December 10, 2024

Contents

• What We’re Watching
• Notable News
• This Week’s Legislation
• Upcoming Hearings
• Contact the Team

What We’re Watching

Congress 

Right now, Congress has a mere 11 days until government funding expires, and until December 31 to pass a farm bill extension before permanent law goes into effect, which would have dramatic negative impacts on commodity markets and food prices.

Appropriations

Lawmakers are still working to finalize a stopgap funding bill that would hold government funding steady into next year. The continuing resolution (CR) will likely have a March deadline, though there is some concern about taking up too much of President-elect Trump’s first months in office finalizing fiscal year 2025 spending bills. Negotiators have also cited ongoing work assessing disaster relief as a key factor in discussions, as disaster aid is expected to ride alongside any funding stopgap measure. President Biden requested more than $100 billion in disaster aid to respond to hurricanes Helene and Milton, though the final amount decided by Congress will likely be less.

Farm Bill

Discussions around what will be included in a farm bill extension are still ongoing between the four corners, including around what types and the amount of farm aid to add to the bill. Democrats have offered a one-year extension that includes $5.31 billion for commodity funding for farmers, $1.04 billion for crop insurance, and $950 million for specialty crop producers. However, this amount is far below the “tens of billions” in aid Ag Committee Republicans are seeking. Democrats have also requested the remaining $14 billion in IRA climate-smart conservation funding be incorporated into the farm bill baseline, funding for the orphan programs, and $15 million in mandatory funding for the Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production.

NDAA

Over the weekend, the House and Senate Armed Services Committees released their negotiated version of the FY2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The bill, which is over 1,800 pages long and stays within the $895 billion defense spending cap, was considered by the House Rules Committee on Monday night.

There is a number of provisions around AI, agriculture, and pharmaceuticals, however the BIOSECURE Act was not included. The bill includes language to establish a Foundation for International Conservation, studies and data collection on the impacts of PFAS, prohibiting military travel regulations from requiring transportation in zero-emission vehicles, and language on various studies, bans, and reports on China and Chinese goods.

Senate HELP Committee Holds Hearing on the FDA

The Senate Health, Labor, Education, and Pensions (HELP) Committee held a hearing on “What the FDA is Doing to Reduce the Diabetes and Obesity Epidemics in America, Focusing on the Food and Beverage Industry.” The witnesses were FDA Commissioner Califf and FDA Human Foods Program Deputy Commissioner Jones. The hearing focused mostly on food labeling but also included remarks about banning additives like Red Dye 3, sugar and sodium content, ultra processed foods, and consumer diets choices and influences, like advertising to children. The FDA discussed several actions they are taking, including front of package nutrition labels, but many Senators felt these actions were taking too long to come to fruition.

Additionally, Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) led a letter, along with 22 other House members, urging the FDA to finalize a ban on the use of Red Dye 3 in foods – a topic that was discussed frequently in the HELP Hearing. The letter says that the additive is a “known carcinogen,” and that “American consumers need to trust that the food in their grocery stores is safe, especially when it is marketed to children.” The full letter can be found here.

Senator Stabenow Gives Farewell Remarks on Senate Floor

Senate Agriculture Committee Chair Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) delivered her farewell remarks on the floor last week. She urged her colleagues to improve people’s lives and “be the America we want to be,” discussed her time working on farm bill priorities and anti-hunger initiatives, and praised Senate-elect Elissa Slotkin, who was elected to fill her seat in the next Congress. 

Administration

USDA and HHS Release Dietary Guidelines Scientific Report

The USDA and HHS have released the Scientific Report for the 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines. The scientific report summarizes the findings from the 7 meetings held by the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, and answers scientific questions. Questions include the relationship between dietary patterns and various chronic diseases, health equity, and risk of obesity. The full report can be found here. The agencies will also open up a public comment period for any feedback on the report starting December 11, which will close in 60 days. There is also a virtual meeting with opportunities to testify orally on January 16 from 1 – 4:30 PM. The 2025-20230 Dietary Guidelines aren’t expected to be released until later in 2025. Trump’s HHS Secretary nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has indicated an interest in changing the current nutrition guidelines to cut sugar, ultra processed foods and other ‘unhealthy items.’

