Warnock Blasts Agriculture Secretary in Ag Committee Hearing: ‘Right Now, Somebody Is Trying to Buy Groceries in Georgia and They Can’t Afford Them’

Today, Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock challenged Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins' absurd claim that grocery prices and inflation are declining as a result of President Trump's tariff and trade policies

In new numbers released this morning, inflation for consumer prices rose to 4.2%, the highest level the country has seen in more than three years

President Trump's war in Iran has put an enormous strain on Americans' pocketbooks, causing everything from the price of gasoline to fertilizer to soar in price

Senator Reverend Warnock: "Do you realize, Madam Secretary-with all due respect-how sterile that answer sounds…right now, somebody is trying to buy groceries in Georgia and they can't afford them"

Washington, D.C. - Today, during a U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee hearing, U.S. Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA) challenged Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins' claim that grocery prices and inflation are declining as a result of President Trump's tariff and trade policies. In new numbers released this morning, consumer prices rose 4.2% in May, the highest level the country has seen in more than three years.

"Do you realize, Madam Secretary-with all due respect-how sterile that answer sounds," said Senator Reverend Warnock. "Right now, somebody is trying to buy groceries in Georgia and they can't afford them."

"Costs are certainly going up. Health care has doubled for millions of Americans and they're having to figure out how to make their lives work in the midst of this. Many of them are having to choose between food and health care," the Senator continued.

A recent survey by Fox News states that more than 70 percent of Americans feel that the economy is getting worse, and consumer sentiment throughout the country is at a record low. Georgia families have been particularly hurt by higher prices. Georgia families are spending significantly more on groceries than most Americans. On average, Georgia households spend nearly $9,000 a year on groceries, the 11^th highest total in the nation. Higher prices, coupled with health care cuts in President Trump and Washington Republicans' One Big Beautiful Bill Act,are forcing many Georgians to make the difficult choice between paying for food or health care. More than 200,00 Georgians have dropped their health care due to higher prices and funding cuts in the OBBB.

Senator Warnock continues to push back against the Trump administration's reckless tariff policy and the uncertain market conditions it creates for Georgia farmers, small businesses, and the higher prices it imposes on Georgia families. As a veteran member of the Senate committee overseeing federal agriculture policies, and as a senator representing a state with a proud and prosperous history of agriculture excellence, Senator Warnock is a strong supporter of programs that help Georgia farmers keep more profits in their pockets and keep the industry at the frontlines of Georgia's success.

Watch the Senator's full remarks HERE.

See below a transcript of the exchange between Senator Warnock and Secretary Rollins

Senator Reverend Warnock (SRW): "Thank you, Brother Chairman.

"And good to see you again-"

Secretary Rollins (SR): "You too, Senator."

SRW: "-Secretary Rollins. I've heard you say that we're entering the 'Golden Age of American Agriculture'. I have to tell you that that statement could not be further from what I'm hearing from farmers and from families all across Georgia.

"Georgia farmers are telling me that they continue to struggle with high costs, costs exacerbated by President Trump's war in Iran, and his tariffs-which is a tax on all of us on virtually everything. Secretary Rollins, last week the administration did lower its tariffs on farm equipment by 10%. I think that's a good move-it's a start. I'm afraid that it might be a little too late and a bit too little. Was this action an acknowledgement by the Trump administration that its tariffs have increased the cost of farming?"

SR: "So, I really appreciate the question. I think the President, as our chief negotiator, is constantly tweaking. But what I will say, and I realize you and I could have a much longer conversation about this, that the very tariffs that you're speaking of have instituted or led to the 19 new trade deals that we've implemented. We're going to have higher corn exports, higher ethanol exports, higher tree nut exports, higher dairy exports than practically in American history. So, we're cutting that $50 billion agricultural trade deficit in half that we inherited a year and a half ago. And for the farmers, nothing's more important than that market access."

SRW: "Has it increased the cost of farming? You're forecasting what you think will be the result, but has it increased the cost of farming?"

SR: "Well, again, the cost of fertilizer was up almost 100% in that what we inherited, the cost of doing business on average-I won't go through all the numbers, we don't have time-but on average, what we inherited was a 50% input cost. So, working, we brought all of that down. As to the farm equipment, I think the president is very focused on what can we do to get our farmers to profitability. It's a national security issue. So, by removing certain barriers we can bring down the cost just a little bit, then that's a big win for everyone. What he has said, though, is that what he doesn't want to see happening is the equipment manufacturers pocketing that extra dollar-which a lot argued would actually be the result-that the farmers themselves would not see it. So, as part of that announcement, it was to make sure the farmers got that benefit, not the big equipment guys."

SRW: "So, according to Farm Policy News, the president's tariffs have increased input costs by $1 billion for farmers, while erasing billions in access to export markets, markets that you, you're saying are going to come online, and farmers just hold on a little while longer, but they're struggling. They are struggling right now. There's no question about it. I talk to them all the time.

"Since the Supreme Court struck down the president's illegal tariffs, giant corporations have lined up to receive tariff refunds. Madam Secretary, are you pushing in cabinet meetings for farmers to also be reimbursed for the billions in tariff taxes that were passed on to them?"

SR: "Well, again, the tariff taxes passed on to them, they, we now, other than a $50 billion ag trade deficit, we've cut that in half. So, we've opened up $20 plus billion in additional sales for our farmers under this trade negotiation."

