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Vilsack expects to stay on, and urges farm bill passage

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told reporters Wednesday that he expects to stay on as Agriculture secretary and that Congress should pass a new farm bill before the end of the year.

Cabinet secretaries serve at the pleasure of the president, and President Barack Obama has not yet announced the Cabinet for his second term. So although said he is still enjoying his job, his office said that should not be interpreted to mean that he has already been asked to remain secretary for a second term.

“My attitude is I’m going to continue to do the job for as long as the president wants me to do the job,” Vilsack told DTN, an Omaha-based agricultural news service. “I’ve said repeatedly I think I’ve got the greatest job in America. If I truly believe that, it would be kind of silly not to continue to do it.”

Vilsack said that even though the House Republican leadership has not announced this week whether it will move a new farm bill, he believes a final version could still materialize in the next few weeks, Reuters reported.

“This town works best when there is a deadline,” Vilsack told Reuters.