January 13, 2026

Contents

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

What We’re Watching

Congress 

Appropriations 

On January 12, the Senate voted (80-13) to proceed on a minibus spending package which passed the House last week 397-28. This package includes the Energy and Water, Interior, and Commerce-Justice-Space spending bills. To avoid another shutdown, the remaining six bills will need to be passed by both chambers by the end of the month, or they’ll have to pass a Continuing Resolution to extend the deadline.  

Farm Bill 

House Agriculture Committee Chair GT Thompson (R-PA) has expressed wanting to mark up a farm bill in the first quarter of 2026, and last week had a conversation with Speaker Johnson (R-LA) about getting floor time in the spring to pass the bill. House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN) also said that he anticipates a markup, though the Committee will have to fill the seat left open by the passing of Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-CA) last week, delaying the initial timeline of having a markup done by the end of this month. A replacement could be named as soon as this week. 

Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), along with other members of Congress and biofuel stakeholders, have communicated to the White House that nationwide sales of E15 are a priority for this year. Stakeholder groups have called on Congress to pass E15 legislation in efforts to lower gas prices and help grain farmers. The provisions are likely to be attached to this year’s farm bill.  

Another priority will be reforming ag-labor, with Chair Thompson (R-PA) and Senate Agriculture Committee Chair John Boozman (R-AR) both highlighting this as a main issue raised by farmers across the country. Chair Thompson (R-PA) is looking to introduce an ag-labor bill to reform the H-2A program imminently, and has requested that the bill is marked up through the Ag Committee, however, the Judiciary Committee has shared jurisdiction over the issue and will likely have to consider the bill. While the goal will be to attach the immigration bills to a larger legislative vehicle,  immigration issues have historically been politically fraught and often get delayed or do not pass.  

National Governors Association Send Letter to Leadership on SNAP 

The National Governors Association (NGA), along with other state and local organizations, wrote a letter to House and Senate leadership urging lawmakers to delay SNAP benefit and administrative cost shares for states outlined in HR 1 in the January Continuing Resolution. The first ask is to delay cost-sharing provisions until FY2030 using FY2027 quality control data, and the second ask is to exclude October and November 2025 from the FY26 quality control sample due to the government shutdown. We are hearing this concept is getting some traction on the Hill. 

Republican Study Committee Releases 2026 Budget 

The Republican Study Committee (RSC) released their Budget Plan for 2026, which includes priorities on food and agriculture issues. The RSC budget suggests funding reductions in the agriculture space, geared toward efficiency, streamlining, and reducing administrative costs. Parts of the budget also call out where the Committee believes there is wasteful spending or state dollars would be more appropriately spent on the programs. For the agriculture safety net, the budget mentioned the challenges that occur with reliance on government payments, but it did note the importance of a safety net that encourages innovation. In the nutrition priorities, the budget endorses the HR 1 cost-share requirements, and endorses current initiatives to change what can be purchased with SNAP dollars. Unlike past years, the budget did not call for widespread and drastic cuts to agricultural support programs. Notably, Chair of the House Agriculture Committee GT Thompson applauded the budget. 

Senate Democrats Write Letter to USDA on Disaster Relief Payments 

Senate Democrats on the Agriculture Committee, led by Ranking Member Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), wrote a letter to USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins around the aid funding provided in the American Relief Act of 2025, which provides assistance for economic losses in 2024 and natural disaster losses in 2023 and 2024. The letter raises concerns with the amount of payments provided, and the timing of the second stage of disaster assistance, stating that farmers will have to wait until late spring or summer for the bulk of the assistance. The letter also requests more information of the disbursement of the Farmer Bridge Assistance payments for specialty crops, since details have not been released yet. 

