WASHINGTON -- A Fayetteville agriculture law expert has been tapped to serve as general counsel for the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Janie Simms Hipp, who serves as chief executive officer of the Native American Agriculture Fund, was nominated by President Joe Biden and must be confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
Thursday, Hipp told members of the Senate Agriculture Committee about growing up in Idabel, "a small, far-southeast Oklahoma, rural, remote, town of about 5,000 people."
A citizen of the Chickasaw Nation, her parents were educators and her grandfather owned a small tractor dealership.
It was "nothing fancy," she said.
"I did the payroll every Saturday and my sister and I helped with the books every month," she said. "I grew up listening to farmers' stories as they came by for coffee and a chance to visit."
During the financial crisis of the 1980s, many farmers and ranchers lost their land. Her grandfather was also a casualty; he lost his dealership.
A graduate of the University of Oklahoma, she earned her juris doctorate from the Oklahoma City University School of Law.
After a stint with the Oklahoma attorney general's office, she enrolled in the University of Arkansas College of Law, earning an LL.M. in agriculture law in 1996.
Since then, she has served in a number of capacities, including as an assistant professor of agricultural law at the University of Arkansas and as founding director of the Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative at the University of Arkansas.
In between, she served as Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack's senior adviser for tribal relations and as director of the Office of Tribal Relations.
In her new post, she would serve as the department's chief law officer and would oversee an agency with more than 200 attorneys in Washington and across the country.
"If confirmed, I will be the first native woman selected to serve as general counsel and I know the importance of that honor," Hipp told lawmakers.
After a four-year hiatus, Vilsack is once again agriculture secretary, and he's enthusiastic about having Hipp return to the department.
In a written statement at the time of her selection, Vilsack he said he was "grateful" that Biden had nominated her.
"If confirmed, Janie will join a senior leadership team committed to ensuring the fair and equitable implementation of all USDA programs in service to the American people. Her skills and knowledge will contribute to removing barriers to access wherever they exist, building a fairer and more just food system, and helping to build a stronger, more resilient rural America," he said.
U.S. Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., the agriculture committee's ranking member, said Hipp "has a deep bond with Arkansas."
"It is truly great to see a fellow Razorback serving our broad agriculture community with such dedication," he said during Thursday's hearing.
University of Arkansas School of Law Professor Susan Schneider, director of the agricultural law LL.M. program, predicted Hipp would serve with distinction.
"It's a good day for agriculture and a good day for Arkansas," she said.
"Janie's a good lawyer, she's got excellent political skills, but she [also] has the substantive knowledge of agriculture and food law," she said.