From Washington, D.C.; Thursday, March 2, 2017
By Tim Stock, Jennie Bunger, and Jason Kieser
Our final day in Washington DC was capped off by a visit to the Capitol Building and a guided tour by staff members from Congressman Darin LaHood’s office. Our group was split up into 3 separate groups and guided through the Capitol building and included the opportunity to sit in and listen to some debate in the House chamber.
After our tour we headed over to the Longworth House Office Building to Room 1310 which is the Committee on House Administration hearing room. Our first visit was to be with Congressman Rodney Davis but he was busy casting votes in the House chamber so he sent his Chief of Staff, Jen Daulby, and his Ag Legislative Assistant, Jimmy Ballard. Jen and Jimmy did an excellent job of talking about the Congressman’s office and how many staff are on hand and how they all work together as a team to cover all of the issues that they deal with.
Our second visit was with Congressman Darin LaHood from the 18th Congressional District. Congressman LaHood talked about his experiences in his short time as a Congressman thus far as well as some of the issues that are very important in the legislature relating to agriculture.
Our third visit was with Congresswoman Cheri Bustos from the 17th Congressional District in Illinois. Congresswoman Bustos also described how she views the ag issues and where she thinks the direction some of them will lead.
All three of the congressional offices focused on several key ag issues…..Trade, Immigration, Farm Bill, and Ag Research.
After a long lunch break, we had our final appointment for the day with Jeremy Stump, Vice President of Government Affairs for Monsanto’s office in Washington DC. Mr. Stump discussed the operations and divisions of his office and the personnel that he currently oversees. Mr. Stump reiterated what we had heard from our legislators earlier in the day and some of the other issues that Monsanto is dealing with, including the merger with Bayer.
After our time on The Hill, our group headed back to gather our luggage and loaded up on a bus for a drive up to Gettysburg where we will do some sightseeing and view the battlefields, all while talking about leadership. We’re hoping the weathermen are wrong and we won’t get any snow while walking the battlefields!