Administration

USDA, HHS Release 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans 

The 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans have been officially released as of last week. The new guidelines focus on consumption of whole, minimally processed foods for a healthy diet. In a change from previous DGAs, they prioritized consumption of high-quality, nutrient-dense proteins, whole-food fats, whole grains with de-emphasis on refined grains, and added a section calling for limiting “highly processed foods” (HPFs). The guidelines also increased the recommended servings for meat, emphasized whole milk (over low or no fat dairy), and increased the recommended serving size for vegetables. In an appendix to the guidelines, studies were cited around seed oils causing metabolic dysfunction, the harms of sugar-sweetened beverages, and refined carbohydrates causing chronic disease.

You can find the Torrey Advisory Group memo covering the Dietary Guidelines HERE.

Supreme Court Working on IEEPA Decision 

The Supreme Court justices held their first conference of the year on Friday. While there was much anticipation that they would release their decision on the two cases challenging President Trump’s International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) tariffs that have been applied against nearly every country – the justices focused only on one, non-trade related issue. The expectation is still for a decision to be released in January, but the next opinion day has yet to be scheduled. The release of the decisions will undoubtedly shift trade policy going forward.

USDA Releases Rulemaking on OBBBA Provisions 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has issued a final rule to implement changes from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) for the Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC), Price Loss Coverage (PLC), and Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) programs. The rule takes effect upon publication in the Federal Register on January 12, 2026. Click here to view the final rule.   

GAO Releases Report on FSMA Implementation Status 

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) was asked to review the FDA’s efforts to implement the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) and come up with recommendations. The report examined the extent to which FDA has issued rules and completed requirements of FSMA and assessed how the rules are contributing to the prevention of foodborne illness. Their findings indicated that the FDA has lagged on implementing and completing the requirements listed in FSMA, and the GAO recommends implementing a performance management process to assess whether FDA’s rules have helped prevent foodborne illness. To date, the report finds that the agency has fully completed 41 of 46 tasks needed to fulfill FSMA. The full list of recommendations can be found here. 

Notable News 

• The Old Food Pyramid vs. RFK Jr.’s ‘New Pyramid’: See How the Guidelines Have Evolved Over Time – Business Insider
• Opinion by Ben Carson and Mehmet Oz: The Trump administration is making America healthy again – MSN
• Brooke Rollins, Robert Kennedy Jr.: New dietary plan recommends real food for all Americans – Fox News
• Brazil surpassing US as top beef producer, easing global supply squeeze – Reuters
• Trump Pulls Out of Global Climate Agreement – New York Times
• Nebraska farm organizations say USDA payments will help, but won’t fill gaps – Nebraska Public Media 

This Week’s Legislation

• Rep. Beth Van Duyne (R-TX) introduced HR 6991 to impose additional duties on goods imported into the United States. 
• Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Susan Collins (R-ME) and Reps. Maxine Dexter (D-OR) and Mike Lawler (R-NY) introduced the Better Care for PFAS Patients Act, which would ensure the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Research (ATSDR) regularly assesses and updates clinical guidance regarding the health effects from exposure to PFAS. 
• Sens. Alex Padilla (D-CA) and Tim Sheehy (R-MT) introduced the Community Protection and Wildfire Resilience Act to invest $1 billion annually to communities to develop strategies for wildfire resilience. 

Upcoming Hearings

Tuesday, January 13 

• 10:15 AM: The House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources will hold a legislative hearing on HR 5745 the Marine Fisheries Habitat Protection Act.
• 2:00 PM: The House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries will hold a hearing titled “Hunting and Fishing Access in the Great American Outdoors” 

Wednesday, January 14 

• 2:30 PM: The Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee will hold a hearing to examine growing the small business agricultural economy.  
• 10:00 AM: The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee will hold their Member Day hearing.
• 10:00 AM: The House Financial Services Subcommittee on National Security, Illicit Finance, and International Financial Institutions will hold a hearing on “Evaluating the Operations of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).” 
• 2:00 PM: The House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Federal Lands will hold a legislative hearing on H.R. 926, H.R. 3922, H.R. 4038, H.R. 4684 and H.R. 6300. 

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.