Tom Vilsack in Biden Cabinet members actions and issues
On Civil Rights:
Claimed diversity of farmers was accounting change by USDA
Vilsack has been criticized for inaccurately stating that the number of farmers of color increased during his first go as secretary of agriculture. In fact, a change in the
USDA's method of accounting--not an attempt to confront racism--made the population of farmers appear more diverse than it really is.
Source: Quad City Times on Biden Cabinet
Dec 20, 2020
On Corporations:
Problem with corporate concentration at Dairy Export Council
Vilsack became president of the U.S. Dairy Export Council. With Vilsack at the helm of this organization, corporate concentration continued apace, as Dairy Farmers of America acquired Dean Foods. Moreover, dairy farmers entered bankruptcy in record
numbers as prices plummeted. According to the Open Markets Institute, fewer and fewer corporations dominate the American food system from seed to plate. This not only subjects farmers to predatory pricing, but hurts consumers at the grocery aisle.
Source: Quad City Times on Biden Cabinet
Dec 20, 2020
On Budget & Economy:
Increased farm subsidies leading to overproduction
Under his leadership at USDA farm subsidies grew to record amounts. Those ballooning farm subsidies encouraged growers to overproduce, which led to needless waste and environmental damage. It also drove down prices paid to farmers. "When he exited the
USDA," The Wall Street Journal reported, "the U.S. farm economy was on the skids, with net farm income down 40% from a record high four years earlier because of successive bumper crops that swelled supplies and pushed down prices."
Source: Reason magazine on Biden Cabinet
Dec 19, 2020
On Civil Rights:
Failed to protect slaughterhouse works, help black farmers
Groups like the Independent Black Farmers coalition and the Family Farm Action Alliance have strongly criticized Vilsack's record, with the former's president, Michael Stovall, telling Politico, "When it comes to civil rights, the rights of people, he's
not for that.""Vilsack failed to enact protections for slaughterhouse workers or improve the department's treatment of black farmers, and oversaw the approval of high-speed slaughter," Leah Garc‚s, president of Mercy for Animals, said.
Source: Reason magazine on Biden Cabinet
Dec 19, 2020
On Civil Rights:
Apologized for firing black woman over doctored video
In July 2010, a misleadingly edited clip of Shirley Sherrod, the department's Georgia state director of rural development, was posted. Andrew Breitbart edited the clip to make it sound as though she refused to help [a farmer] because he was white.
Sherrod was forced to resign. Vilsack admitted he had been taken in a hit job and offered Sherrod a new position at the USDA, telling reporters, "This is a good woman, she's been put through hell and I could have and should have done a better job."
Source: Reason magazine on Biden Cabinet
Dec 19, 2020
On Civil Rights:
Foreclosed on black farmers six times more than whites
A 2019 investigation painted a devastating picture of Vilsack's civil rights record, finding that he dragged out discrimination cases until they reached the statute of limitations and no longer needed resolution, and foreclosed on Black farmers six
times as often as white farmers. "The department sent a lower share of loan dollars to black farmers than it had under President Bush, then used census data in misleading ways to burnish its record on civil rights," they report.
Source: Reason magazine on Biden Cabinet
Dec 19, 2020
On Civil Rights:
Pushed for minority voting rights on Farm Service committees
A veteran of the Vilsack USDA noted he reformed the Farm Service Agency's county committees, a key form of community consultation. Committees used to have non-voting "minority advisers" to address racial equity concerns, and Vilsack successfully pushed
to give those representatives voting rights. Another source defended Vilsack's record on civil rights, citing his department's increase in microloans to historically disadvantaged farmers.
Source: Reason magazine on Biden Cabinet
Dec 19, 2020
On Corporations:
Urban centers push anti-monopoly measures, not rural places
In a podcast in 2019, he attacked Democratic presidential candidates Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders for criticizing large agriculture companies, saying, "there are a substantial number of people hired and employed by those businesses here in Iowa.
So you're essentially saying to all of those folks, you might be out of a job." He argued the focus on anti-monopoly measures came from "folks in think tanks in urban centers who have had very little experience, if any, with rural places."
