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STEPHENS POINT, Wisconsin — Newly inaugurated Republican Congressman Derrick Van Oden (WI-03) has settled into his new office, and committee assignments were distributed by leadership this week.
Rep. Van Auden said he is ready to represent “America’s Dairy Country” by being nominated to the House Agriculture Committee for the first time in almost a decade as a member of the Wisconsin delegation. More time has passed since someone from WI-03 was appointed to serve the corpse.
Rep. Van Oden said he was ready to use his voice to represent Wisconsiners as action loomed on the new Farm Bill.
“I’m going to be Congress’ Cheese King,” said Rep. Van Oden. “Right now, we don’t have a dairy expert in Congress. I think having a dairy expert in Congress is the most important thing, especially for our district, and for Wisconsin as a whole. That’s what I’m trying to focus on.”
Rep. Van Auden also serves on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the House Veterans Affairs Committee.
“We’ve put over 180,000 miles on our vehicles through this campaign and we talk to farmers all the time. I don’t even know how many farms we’ve been to,” said Rep. Van Oden. “The biggest is input costs, the second is labor costs.”
Van Orden admits the issue doesn’t always make the headlines, but it’s most important to him, especially since much of Wisconsin’s economy depends on agriculture.
A local farmer in the Stevens Point area shares his experience with Rep. Derrick Van Oden. (Spectrum News 1/Anthony DaBruzzi)
“Our farmer population is aging and we need to make young people understand that farming is a noble and necessary profession,” explained Van Orden. As much as I like it, I can go half an hour without Wi-Fi, but I can’t go through a day without eating.”
Since taking the oath of office, Van Orden has also introduced two Congressional amendments. One for a balanced budget and his one for setting time limits.
Van Orden also introduced a bill banning former congressmen from becoming lobbyists.
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