January 27, 2026

Contents

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

What We’re Watching

Congress 

Appropriations 

Last week, the House completed passage of all remaining appropriations bills, approving a minibus package which included three bills, Defense, HHS-Labor-Education, and Transportation-HUD, and also separately passed the Department of Homeland Security funding bill. The four funding bills were then bundled with Financial Services and National Security-State funding  bills, that were passed the previous week, and the final six-bill package was sent to the Senate. However, because of the snowstorm in Washington, DC, the Senate’s Monday votes were cancelled and moved to Tuesday at 5:30 PM, leaving only three days to meet the funding deadline.

A shooting over the weekend by Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers in Minnesota could complicate passage of the Department of Homeland Security budget due to increased Democratic pushback, as well as concern from some Republicans. However, any changes to the appropriations package would have to be sent back to the House for another vote. 

Farm Bill

Last week, House Agriculture Ranking Member Angie Craig (D-MN) hosted a roundtable featuring state-level administrators to discuss how the SNAP cost-share provisions from H.R. 1 will hurt the ability for states to administer the program, and urging USDA to exclude the period of the government shutdown from the error rate calculations.  

Additionally, Ranking Member Angie Craig (D-MN) and twenty Democrat colleagues officially introduced the Farm and Family Relief Act (bill text can be found here).The bill would delay the implementation of the administrative and benefit cost-share dates for SNAP, provide economic assistance to farmers, and terminate certain executive orders pertaining to tariffs. The bill does not have bipartisan support, as Republican members are looking to the end of February for a farm bill markup. 

Biofuels: E15 Excluded from Appropriations Package, Trump’s Trip to Iowa

Despite bipartisan support and stakeholder consensus, lawmakers failed to include the long‑sought E15 fix in the FY2026 appropriations package, opting instead to create a temporary House‑led “rural energy council” tasked with reviewing ethanol and refining issues and issuing recommendations by mid‑February. The decision has drawn sharp criticism from biofuel and agricultural groups, warning that further delay prolongs market uncertainty. 

President Trump is flying to Iowa today (1/27) where it is expected that he will make an announcement regarding energy and the economy. It is rumored that the long-awaited 45(z) guidance which cleared review recently will be announced, but that has not yet been confirmed.  

Senate Letter on Retail Antitrust

Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Michael Rounds (R-SD), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Roger Marshall (R-KS), and Tim Sheehy (R-MT) co-signed a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi and Federal Trade Commission Chair Andrew Ferguson regarding antitrust within the grocery industry. The letter encourages the agencies to utilize the Robinson-Patman Act to bring law enforcement actions against large retailers that have disrupted the supply chain for small and medium sized grocery stores, and to make enforcement against economic discrimination targeting small and medium-sized businesses a top priority.  

Senate Agriculture Committee Letter on Additional Crop Insurance Coverage for Prevented Planting

A bipartisan group of senators led by John Boozman, Amy Klobuchar, and John Hoeven sent a letter to USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins requesting reinstatement of the ability to purchase additional prevented planting buy-up coverage, which was recently eliminated as a result of a directive from officials within the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The senators emphasized that the additional coverage is a critical risk management tool for producers nationwide and noted that removing it could impact more than 67 million acres. They asked USDA to reverse the decision for 2027 and beyond to ensure farmers retain reliable protection when weather prevents planting. 

Administration

FDA Human Foods Program Releases 2026 Deliverables

On Friday, the FDA released their 2026 Deliverables for the Human Foods Program, which are guided by three pillars: food chemical safety, nutrition, and microbiological food safety. Of note, the priorities include GRAS reform; post-market safety reviews of food chemicals; reductions in heavy metals in infant formula; prioritization of natural food coloring and removal of synthetic dyes; completion of the ultra-processed foods definition RFI; front-of-package labeling; assessing the “healthy claim” against the new Dietary Guidelines for Americans; reductions in added sugar and sodium; and exercises for traceability readiness.  

FDA RFI on Gluten Labeling 

The FDA released a request for information on “Labeling and Preventing Cross-Contact of Gluten for Packaged Foods.” The notice is in response to a citizen petition requesting that all ingredients with gluten be listed by name in the ingredient list and that there be a requirement for cross-contact controls with gluten containing grains. Comments will be accepted for 60 days following publication in the federal register.

USDA Portal on Foreign-Owned Agricultural Land 

The USDA announced the creation of a portal to streamline data collection around foreign-owned agricultural land transactions. The online portal is part of a broader effort to strengthen enforcement as USDA continues its implementation of the National Farm Security Action Plan. The new digital portal will gather the same information found on the current form FSA-153, and those subject to filing may still file using the current FSA-153 hard copy form if desired. The online portal is available at afida.landmark.usda.gov.  

Tariff Announcements 

President Trump had threatened to hit eight European countries with new tariffs as tensions escalated over his attempts to assert control over Greenland, though he has since backed off upon reaching a reported framework agreement with the Secretary of NATO earlier this week.  

Separately, the United States Supreme Court has not released their decision yet on the challenge against the Trump Administration’s use of International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to implement tariffs against nearly every country. Of note, U.S. Customs and Border Protection has released their latest U.S. Tariff Overview to help explain the various tariffs that are currently in place. 

Notable News 

• Non-UPF Verified Program Opens for Enrollment, Publishes Executive Brief on Ultraprocessed Foods – Financial Content
• Study: Iowa corn and ethanol industry will ‘continue downward trend’ without new market access – Iowa Capital Dispatch
• How beef climbed to the top of the food pyramid – NPR
• EU wants U.S. trade deal back on track, but warns it would defend itself if threatened again – Reuters
• Scammers Keep Stealing Food Stamps. New Cards Might Stop Them. – New York Times
• NWA Announces 2026 Priorities to Keep WIC Strong and Maintain Virtual Services – National WIC Association
• Huge amounts of extra land needed for RFK Jr’s meat-heavy diet guidelines – The Guardian  

This Week’s Legislation

• Senators Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) and Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS) introduced the Middle Mile for Rural America Act, which will propose a five ear reauthorization of the middle-mile infrastructure program to help connect rural communities to high-speed internet.   
• Rep. Greg Murphy (R-NC) introduced the Buying American Cotton Act, which will create a tax credit to incentivize the consumption of products made with American-grown cotton.
• Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-VA) introduced the Hemp Enforcement, Modernization, and Protection (HEMP) Act to federally regulate hemp products. 
• Rep. Rick Allen (R-GA) introduced the Timber Harvesters, Haulers, and Landowners Market Disruptions Relief Act to establish a targeted federal assistance program through FSA to provide temporary financial relief to eligible forest product harvesting and hauling businesses impacted by significant market disruption.
• Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN), along with 20 other Democrats introduced the Farm and Family Relief Act, which would delay cost-share dates for SNAP, provide economic assistance to farmers, and terminate certain executive orders pertaining to tariffs. 

Upcoming Hearings

Tuesday, January 27 

• 3:00 PM: The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Disaster Management, District of Columbia, and Census will hold a hearing titled “Examining Fraud in State and Federal Programs.” 

Wednesday, January 28 

• 10:00 AM: The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee will hold a hearing on “Federal Environment Review and the Permitting Process.”  
• 2:30 PM: The Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Federal Courts, Oversight, Agency Action, and Federal Rights will hold a hearing on “Fighting Fraud in Minnesota and Beyond.” 

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.