Leaving Office, Veneman Decries Partisanship On Agriculture Issues

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The Modesto native and former Gov. Pete Wilson administration official could appreciate all of this when she first came to Washington as a midlevel Agriculture Department appointee in 1986. But now, preparing to leave office as the nation's first female agriculture secretary, Veneman can also pinpoint a dishearteningly broader decline in the capital's political environment.

"One of the things that is different is there is less willingness to work together in Congress," Veneman said in an interview last week.
"There is so much partisanship in Congress; Congress is different to work with today than it was before." It shows, she says, in the kind of harsh Capitol Hill mail she has received. Certainly, the public commentary can be cutting, as when North Dakota Democratic Sen. Kent Conrad in May urged President Bush to fire Veneman. The partisanship, in turn, can aggravate divisions already inherent in farm country. "Agriculture is just so split on so many of the issues," Veneman said. "You just don't have much commonality."

Country-of-origin labeling disputes, for instance, bedeviled Veneman's department for much of her four-year tenure. Over her department's resistance, Congress in 2002 ordered country-of-origin labels on fruits, vegetables and fish. The department subsequently received 5,600 public comments displaying considerable dissent among consumers, producers, packers and retailers. Congress has since blocked the fruit and vegetable labeling from taking effect until at least 2006, although the fish labeling is proceeding.

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Genial and often generous with her time, Veneman showed clear delight Tuesday in recalling such moments. Her mouth tightened, though, when she was asked for details on how the decision arose to leave the $175,700-a-year Cabinet position. She had campaigned extensively for Bush before the November election, making numerous trips to battleground states like Ohio, leading lobbyists and others who have worked with her to conclude she had hoped to hold onto the job in Bush's second term. She tersely declined comment on the speculation, referring instead to her Nov. 12 resignation letter. She will be staying on until Republican Nebraska Gov. Mike Johanns secures his expected Senate confirmation."

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http://www.sacbee.com/content/politics/story/11917338p-12804259c.html