

He explains why this issue is before the Ag Committee: When When a cryptocurrency is created for the first time, Securities And Exchange Commission Markets and supervises it. But once it is traded it becomes a commodity. This brings it under the control of the Department This is Agriculture.

“There is an urgency” He said: “with putting some guidelines, legislative guardrails around cryptocurrency.”

He Introduced legislation in the current CongressThe Digital Commodity Exchange Act He stated that this was the case. “do no harm, protect people in the market” While encouraging innovation with the technology underneath,

“Blockchain…will be transformative for our economy”, He said that countries vary in size, and that they are