TheAmerican Meat Science Association (AMSA) Reciprocal Meat Conference (RMC) Planning Committee has announced that the U.S. House Committee on Agriculture Chairman Mike Conaway (Texas) and Livestock and Foreign Agriculture Subcommittee Chairman David Rouzer (North Carolina) will be in San Angelo as the opening keynote speakers of the 69^th RMC this coming June. 

Attendees can expect an insider’s view of the top priorities facing U.S. legislators in the areas of sustainability, foreign trade, research funding, and food safety as the Congressmen address key issues facing the meat industry and the scientific community. This will be the first time that Congressional Leadership at this level has addressed an RMC audience, so mark your calendars now to attend!

Congressman Mike Conaway represents 29 counties in Texas’11th Congressional District, including the cities of Midland, Odessa and San Angelo. In the House, Congressman Conaway is the Chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture and also serves on the House Armed Services Committee and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. He is a deputy Republican Whip, a position he has held since the 112th Congress.

A native Texan, Congressman Conaway grew up in Odessa and graduated from Odessa Permian High School in 1966 after playing on Permian’s first state championship football team. He earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in accounting from Texas A&M University-Commerce in 1970. After serving in the Army at Fort Hood, Congressman Conaway returned to the Permian Basin with Price Waterhouse and settled in Midland, later working with George W. Bush as the chief financial officer for Bush Exploration. He developed a lasting friendship with President Bush as they learned together what it takes to run a business.

Congressman David Rouzer currently serves in the United States Congress representing North Carolina's 7th Congressional District and serves as Chairman of the Subcommittee on Livestock and Foreign Agriculture. His most recent work was primarily focused on helping small businesses with marketing and sales through his consulting firm, The Rouzer Company.

Prior to those endeavors, Congressman Rouzer was involved in public policy development and implementation, public relations, and legislative strategy for more than a decade through his work in the Legislative and Executive branches of the Federal government, as well as in his work for NC State University where he served as assistant to the dean for the College of Agriculture & Life Sciences.

In Congressman Rouzer’s work on Capitol Hill, David was a senior staffer for former U.S. Senator Jesse Helms and U.S. Senator Elizabeth Dole where he helped write numerous federal statutes and developed a distinct reputation among members and their respective staffs for his advice and work.

As a member of the North Carolina Senate, Congressman Rouzer consistently ranked as one of the most effective pro-business legislators during his two terms (2009 - 2012) representing Johnston and Wayne County. During his tenure, he was co-chairman of the Agriculture and Environment Committee, co-chairman of the Joint Regulatory Reform Committee, and chairman of the Senate Environmental Review Commission.

The AMSA 69^th Reciprocal Meat Conference (RMC) is hosted by Angelo State University and will be held June 19-22, 2016. For more information regarding the AMSA 69^th RMC please visit: http://www.meatscience.org/rmc or contact Deidrea Mabry 1-800-517-AMSA ext. 12.

Source: FSIS