At an organizational meeting Wednesday, the Senate Agriculture Committee by voice vote approved the committee’s rules and the subcommittee assignments for the 114th Congress.

Members of the committee met off the Senate floor for the brief meeting.

A committee aide said the rules had not changed from the last Congress.

Roberts also told reporters that he would emphasize “regulatory overkill” and hold a hearing on the Waters of the United States rule, even though the committee does not have jurisdiction over the Environmental Protection Agency or the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that proposed the rule.

Roberts also said the committee would take up reauthorization of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the mandatory livestock price reporting law and child nutrition programs.

He said he has told Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., the new chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, to “be fair. We already gave at the office,” the Food & Environment Reporting Network said.

Enzi is expected to propose a budget that could lead to reconciliation and reductions in government spending.

Subcommittee on Commodities, Risk Management and Trade

Jurisdiction: Production agriculture including commodity programs, crop insurance, commodity exchanges, agriculture trade, international food assistance, and credit.

REPUBLICANS

• John Boozman, Arkansas, chair
  ▪ Thad Cochran, Mississippi
  ▪ John Hoeven, North Dakota
  ▪ David Perdue, Georgia
  ▪ Charles Grassley, Iowa
  ▪ John Thune, South Dakota
  

DEMOCRATS

• Joe Donnelly, Indiana, ranking member
  ▪ Heidi Heitkamp, North Dakota
  ▪ Sherrod Brown, Ohio
  ▪ Kirsten Gillibrand, New York
  ▪ Michael Bennet, Colorado
  

Subcommittee on Rural Development and Energy

Jurisdiction: Programs in USDA’s Rural Development mission area, including housing, utilities, loans, and renewable energy.

REPUBLICANS

• Joni Ernst, Iowa, chair
  ▪ Thad Cochran, Mississippi
  ▪ John Hoeven, North Dakota
  ▪ David Perdue, Georgia
  ▪ Thom Tillis, North Carolina
  ▪ John Thune, South Dakota
  

DEMOCRATS

• Heidi Heitkamp, North Dakota, ranking member
  ▪ Sherrod Brown, Ohio
  ▪ Amy Klobuchar, Minnesota
  ▪ Michael Bennet, Colorado
  ▪ Joe Donnelly, Indiana
  

Subcommittee on Conservation, Forestry and Natural Resources

Jurisdiction: Conservation and protection of natural resources, regulation of pesticides under the Federal Insecticide Fungicide and Rodenticide Act, biotechnology, as well as forestry.

REPUBLICANS

• David Perdue, Georgia, chair
  ▪ Thad Cochran, Mississippi
  ▪ Mitch McConnell, Kentucky
  ▪ John Boozman, Arkansas
  ▪ Ben Sasse, Nebraska
  ▪ Charles Grassley, Iowa
  

DEMOCRATS

• Michael Bennet, Colorado, ranking member
  ▪ Amy Klobuchar, Minnesota
  ▪ Patrick Leahy, Vermont
  ▪ Heidi Heitkamp, North Dakota
  ▪ Robert P. Casey Jr., Pennsylvania
  

Subcommittee on Nutrition, Specialty Crops and Agricultural Research

Jurisdiction: Food and nutrition assistance, school meals, non-program crops and research.

REPUBLICANS

• John Hoeven, North Dakota, chair
  ▪ Mitch McConnell, Kentucky
  ▪ John Boozman, Arkansas
  ▪ Joni Ernst, Iowa
  ▪ Thom Tillis, North Carolina
  ▪ Ben Sasse, Nebraska
  

DEMOCRATS

• Robert P. Casey Jr., Pennsylvania, ranking member
  ▪ Patrick Leahy, Vermont
  ▪ Sherrod Brown, Ohio
  ▪ Kirsten Gillibrand, New York
  ▪ Michael Bennet, Colorado
  

Subcommittee on Livestock Marketing and Agriculture Security

Jurisdiction: Livestock and dairy production, as well as markets, food safety, and security issues.

REPUBLICANS

• Ben Sasse, Nebraska, chair
  ▪ Mitch McConnell, Kentucky
  ▪ Joni Ernst, Iowa
  ▪ Thom Tillis, North Carolina
  ▪ John Thune, South Dakota
  ▪ Charles Grassley, Iowa
  

DEMOCRATS

• Kirsten Gillibrand, New York, ranking member
  ▪ Patrick Leahy, Vermont
  ▪ Amy Klobuchar, Minnesota
  ▪ Joe Donnelly, Indiana
  ▪ Robert P. Casey Jr., Pennsylvania