AMS Awards Funding to Strengthen Supply Chains

The USDA Agricultural Marketing Service announced they have partnered with Utah to award $2.3 million for 18 projects through the Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure Program. The program is funded through the American Rescue Plan, and was created to strengthen local and regional food systems. The full funding amount is $420 million, which will be rolled out to various state agencies responsible for agriculture, commercial food processing, seafood, or food system and distribution activities or commerce activities.

USDA Announces Specialty Crops Virtual Meeting in January

The Commodity Procurement Program’s Specialty Crops Procurement Division will hold a virtual 2025 Industry Meeting via Zoom to discuss specialty crop purchase programs on January 29, 2025 from 12:00 – 1:30 PM EST. Registration can be found here, and is open until December 18, 2024.

President-Elect Trump Picks Peter Navarro for Trade Counsel

President-elect Trump released a statement appointing Peter Navarro to the White House Senior Counselor for trade and manufacturing. Navarro previously was the Director of the White House National Trade Council and had a key role in renegotiating trade agreements such as NAFTA in the first Trump administration. The statement says that his mission will be to “successfully advance and communicate the Trump Manufacturing, Tariff, and Trade Agendas.”

USDA Invests in Projects within the Rural Partners Network

USDA Secretary Vilsack announced that the agency will be unveiling $194 million in investments for local economic development plans and projects in Rural Partners Network (RPN) communities. The funding will support RPN communities in Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, New Mexico, Nevada, North Carolina, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Puerto Rico. Projects will also benefit rural communities in Minnesota, Ohio, Virginia and Washington. Awardees will be projects that support transitioning communities to clean energy, modernizing critical water and sewer infrastructure, lowering costs, and job creation. 

Notable News

• USDA has a new forecast for U.S. agricultural trade in 2025 – RFD TV
• Does AI Change How we Talk About Rural? – Daily Yonder
• Tom Vilsack: Why Democrats Don’t Get Rural America – Politico
• Protection of wetlands could come down to farmers, says a new report – Grist
• MultiCrop Insurance – FarmDocDaily 
• Guthrie Elected as Chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee

This Week’s Legislation

• Senator Todd Young (R-IN) introduced the Securing Trade and Resources for Advanced Technology, Economic Growth, and International Commerce (STRATEGIC) Minerals Act, which would aim to strengthen the supply chain for critical minerals.  
• Senator Martin Heinrich (D-NM) introduced a bill to establish a grant program to assist projects that use nonlethal coexistence measures to reduce property damage caused by native beavers.
• Senator Peter Welch (D-VT) introduced the Electrifying Rural Transportation Act (ERTA) to create a new grant program for rural transit agencies and local governments to transition to electric fleet vehicles. 
• Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) introduced the Create Offshore Leadership and Livelihood Alignment By Operating Responsibly And Together for the Environment (COLLABORATE) Act to put domestic offshore wind development on track by improving permitting, coordination, and cooperation between agencies and with developers.
• Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) introduced the Forest Service Accountability Act, which would bring greater transparency around the leadership of the U.S. Forest Service.
• Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ) introduced a bill to provide for water conservation, drought operations, and drought resilience at water resources development projects.

Upcoming Hearings

Tuesday, December 10

• 10:00 AM: The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on “How Mass Deportations Will Separate American Families, Harm Our Armed Forces, and Devastate Our Economy.”

Contact the Team

Feel free to contact Michael Torrey, Tara Smith, Cassandra Kuball, Barbara Patterson, Katie Naessens, Julie McClure, Nona McCoy, Danielle Nelson, Ashley Smith, Olivia Lucanie, Caroline Snell, Heath Brandt, Tracy Boyle, or Grace Walker with any questions or comments.

Food and agricultural organizations that need the right results in Washington, D.C. can trust Torrey Advisory Group to put its relationships, reputation, and expertise to work on your issue. Since 2005, the firm has successfully provided legislative and regulatory guidance, issues management, and association management services to a wide variety of clients. Learn more about us at torreydc.com.