Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Thad Cochran (R-MS) voiced his support for Bill Hawks of Hernando, Mississippi, who has been nominated by President Bush to be Undersecretary of Agricultural Marketing and Regulatory Programs at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Following are the Senators remarks made today during Hawks confirmation hearing of the Agriculture Committee:

"I'm pleased to be here this morning to welcome my good friend and fellow Mississippian, Bill Hawks, and Mr. Bost as well. We are very fortunate, I think to have the Secretary of Agriculture and the Administration selecting such outstanding people to serve in this Administration particularly at the Department of Agriculture. I think the operation and administration of that Department is going to be in very good hands indeed.

I've known Bill Hawks for a long time. He has been a leader in our state, not only in agriculture where he has served on the state Farm Service Agency Committee and at the local level in positions of responsibility, but also in our state government as a very well-respected member of our state Senate. He was a leader there, and he's looked to for leadership in our state on a wide range of issues and subjects. He's very well-respected. He was an outstanding student at Mississippi State University where he earned Bachelor and Masters degrees. He's taken an active role in the political life of our state and our nation. He's been a leader of farm groups in Presidential election campaigns, and he is someone who is very civic-minded and gives a lot of his time and effort to helping make our state a better place to live and the country as well.

So, I think we are fortunate to have him serving in this position. I'm confident that he'll be well-received by our Committee, because of his experience, his good judgement and his past performance in everything he's ever undertaken. And, on top of all that, he's a farmer. He really knows what he's going to be doing. He knows something about the subject from first hand experience. He and his wife, Diane, who's an active partner in the farming operation, have several thousand acres of land that they farm in DeSoto County Mississippi, just south of Memphis. He's been very successful. Even when times are tough he figures out a way to manage - kind of like our Chairman. You can talk with each other and explain it to everyone else. It's a pleasure for me to welcome Bill and wish him well in this new undertaking."