Source: Reason magazine on Biden Cabinet
Dec 19, 2020
On Environment:
OpEd: Rule changes harmed processing workers and animals
Under Vilsack, the USDA moved forward with major changes in meat processing regulation, which served to make the process more dangerous for workers and animals, and less costly for producers. The first reduced the number of federal
inspectors at poultry plants and delegated more authority over inspections to meat companies. The second effort proposed an increase in line speeds at poultry plants, from 140 birds per minute to 175.
Source: Reason magazine on Biden Cabinet
Dec 19, 2020
On Principles & Values:
USDA nomination endorsed by American Farm Bureau
American Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall: "The American Farm Bureau Federation welcomes the news that Tom Vilsack will be nominated to be Secretary of Agriculture. The American Farm Bureau stands ready to
support Tom and work closely with him knowing his success as Ag Secretary correlates directly with America's farmers and ranchers, as well as our rural communities, having the support they need to flourish."
Source: Facebook posting: 2020 AFBF endorsement for Biden Cabinet
Dec 19, 2020
On Principles & Values:
Willing to embrace new ideas, initiatives, reforms
Knowing Vilsack as we do in Iowa, we know he's been willing to embrace new ideas, initiatives and reforms.
It's doubtful someone as smart as Vilsack would fail to understand the fresh urgency to address big problems after four years of neglect by the Trump administration. The status quo is unacceptable.
Source: Cedar Rapids Gazette on Biden Cabinet
Dec 18, 2020
On Corporations:
Sees multinational corporate agribusiness as partners
How you feel about the potential for progress on climate in Vilsack's administration depends on whether you consider multinational agribusiness to be a partner to climate action or its principal obstacle. Vilsack seems to see them as partners, but that
hasn't always led to good results. Vilsack has a track record of mounting seemingly sincere challenges to agribusiness-among others, a hopeful investigation into antitrust violations in the livestock industry-that eventually end in capitulation.
Source: Sierra Club press release on Biden Cabinet
Dec 16, 2020
On Government Reform:
OpEd: has friendly history with agricultural polluters
The Department of Agriculture has emerged as a hot-button office during the transition, particularly for the role it could play in mitigating the numerous harms to the environment perpetuated by agriculture. A number of progressive activists
and environmental leaders are up in arms about the pick, pointing to Vilsack's friendly history with polluters and failure to enact substantive regulation during his eight years in office.
Source: Sierra Club press release on Biden Cabinet
Dec 16, 2020
On Civil Rights:
Root out inequities and systemic racism in systems we govern
Progressive groups had pushed Ohio Rep. Marcia Fudge and would have been the first Black woman to lead the agency, which has a troubled history of discriminating against Black farmers.Accepting the nomination alongside Biden,
Vilsack said he would ensure a "diverse and inclusive senior leadership team" in the department, and "continue the important work of rooting out inequities and systemic racism in the systems we govern and the programs we lead."
Source: U.S. News & World Report on Biden Cabinet
Dec 12, 2020
On Corporations:
Tried to increase competition, restrict abusive contracts
Biden's nominee for the Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack, held the same position in the Obama administration. To his credit, using his power under the Packers and Stockyard Act,
Vilsack did produce sweeping new rules to restore competition and restrict abusive contracts in the livestock and poultry markets only to have the Obama administration back away from them after the disastrous 2010 election.
Source: DailyKos blog on Biden Cabinet
Dec 9, 2020
On Corporations:
For plan to partially privatize slaughterhouse inspections
Back in 2012, the department floated a plan to partially privatize its inspection of the chicken industry's slaughterhouses. Vilsack promoted the move, declaring before a House subcommittee that the plan "will allow the poultry industry to continue to
be profitable, and allow us [the USDA] to save some money as well." Indeed, the department boasted the speedup would save $256.6 million in costs--a windfall that would have accrued mainly to four large companies.
Source: Mother Jones magazine on USDA Biden Cabinet
Dec 9, 2020
On Tax Reform:
One sliver of society isn't going to pay for the rest of us
Vilsack says Sen. Warren's increase in taxes on wealthy Americans to finance her health care proposal is unrealistic.
Vilsack said Warren's plan wrongly suggests voters will accept that an increase in her proposed tax on the wealthiest Americans won't affect their own pocketbooks. Vilsack says "One sliver of society isn't going to pay for the rest of us."
Source: CBS-2 Iowa News Now/A.P. on 2021 Biden Cabinet
Nov 1, 2019
Page last updated: May 20, 2021