Secretary of Agriculture
In October 2007 Schafer was nominated by then-President George W. Bush to be the next Secretary of Agriculture. His hearing was originally scheduled for January 30, 2008, but was moved up on the request of North Dakota Senator Kent Conrad so that Schafer could attend the State of the Union address as a cabinet member. The hearing was held on January 24; it was friendly, with Senators asking Schafer questions on various topics such as US beef exports to Japan and South Korea, the Department of Agriculture's ability to deliver on programs passed by Congress, policy on sugar, and cotton prices. On January 28, he was unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
Schafer was in office just several days when a major scandal concerning cruelty and unsafe food erupted in the wake of an investigation of the Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing Company by the Humane Society of the United States. In late February, in testimony before a subcommittee of the Senate Agriculture Committee, Schafer took the position that there was no need for a ban on downed cattle in the food supply.
Read more about this topic: Ed Schafer
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