September 16, 2025

Contents

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

What We’re Watching

Congress 

Appropriations 

This week, Congress will have to negotiate and come to an agreement on a spending package to avoid a government shutdown on September 30. Members will be out of session next week for Rosh Hashana but could be called back in if a deal is not reached. House Republicans have introduced a Continuing Resolution to fund the government through November 21, but it is unclear how Democratic leadership is going to direct their caucus to vote. Other legislative issues, like the President’s recissions proposal, increased funding for security measures, and healthcare provisions could complicate negotiations and a bipartisan passage.  

Senate Nominations 

The Senate will be moving forward with confirmations after invoking what is being referred to by some news outlets as the “nuclear option” to expeditiously confirm waiting nominees by changing the Chamber’s rules to allow for confirming multiple sub-Cabinet nominees at a time. A package of 48 bipartisan nominations will be voted on “en bloc” on Thursday, and then another en bloc vote will likely be scheduled at the end of next week.    

Farm Groups Send Letter to Leadership Urging Action on Farm Bill 2.0  

Over 250 agricultural organizations joined together in signing a letter to Congressional leaders urging swift action on a comprehensive Farm Bill 2.0. The letter emphasizes that while some agricultural provisions were included in budget reconciliation, they cannot replace a full farm bill. It calls for prioritizing debate and passage of legislation that reflects the evolving needs of American agriculture and rural communities. View the letter here.  

Administration

USDA Provides Funding to Livestock Producers Impacted by Disaster 

USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins announced $1B in disaster assistance money for livestock producers with qualifying losses in 2023/2024. The money will be distributed through the Emergency Livestock Relief Program and sign up will be open from Sept. 15 to Oct. 31, 2025. According to USDA, producers can receive up to 60% of one month of calculated feed costs for a qualifying wildfire or three months for a qualifying flood using the same monthly feed cost calculation that is used for the Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP). The directive for these funds was included in the American Relief Act. Read more here. 

Executive Order on New Trade Frameworks 

The White House published an Executive Order providing the ability for the Administration to make the necessary changes to implement new trade frameworks and trade agreements. The EO also included a new list (Annex III) of products that are “potentially eligible to be exempted” from duties imposed by the original ‘Reciprocal’ Executive Order (EO 14257) “for each trading partner that has concluded an agreement on reciprocal trade, based on the scope and nature of the trading partner’s commitments under that agreement,” as determined by USTR and Commerce. This list contained several agriculture and food-based products that are not domestically produced or commercially available in the U.S. such as nuts, bananas and other fruits, spices, and coffee.   

USDA Restarts Farm to School Grant Programs 

The FY 2026 Patrick Leahy Farm to School Grants will be reopening through USDA, where up to $18 million in funding for farm to school programs will be distributed. Eligible projects include ones that incorporate unprocessed, locally sourced foods into school meals; providing training to producers on procurement requirements and food safety standards; integrating agricultural education into career and technical programs; and to encourage consumption of fresh, whole fruits and vegetables. Applications will close on December 5, 2025.  

USTR Publishes NTE Report 

USTR has published its annual call for input on its next National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers (NTE Report), asking for stakeholders to raise significant foreign barriers to or distortions of US exports of goods and services to be included. Comments are due by October 30, 2025.  

EPA Proposes Renewable Fuel Standards 

The Environmental Protection Agency is issuing a supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking that would revise the proposed Renewable Fuel Standard “Set 2” renewable volume requirements for 2026 and 2027 to account for small refinery exemption decisions. This aims to balance the goals of the RFS program to support the production and use of renewable fuels while also accounting for economic impacts, legality, and the opportunity for public comment. You can see the full announcement and SRE Reallocation Volumes here.  

Notable News

ICYMI: Torrey Advisory Group’s Analysis of the MAHA Commission Strategy

• Agrifood value chain employment and compensation shift with structural transformation – Nature Food
• The American Farmers China Is Using as a Trade-War Bargaining Chip – Wall Street Journal
• What’s New in School Lunchrooms: Less Sugar, More From Scratch – New York Times
• Without immigration, U.S. population could start to decline as soon as 2031 – Axios
• Trump administration wants to cancel Biden-era rule that made conservation a ‘use’ of public land – Associated Press 

This Week’s Legislation

• Rep. Eugene Vindman (D-VA) introduced a bill to amend the Federal Meat Inspection Act to exempt certain livestock owners from certain inspection requirements. 
• Reps. Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) and GT Thompson (R-PA) introduced the ACCESS Act, which would improve career counseling programs for youth to help them access high-skill, high-wage, and in-demand jobs.
• Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) introduced the Closing the Meal Gap Act of 2025,which would switch from the Thrifty Food Plan to the Low Cost Food Plan to calculate SNAP benefits. 

Upcoming Hearings

Tuesday, September 16 

• 10:00 AM: The House Agriculture Committee will hold a hearing titled “An Examination of the State of the Specialty Crop Industry.” 
• 1:00 PM: The House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Federal Law Enforcement will hold a hearing titled “From Protection to Persecution: EPA Enforcement Gone Rogue Under the Biden Administration”
• 2:00 PM: The House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Emergency Management and Technology will hold a hearing on “Surveying the Threat of Agroterrorism: Perspectives on Food, Agriculture, and Veterinary Defense”
• 2:00 PM: The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment will hold a hearing on “From Gridlock to Growth: Permitting Reform Under the Clean Air Act.” 

Thursday, September 18 

• 10:00 AM: The House Agriculture Subcommittee on Commodity Markets, Digital Assets, and Rural Development will hold a hearing on “USDA’s Rural Development: Delivering Vital Programs and Services to Rural America.” 

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 Sowinski, Eden Lambert, 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.