The Administration and the House have taken action to avoid a national rail strike as the Senate considers similar legislation to delay a strike. President Biden’s call to action came the same day more than 400 business groups sent a letter to House and Senate leaders calling for them to step in if necessary to prevent the rail workers from striking.


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The USDA released a Request for Information (RFI), soliciting feedback on NRCS implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The NRCS team has been working over the past several months to prepare for implementation, including efforts to expand capacity, streamline program delivery, quantify outcomes, leverage partnerships, maximize climate benefits, and advance equity.


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Common Ground Alliance (CGA), the national nonprofit trade association dedicated to protecting underground utility lines, people who dig near them and their communities, today announced the findings from its 2021 Damage Information Reporting Tool (DIRT) Report. The annual DIRT Report provides a comprehensive accounting and analysis of damages to buried infrastructure in the U.S. and Canada to help stakeholders understand the current damage landscape and the factors contributing to underground facility damages.


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A new poll suggests Democrats face some strong headwinds in rural areas of the states that will determine control of the U.S. Senate for the next two years. Three-quarters of battleground rural voters say the economy isn’t working for them and half don’t expect their finances to improve in the next year, according to the survey sponsored, and published this week, by the online journal Daily Yonder.


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The mid-term elections are likely to redraw the political map for the next two years, but perhaps not as much as Republicans initially thought, pollsters and pundits say.

Most predictions have Republicans taking over the House by an as-yet undefined margin. If they do, they’re sure to launch investigations into the Biden administration and President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter.


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USDA is announcing plans today to spend $759 million in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding in the third round of the department’s ReConnect program. The money will go to 24 U.S. states and territories.

A USDA official described three of the grants: $36.5 million of the funding will go to Public Service Telephone Co. in Georgia, $62.5 million to Shelby Electrical Cooperative in Illinois and $7.1 million to the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority in the Navajo Nation.

Take note: The USDA official said the funds are supposed to be used “as expeditiously as possible,” but the program does have a five-year buildout timeframe.