Sonny Perdue in Trump Cabinet members actions and issues
On Environment:
Responsibility is to leave the land better than we found it
Perdue will always remember that America's agricultural bounty comes directly from the land. And today, those land resources sustain more than 320 million Americans and countless millions more around the globe. Perdue's father's words still ring true:
We're all stewards of the land, owned or rented, and our responsibility is to leave it better than we found it.As a youngster growing up on a dairy and diversified row crop farm in rural Georgia, it was the family farm which shaped Sonny Perdue.
He has lived and breathed the exhilaration of a great crop and the despair and devastation of a drought. He learned by experience what his
father told him as a child, "If you take care of the land, the land will take care of you."
Source: USDA official website for Trump Cabinet biographies
Dec 31, 2018
On Free Trade:
Promote agricultural interests to international markets
Additionally, Perdue recognizes that American agriculture needs a strong advocate to promote its interests to international markets. The United States is blessed to be able to produce more than its citizens can consume, which implies that we should sell
the bounty around the world. The relationship between the USDA and its trade representatives, as well as with the U.S. Trade Representative and Department of Commerce, will be vital. The work of promoting American agricultural products to other
countries will begin with those relationships and will benefit us domestically, just as it will fulfill the moral imperative of helping to feed the world. Perdue has pledged to be an unapologetic advocate for American agriculture.Under Secretary
Perdue, the USDA will always be facts-based and data-driven, with a decision-making mindset that is customer-focused. He will seek solutions to problems and not lament that the agency might be faced with difficult challenges.
Source: USDA official website for Trump Cabinet biographies
Dec 31, 2018
On Homeland Security:
Food security is a key component of national security
Perdue's policies as U.S. Secretary of Agriculture will be guided by four principles which will inform his decisions.- He will maximize the ability of the men and women of America's agriculture and agribusiness sector to create jobs, to produce
and sell the foods and fiber that feed and clothe the world, and to reap the earned reward of their labor.
- He will prioritize customer service every day for American taxpayers and consumers: efficiently, effectively, and with the utmost integrity.
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USDA will continue to serve in the critical role of ensuring the food we put on the table to feed our families meets the strict safety standards we've established. Food security is a key component of national security,
because hunger and peace do not long coexist.
- Perdue will always remember that America's agricultural bounty comes directly from the land.
Source: USDA official website for Trump Cabinet biographies
Dec 31, 2018
On Free Trade:
USMCA trade pact important for workers, economy as a whole
With the announcement of a new trade pact among the United States, Mexico and Canada, we welcomed the tremendous news that the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) will be replaced by a much stronger agreement. Known as the
United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), the package will be important for American workers and our economy as a whole, including the agricultural sector, which counts Mexico and Canada in our top three trading partners.
Source: White House press release, "USMCA" (Trump Cabinet)
Oct 18, 2018
On Free Trade:
Supports USMCA trade agreement to replace NAFTA
Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue issued the following statement: One of the core promises that swept President Donald Trump into office was that he would renegotiate better deals for the United States with our traditional trading partners.
With the announcement of a new trade pact among the United States, Mexico and Canada, we welcomed the tremendous news that the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) will be, if approved by Congress, replaced by a much stronger agreement.
Known as the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), the package will be important for American workers and the economy.
Perdue said, "The great news of a new USMCA deal is important for our economy as a whole, including the agricultural sector,
which counts Canada and Mexico in our top three trading partners. We have secured greater access to these vital markets and will maintain and improve the highly productive integrated agricultural relationship we have as nations."
Source: White House press release "USMCA" in Trump Cabinet statement
Oct 2, 2018
On Free Trade:
Tariffs on China are painful now, but healthy later
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue told Fox News that President Trump's tariffs on imports from China, the European Union and other nations are "a little bit like weight loss: it's kind of painful to start with, but you're healthier in the end." However,
Perdue also acknowledged "legitimate anxiety over the tariffs and the pain they've caused."The secretary spoke to Fox News as a set of 10% tariffs on $200 billion worth of imported Chinese goods is due to take effect Aug. 23. The proposed tariffs
affect more than 6,000 product lines, including seafood, tobacco and car components. Beijing has responded by threatening new tariffs of 5% to 25% on roughly 5,000 US products.
"China has not been playing by the rules for years and we've allowed for
them year after year to get away with that," Perdue told Fox News. "And frankly, we've got barriers across the world, not just in China, but in the European Union. If we turned our farmers loose in America they would own the market internationally."
Source: Fox News' Samuel Chamberlain on 2018 Trump Cabinet
Aug 15, 2018
On Abortion:
Parental notification for minors
During his 2002 run for governor, Perdue won the endorsement of Georgia Right to Life. The next year, Perdue urged legislators to send an informed consent measure to his desk requiring those seeking an abortion to wait 24 hours after receiving state-
mandated information on what Perdue called "the physical and psychological damages that occur afterwards." That law, which included a provision requiring parental notification for minors, was passed and signed by Perdue in 2005.
Source: Ally Boguhn in Rewire.news on Trump Cabinet
Jan 19, 2017
On Civil Rights:
Call on legislature for Constitutional ban on gay marriage
Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue says he'll call a special legislative session to work up another constitutional ban on same-sex marriages if the state Supreme Court doesn't rule on the issue by Aug. 7. His announcement came shortly after the state vowed to
appeal a judge's decision to overturn the ban approved by voters in 2004. "I think the people spoke overwhelmingly. I think the people of Georgia knew exactly what they were voting for," said Perdue.
Source: Law.com, "Perdue vows special session", on Trump Cabinet
Jan 19, 2017
On Free Trade:
Helped save NAFTA by showing Trump red state farmers need it
President Trump was set to "terminate" the North American Free Trade Agreement until top advisers sat down with him to press him to go another route. Perdue even brought along a prop: A map of the United States that illustrated the areas that would be
hardest hit, particularly from agriculture and manufacturing losses, and highlighting that many of those states and counties were "Trump country." You know the rest: By Wednesday evening, Trump had backed off his plans.
Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Trump Cabinet
Jan 19, 2017
On Gun Control:
Legalized concealed weapons on public transportation
U.S. District Court Judge Marvin Shoob declined the request of guns rights organizations to allow guns in Atlanta's airport while he makes his final decision in their suit against the state. Pro-gun activists, including Georgia's governor, Sonny Perdue,
a supporter of the legislation which legalized concealed weapons on public transportation, have been busy making their case. Governor Perdue spoke in favor of allowing firearms at the airport, arguing that it would make his wife feel safer.
Source: Law.com, "Perdue vows special session", on Trump Cabinet
Jan 19, 2017
Page last updated: Dec 03, 2021