Kevin Concannon got few questions from members of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee at his confirmation hearing to be the Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
“I am most grateful to President Obama and [Agriculture] Secretary [Tom] Vilsack for placing their confidence in me as the nominee for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services, especially so at this time in this challenging economy,” he said during the hearing in Washington, D.C. “I am passionately committed to the obligation we share in as citizens and governments to those less fortunate among us.”
Concannon served as Iowa Commissioner of Health and Human Services under then Gov. Vilsack, now the Secretary of the Department of Agriculture.
“In the past 25 years, Kevin Concannon has been director of four health and human service agencies in three states — Iowa, Maine and Oregon,” Vilsack said in announcing Concannon’s nomination in April. “In these positions, Kevin has led state efforts to make food stamps and emergency food assistance more accessible to those in need.”
U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine, introduced the Portland native to the panel and praised his work in Maine where he served as Human Services commissioner from 1995 to 2003 and as commissioner of the Maine Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation from 1980 to 1987.
“He oversaw Maine’s food stamp and WIC [Women Infants & Children] programs and did tremendous work around outreach and eligibility,” she said. “He made sure that all Maine residents that were eligible had access to the services they needed.”
While she did not attend the confirmation hearing, Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, issued a statement praising Concannon and his nomination.
“Kevin brings a wealth of experience in public health policy,” she said. “Just as he did in Maine, Kevin will serve our nation well as we tackle monumental economic and health care challenges.”
At the hearing, Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, the chairman of the panel, praised Concannon’s service in that state for expanding the use of the supplemental nutrition assistance program, what was called the food stamp program, at farmers markets.
“That really worked well and should be expanded,” he said.
Harkin also questioned Concannon about expanding the role of the Department of Agriculture in overseeing foods sold in schools. He worried about vending machines undermining the “healthful choices” that are in school cafeterias subsidized by the Department of Agriculture.
“I reflect back on state experience in dealing with smoking,” Concannon said. “Some of the most effective anti-smoking efforts that we took were not those isolated in the public health sections of state agencies; [they were] those that cut across to the Medicaid and child welfare agencies.”
He said one of his goals, if confirmed, will be to work with other agencies in the Department of Agriculture and with other agencies of the federal government and with the states to develop strategies to improve nutrition awareness across the country.
Concannon has served as president of the American Public Welfare Association and president of the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors.
Concannon holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from St. Francis Xavier University, Antigonish, Nova Scotia.
The committee has not scheduled a vote on the nomination, which will then go before the full Senate.