WASHINGTON – People’s Action Director George Goehl today released the following statement supporting Rep. Marcia Fudge’s bid to be appointed Secretary of the Department of Agriculture:

“With Rep. Marcia Fudge at the helm, the Department of Agriculture would have teeth again to keep a check on corporate agribusiness. Her bold leadership could right historical wrongs and usher it into a new era where people living in rural, suburban, and urban America can rebuild and thrive.

“People’s Action ran one of the biggest persuasion programs to elect Biden in rural communities. We helped deliver his win by talking to hundreds of thousands of voters. They told us again and again that they want a government who cares about them instead of the 1 percent. 

“Rep. Fudge has spent her career defending SNAP, a critical anti-poverty program in rural communities, against Republican attacks and could reverse Trump’s baseless work requirements. She’s gone toe-to-toe against corporate agriculture and fossil fuel companies, unlike other contenders for this position like former Senator Heidi Heitkamp, who is deep in their pockets.

“The donors propping up Heitkamp’s political career are a who’s who of the corporations taking everyday Americans to the cleaners. Meanwhile, Rep. Fudge has a clear track record of fighting for everyday people, not special interests. A Heitkamp nomination would not prove to me or millions of farmers and folks in small-town America that President-elect Biden is serious about draining the swamp.”

People’s Action has a petition to keep Heidi Heitkamp out of Biden’s administration.