I mentioned above the pace of activity out of Washington. Here is how the Farm Bureau CEO Zippy Duvall sees the changes and the impact on the farm community.
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Category: Legislative Updates
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I spent the bulk of my career as a lobbyist for agricultural and construction equipment manufacturers so I think it is appropriate to end my last Legislative Landscape with an AgriPulse interview with Kurt Coffey, Vice-President, Case IH North America.
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America Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall told a Senate Committee this week that America’s farmers and ranchers need a new, modernized farm bill, a strengthened farm safety net, and open trading market.
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In a letter to Congress, the National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) stated it’s appreciation of President Trump’s comprehensive review of federal finances, including financial assistance vehicles such as grants, cooperative agreements, and contribution agreements. However, the subject Executive Order (EO) and recently rescinded OMB Memorandum M-25-13 have the potential to adversely affect thousands of conservation districts across the country, as well as the producers and communities they serve. NACD respectfully requests that conservation districts and their associations be granted a waiver to the pause on Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) disbursements and receive express authorization to continue efforts under their current grants or agreements with USDA.
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Senator Steve Daines (R-Mont.) and Representative Lloyd Smucker (R-Pa.) introduced the Main Street Tax Certainty Act in the House and Senate, which would make the 20-percent Section 199A qualified small business income deduction permanent.
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Recently confirmed USDOT Secretary Duffy shared President Trump’s transportation infrastructure vision this week with state highway officials. “He wants me to help you build more, build faster, build better, and probably more beautifully as well,” Duffy noted. “So that is the mission we want and we’ve got to partner together to figure that out. So I do want to build more but I want to build more with less money and I want us to build in a shorter period of time.”
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The President’s selected Brooke Rollins, a long-time policy supporter of his who may lack agriculture experience unlike past Secretaries of Agriculture but her access to the President should be a real plus in helping shape and get the President to sign off on the final bill.
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While the Senate has responsibility for Cabinet member approval, the focus on the House will be to quickly develop a farm bill. Here is what the House Agriculture Committee Chairman, Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-PA) told his committee at their first organizational meeting this week.
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Reports yesterday outlined broad areas of discussions on where federal cuts may come from.
The House Agriculture Committee is targeting between $100 billion and $250 billion in cuts. Some would impact SNAP, aka food stamps. Mandating states pay more for SNAP benefits with a cost-share requirement, changing the Thrifty Food Plan process and expanding work requirements were among the options. Democrats are already panning proposals to cut spending on social safety net programs to pay for tax cuts.
Industry groups are lining up to give their support for congressional action on the farm bill. Here is what the Farm Bureau messaged to Congress this week.
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