Five House ranking members criticize White House conference as partisan

The ranking members on four House committees and one subcommittee wrote White House Director of Domestic Policy Susan Rice on Tuesday that they consider the process of developing the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health to be a “partisan” one that has “shut out stakeholders and policymakers who are critical to developing the nation’s nutrition policies.”

The letter was signed by:

▪ Virginia Foxx of North Carolina, the ranking member on the Education and Labor Committee, who released the letter;

---

---

▪ Glenn “GT” Thompson of Pennsylvania, the ranking member on the Agriculture Committee;

▪ Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington, the ranking member on the Energy and Commerce Committee;

---

---

▪ James Comer of Kentucky, the ranking member on the Oversight and Reform Committee;

▪ Andy Harris of Maryland, the ranking member on the Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee.

“What began with a promise to engage stakeholders in a bipartisan process has deteriorated into a partisan gathering lacking the direction and clarity needed to drive significant, long-lasting change,” the House Republicans wrote.

“For the conference policy recommendations to be considered bipartisan, the White House should have meaningfully engaged a variety of stakeholders, including congressional colleagues from both sides of the aisle at all stages of the conference.”

They added, “The impact of the 2022 White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health will depend largely on actions taken after September 28. Moving forward, we plan to take an active oversight role, given our seats on committees of jurisdiction over the recommendations likely to stem from the conference, as Congress and the administration deliberate how to move forward to ensure we are all supporting the goals of ending hunger and improving nutrition in ways that make sound policy sense for all Americans.”

The House Education and Labor Committee also tweeted the letter.

In August Thompson wrote to Rice asking questions about the conference. A House Agriculture Committee source said recently that Thompson had not received a reply.

–The Hagstrom Report