Tony Purcell, Texas State Network

Speaker:

Tony Purcell
Texas State Network

MR. PURCELL: Thank you, Commissioner. And welcome everyone to this that, as you know from the releases, it's a listening session. The schedule is pretty tight. A couple of ground rules first. Everyone knows the speakers will have a five-minute presentation, and all presentations will be made from the podium to my right, to your left. And this session is also being transmitted live on the Internet, and the acoustics in this room, it will pick up someone talking in the back as well as it will pick up someone talking the stage. So if you need to have a discussion about testimony coming up or anything like that, please go completely outside the room to do that. Because we'd like to keep the room noise to an absolute minimum.

You're going to hear a variety of issues here. In fact, these guys on the stage are really going to get an earful, because I don't think any state around has such variety in its agricultural production as the state of Texas.

And it's all a matter of perspective. I thought it was interesting last week, the national headline was "New York swelters under a heat wave," and it was 96 degrees there.

And on the same day in Dallas, where I live, the local headline was "North Texans enjoy a mild summer," and it was 95 degrees there. So, you know, that's a matter of perspective, and that goes for trade and agriculture as well.

So let's go ahead and kick this off. We'll hear some opening remarks from our panelists and then we'll go into the presentations from the list. And only those who are on the list will be making presentations because the schedule is very tight.

So our first -- our first statement will be from the United States Trade Representative's office, and representing that office is Sharon Bomer-Lauritson. She's the director of agricultural affairs and she works on preparations for the WTO as well as bilateral agricultural trade issues with Canada and several South American countries. Now, prior to joining USTR, Sharon worked for ten years in the USDA ag marketing service, and she also served as a lobbyist for the United Fresh Fruit and Vegetables Association. So let's hear now from Sharon Bomer-Lauritson.