Rep. Frank D. Lucas, R-Okla., chairs the House Agriculture Committee.

The Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry passed the Agriculture Reform, Food and Jobs Act of 2012.  Debbie Stabenow is its chairwoman.

Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss., is the ranking minority member of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee.

Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., chairs the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee.

Tom Vilsack is U.S. secretary of agriculture. See remarks he made in October 2011 about priorities for the 2012 farm bill.

The Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., is dedicated to the interdisciplinary study of religion, ethics, and public life.

Read a Nov. 9, 2001, story describing the struggles of Muslim students to fit in at school while remaining devout.

The Center for Immigration Studies is a nonpartisan research organization in Washington, D.C. Many of its researchers have concluded that current high levels of immigration are harming the country. The organization says it’s not anti-immigrant, however; instead, it favors a policy of fewer immigrants but a “warmer welcome for those who are admitted.” Mark Krikorian is executive director.

Lewis D. Solomon is a professor of business law at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. He is an expert on Jewish spirituality and wrote the book Jewish Spirituality: Revitalizing Judaism for the Twenty-First Century (Rowman and Littlefield, 2000).