U.S. Rep. Glenn 'G.T.' Thompson Discusses Washington Relationships and Why They Matter

WASHINGTON — On a recent trip to the nation's capital, I was able to chat with U.S. Rep. Glenn Thompson, widely known as G.T., who chairs the House Agriculture Committee.

My visit was a 20-minute spot on his calendar, which had been arranged weeks in advance. I told Thompson I hoped to update Lancaster Farming readers about his views on a number of topics, including avian influenza, progress on the Farm Bill, and how his bipartisan committee is working in the decidedly partisan atmosphere pervading the capital city.

Thompson represents Pennsylvania's 15th Congressional District, which covers an area just northeast of Pittsburgh, extends to the New York border and east to Snyder County. It includes his hometown, Bellefonte, in Centre County.

A Republican, he was first elected to Congress in 2008. A Penn State graduate, Thompson also earned a master's in education from Temple University. Prior to his election to Congress, he spent 28 years as a therapist, rehabilitation services manager and licensed nursing home administrator.

Our conversation started with avian influenza.

"From a federal perspective, we're obviously involved," Thompson said. "USDA is out there on the farms. In Pennsylvania, Secretary (Russell) Redding and his staff have done an admirable job. Determining which flocks to cull, and how to dispose of the dead birds — these are not easy decisions to make."

Those decisions affect the calculations that determine the size of indemnity payments to poultry farmers affected by AI. The checks are written by the Commodity Credit Corp. The CCC is a wholly owned government corporation within the USDA.

Secretary Tom Vilsack chairs the CCC board of directors. Thompson expressed concern that Vilsack and other Biden appointees may be allowing CCC funds to flow into programs, like climate-friendly farming initiatives, that are too far removed from the CCC's primary mission.

There's no specific mention of AI in any current version of the 2023 Farm Bill, but Thompson said support for the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is part of the omnibus legislation that he and Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., are working on together. Stabenow chairs the Senate Ag Committee and is the second of the "four corners" of the box that holds the giant piece of legislation that is the Farm Bill.

The other two corners of that box are Rep. David Scott, D-Ga., ranking member of the House Ag Committee, and Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., ranking member of the Senate Ag Committee.

Boozman was a member of the House when Thompson arrived in Washington. He counts Boozman among his Washington mentors, and as House members, they belonged to a Bible study group that met once a week.

He said Scott "is a dear friend and a brother in the Lord."

He's had dinner a few times with Stabenow, and they apparently got along well.

He has a good relationship, too, with Vilsack.

"I worked closely with Secretary Vilsack during the eight years he was in the Obama administration, and for the four years he was president of the U.S. Dairy Export Council," Thompson said.

Thompson is laser-focused on relationships. He believes they are vital components of the nitty-gritty, day-to-day conduct of government business. He works at building and maintaining relationships and trust.

"Frankly, it's paid off," he said. "We've had a lot of good legislative success, good bills that became law and a few transformational bills as well. And most of that success was the result of developing and maintaining those relationships.

"That's especially important for the Farm Bill."

So how's all that relationship business going within the House Committee on Agriculture? The committee has 28 Republican members and 24 Democrats. "It's better than it is in most committees, is the best way to describe it," Thompson said.

There's give and take, of course, but there's a definite collegial atmosphere, he added.

Part of the work that goes into the Farm Bill is a series of listening sessions designed to gather input from the ag community and the general public. One of the sessions was at this year's Pennsylvania Farm Show, where Thompson and Pennsylvania Secretary of Agriculture Russell Redding, a Democrat, sat side by side, along with other government officials, to answer questions and listen to suggestions about the Farm Bill.

Thompson has had listening sessions at the World Ag Expo in Tulare, California, in February, and in Waco, Texas, in March.

Every one of the 52 committee members is invited to attend the listening sessions. Some can make it, some can't.

"I understand that," Thompson said. "They have commitments, other committee meetings. ... They have a lot going on in this job. It's a very busy place."

Speaking of which, my 20 minutes with the congressman were about up. I stood to leave, said my goodbyes, shook his hand, and as I exited the office, noticed three men in good suits with briefcases waiting to see the chairman.

Yep. Busy place.