*EPF301 12/20/00
Bush Names Ann Veneman to Head Agriculture Department
(Nominee brings strong background in trade to post) (730)
By Jon Schaffer
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington -- President-elect Bush has nominated Ann Veneman, a lawyer and a long-term veteran of agricultural issues, to become the next U.S. secretary of agriculture. If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Veneman would be the first woman to head the department, which currently manages 42 agencies, with a budget of more than $55,000 million and a workforce of 111,000 people.

In her new job, Veneman will have to confront a host of challenges -- from biotechnology and food safety to the continued web of subsidies provided by foreign governments that U.S. producers believe put them at a competitive disadvantage in world markets. As secretary of agriculture, Veneman would likely head the agricultural negotiating team in a new round of global trade negotiations. Talks on agricultural have already begun in Geneva at the World Trade Organization.

"President-elect Bush, like you, I want to find common ground and promote common sense," Veneman said to Bush at a news conference December 20 at the University of Texas.

Veneman brings to the office not only knowledge of U.S. agriculture but also vast experience on international agricultural trade issues. Veneman is currently a partner of the law firm of Nossaman, Guthner, Knox and Elliott, LLP, where she specializes in food, agriculture, environment, technology and trade-related issues.

From 1989 to 1991, Veneman served as deputy undersecretary of agriculture for international affairs and commodity programs under the administration of President George H.W. Bush, the president-elect's father. During that time, she was responsible for a broad range of international issues, from trade negotiations to food aid. From 1991 to 1993 she served as deputy secretary, the second ranking position at the department. Veneman joined the department's Foreign Agricultural Service in 1986 and served as associate administrator until 1989. She was involved in negotiations for the global Uruguay Round, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the U.S.-Canada Free Trade Agreement.

In 1997, Veneman touted the benefits of NAFTA for U.S. agriculture. "When you have economic growth in a country, the first thing that people do is buy food and increase their protein intake," she told reporters. "To the extent that we increase economic development through these kinds of trade agreements, we also enhance trade opportunities, particularly for food and agricultural products. We've seen joint ventures develop that we would not have otherwise seen."

Veneman has long been a proponent of liberalized trade. In remarks to European agricultural ministers in 1991, Veneman said: " Policies which restrict the developing world's access to markets and its ability to compete do more than retard economic growth. They also make it difficult to repay international debt and to purchase needed imports. If countries cannot finance imports, their only alternative is to back away from the world market and to strive for self-sufficiency, no matter how costly and counter-productive such actions may be."

More recently, Veneman served from 1996 to 1998 as director of the California Food and Agriculture Department (CFDA), the state agency that oversees the largest agricultural economy in the nation. California's agro-industry generates more than $25,000 million annually and produces over half of the vegetables consumed in the United States. The state also has extensive international ties -- from China and Russia to Mexico. During her tenure at CFDA, Veneman also highlighted the importance of markets in Brazil and Chile for U.S. agricultural goods.

Veneman serves as a member of the International Policy Council on Agriculture, the University of California-Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Dean's Advisory Council, the Advisory Council for the U.C. Berkeley College of Natural Resources and the Joint Policy Council on Agriculture and Higher Education. Prior to joining CDFA she served on the board of directors of Calgene, Inc., a California biotechnology company.

Veneman was raised on a peach farm in Modesto, California. She earned a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of California at Davis in 1970, a master's degree in public policy from the University of California at Berkeley in 1971, and a law degree from the University of California's Hastings College of Law in 1976.

(The Washington File is a product of the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
NNNN