Category: Legislative Updates

Highway Industry to Send Strong Message to Congress

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by LICA-National

Highway contractors, dealers, manufacturers, insurers and all channels of the infrastructure industry will converge on Capitol Hill next week to remind Congress of the significant needs to insure safe and efficient transportation systems.

The key talking points being used are:

• The Highway Trust Fund is still under construction and needs congressional support.

• Airports need a significant investment to keep up with the growing demand and increased technology.

• Regulatory obstacles remain and are costly and nonproductive.

• Congress should keep to its five-year commitment made in the $1.2 trillion infrastructure investment act.

President Biden Meets with Congressional Ag Leaders on Farm Bill

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by LICA-National

President Joe Biden met with the four leaders of the House and Senate Agriculture committees Thursday to discuss a new farm bill. It was believed to be a general discussion on the size and timing of the farm bill reauthorization.

Senate Ag Chairwoman Deb Stabenow, D-Mich., told Agri-Pulse Wednesday that the late-afternoon gathering at the White House will be “a general meeting where he just wants to touch base with all of us and share his priorities and hear from us how it's going.” The Senate committee’s top Republican, John Boozman of Arkansas, told reporters that Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack would also participate in the meeting. Politico first reported on plans for the meeting. Boozman said he looked forward to talking to Biden “about some of our things that we'd like to see in the farm bill, but probably more importantly, really get an idea of what he wants to see in the farm bill.”

Senate Push to Shift Conservation Funding on Hold

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by LICA-National

Congressional Republicans who opposed the Inflation Reduction Act, the main funding mechanism for President Joe Biden's climate policy, would like to move the IRA's funding for climate-related farming practices into the farm bill, which could permanently boost funding for conservation programs.


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The Big Showdown: Raising the Debt Ceiling

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by LICA-National

As reported earlier, the fight over the debt ceiling will be the driving force to what gets done or not done in this Congress. Because of the critical financial impact of raising the debt ceiling, something has to get done. This is a big test for new House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA). Here are McCarthy’s challenges as outlined by Punchbowl news:


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Roadbuilders Tout Benefits of Infrastructure Investment

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by LICA-National

More than 36,000 transportation improvement projects – including at least one in every congressional district – have moved forward in the past 16 months as implementation of the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) continues, American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) Chair Paula Hammond told a congressional panel March 28.


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NACD Builds Support for NRCS Conservation Operations

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by LICA-National

The National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) and a coalition of agriculture and conservation organizations sent a letter to congressional appropriations leaders requesting at least $1.2 billion for NRCS Conservation Operations and full authorized funding for farm bill conservation programs in Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24). More than 50 organizations signed the letter to support the requests. Nearly 90 percent of NRCS Conservation Operations funding supports Conservation Technical Assistance (CTA), which facilitates the implementation of on-the-ground conservation by supporting our conservation workforce, conservation planning, and the extension of specialized technical assistance to producers.


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NACD Releases 2023 Farm Bill Recommendations

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by LICA-National

The National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) released policy recommendations for the 2023 Farm Bill. Over the last year, NACD’s Farm Bill Task Force has convened more than a dozen times to review USDA conservation programs and consider policies to strengthen support for voluntary, locally led conservation efforts. The recommendations were recently approved by NACD’s Board by Directors at NACD’s Annual Meeting in New Orleans.


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