SRW: "These big corporations, though, they're lining up and they're getting reimbursed. I'm asking you-"

SR: "I'm happy to look into that. I'm actually, I think that's…I'll talk to Secretary Lutnick. I'm not familiar with the other corporations lining up, but I will look into that, Senator.

SRW: "Alright. And it's not just the tariffs. And-you know-you and I have talked before. I'm trying to make sure that I'm doing everything I can for farmers and families in Georgia. So, I'm concerned about the ways in which they're struggling. It's planting season, and it's a business, as you know, where the margins are narrow to begin with. And you know there's not…there's so many things that they don't control, and so these margins become really important when you're talking about tariffs. But it's not just the tariffs. The Strait of Hormuz has been closed now for over 100 days, and President Trump's war in Iran has destabilized international fertilizer and fuel markets skyrocketing costs right in the middle of planting season. Is the administration planning to ask Congress for more taxpayer money to aid farmers, so that they can afford the cost of this war?"

SR: "Well-the worst-I know what you're asking. So, yes, let me respond to that directly.

"And specifically, fertilizer and diesel fuel have been the two I think that we've seen significant increase in costs since the Strait was closed. But what I think is important is that the fertilizer costs that were inherited increased almost 100%-that had come down 50% before the Iranian conflict. The costs went back up with the Strait of Hormuz closing. Those costs are still lower than the high peak of the Biden years for fertilizer. Having said that, there's still tremendous amount of work to be done. By the way, that's the same for diesel fuel as well. It came down 50%, Iranian conflict happened, it popped up but still lower than during Biden years. But yes, we are opening up the markets, reshoring fertilizer back to America. In two or three weeks we're going to break ground in Louisiana on what will be the largest fertilizer plant in the world. In the last couple of decades-"

SRW: "Let me just point out-let me just point out because it's really important that context matters."

SR: "I agree."

SRW: "The high peak of the fertilizer costs-we were in the middle of a pandemic, which you know we didn't have any control over. It's one thing to have high fertilizer costs because of those kinds of extraneous circumstances. The president took us into a war of choice. Which blocked the Strait of Hormuz, and as a result of that, farmers in Georgia are struggling with both increased fuel and increased fertilizer costs."

"But it's not just farmers that I'm concerned about, I'm also concerned about Georgia families. According to the USDA, grocery costs increased about 3% in the last year and expected to increase by another 3.2% this year. At the same time, this administration has celebrated kicking 3.5 million Americans-including children-off SNAP, a program designed to help our most vulnerable neighbors afford groceries when times are rough. And those neighbors, by the way, are disproportionately in red rural districts. Those communities are struggling. You've supported aid packages for farmers hurt by Trump's policies. Would you also support a food aid package for working families who are just struggling to afford groceries due to increased costs?"

SR: "So, Senator, the 3% is actually an average cost of food increase over the years. Under the last administration, it went up 20% but the SNAP, I think, is really important-"

SRW: "Do you realize, Madam Secretary-with all due respect-how sterile that answer sounds for the person who's just, who's trying, you say-'well, you know, that's the mean cost', but right now somebody's trying to buy groceries in Georgia, and they can't afford it.

SR: "Well but that's because of the Biden administration is the reason-"

SRW: "Two years later, that's your answer? Because of the Biden administration?"

SR: "Yes-look at this. Look at all the prices that have come down: avocados down 20%, berries down 13%, butter down 13%, eggs down 90%."

SRW: "Grocery costs are up, you don't dispute that, right? Even as you call these individual items, you don't dispute that grocery costs are up in America?"

SR: "The affordability question in America is real and the work to bring those costs down continue. And within one year, the costs have significantly come down-with a few outliers, coffee, beef, et cetera-but on the SNAP program, sir, no one, no one in Washington or in America wants to see a family go hungry, but the 40% increase in SNAP under the last administration, the 4-you said 3.5-it's actually 4.3 million that have moved off of SNAP. No one was kicked off. We have more people working today than ever before. This is a celebration of work and the dignity of work, and wages are higher than they've ever been before. No one has been kicked off. If they're not on the SNAP program, they have chosen-chosen-not to reapply, or they're an able-bodied adult that can either work for 20 hours a week or volunteer. Those are the only requirements. Anyone with small children is not not eligible."

SRW: "Wages you say are going up. The costs are certainly going up. Health care has been doubled for millions of Americans, and they're having to figure out how to make their lives work in the midst of this, many of them choosing between food and health care. Will you reinstate the $500 million in funds for food banks the Trump administration canceled last year, or do you have an alternate plan to help to keep their shelves stocked?"

SR: "Listen, we have moved out, I think a couple of billion dollars into the pantries in the last year and a half. I know Secretary Rubio said the government is not a charity. We spend $400 million a day on nutrition programs just out of USDA. There is so much money in the system, so much taxpayer dollars, and that's just the federal USDA nutrition programs. That's not state or local. We've got to figure out how to do it better. We've got to figure out how to get it to the people who really need it, the Georgians, as you say, and all across the country. And that's what we're working to do."

SRW: "I would respectfully disagree with your characterization regarding SNAP. There are a lot of children all across Georgia who are suffering, families trying to put it together and, I think we can do better than that."

SR: "If they are young children, they're available. So, I appreciate that, too. And I appreciate the opportunity to actually have a civil conversation about it, of course. Thank you, sir.

SRW: "Thank you."

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