October 24, 2023

Contents

• What We’re Watching
• Notable News
• Upcoming Hearings
• Contact the Team

What We’re Watching

Congress 

House Speaker Race

This week marks the third week without a House Speaker. After losing three rounds of voting, Rep. Jim Jordan withdrew his name from the Speaker race. At this time, nearly 10 candidates have emerged including House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN) and GOP Conference Vice Chair Mike Johnson (R-LA). Votes will be held on Tuesday, and the candidate with the lowest vote total will be removed until there is only one candidate remaining. It is unclear if any of these candidates will secure the 217 votes on the full floor to win.

Rep. Mike Kelly (R-PA) is looking to offer a new proposal to elect Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry (R-NC) as Acting Speaker to be able to pass foreign aid, as well as move forward on appropriations legislation to keep the government open once the current Continuing Resolution (CR) expires on November 17. This follows the proposal Rep. David Joyce (R-OH) introduced last week, allowing Pro Tem McHenry to preside over the House for urgent legislative vehicles.

Appropriations

The Senate returns to session this week, where they could potentially move on the minibus package, which includes the Ag-FDA funding bill. The White House also has requested $100 billion in emergency funding for Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has indicated support for the aid and has begun garnering support from his Senate colleagues to hopefully move an aid package forward in the coming weeks.

Farm Bill

The entire House Agriculture Committee Minority signed a letter urging Chairman GT Thompson (R-PA) and Ranking Member David Scott (R-GA) to include the $20 billion from the Inflation Reduction Act in the upcoming farm bill and opposing cuts to the funding. The letter was led by Reps. Chellie Pingree (D-ME) and Nikki Budzinski (D-IL), and cites support from “1,700 farm groups, companies, environmental advocates, leading economists, local elected officials and municipalities, and trade associations” for climate-smart programs, noting the high demand across the country for these programs by farmers.

This letter follows a list of GOP priorities that included $50 billion in clawbacks, specifically targeting climate funding and nutrition. As it stands, Chairman Thompson and Ranking Member Scott have not come to a definitive agreement on funding provisions. Meanwhile, Senator John Boozman (R-AR) recently made public comments indicating support for a one-year extension. Additionally, Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) has been vocal in the press about extending the 2018 Farm Bill for another year. Given the uncertainty in the House, and the looming appropriations deadline, an extension may be the best-case option until floor time can be allocated to the bill in 2024. 

Administration

Growing Climate Solutions Act Implementation

On Monday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released A General Assessment of the Role of Agriculture and Forestry in the U.S. Carbon Markets. The assessment report is the first deliverable required of USDA under the Growing Climate Solutions Act (GCSA) which passed out of Congress in December 2022, and shows current market activity, barriers to participation, and opportunities to improve access to carbon markets for farmers and forest landowners. Following this assessment, the USDA will make a determination around whether to implement the Greenhouse Gas Technical Assistance Provider and the Third-Party Verifier Program to promote participation in the carbon markets program and streamline the process to register market verifiers.

Fertilizer Tariffs

Last week, a letter was sent from a handful of agriculture groups to the Department of Commerce urging the Biden Administration to remove tariffs on imports of phosphate fertilizers from Morocco. Fertilizer prices have increased quickly this year due to a number of factors, including high natural gas prices, international shortages and export caps, and the war in Ukraine. Fertilizer is one of the largest expenditures for farmers, and therefore lack of options in the fertilizer market could cause farmers to go bankrupt and negatively impact yields. Meetings between agriculture groups and the Department of Commerce are ongoing.

Wage and Hour Investigators Decline

The Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division has seen a decline in 9.5% of employees since the end of Fiscal Year 2022. Workers are responsible for conducting employer investigations, as well as holding employers who violate regulations accountable. The decline comes at a time when H-2A visas have increased by 14% annually – increasing exploitation of agricultural workers due to lack of oversight. Despite the Biden Administration’s push to hire more employees, high staff turnover has made it difficult to grow the department.   

Farm Credit Administration Approves New Rule

The Farm Credit Administration (FCA) approved a final rule that would expand services to young, beginning, and small farmers and ranchers within the Farm Credit System beginning February 1, 2024. The FCA outlined a number of objectives from this rule, including: expansion of YBS activities of direct-lender associations to a diverse population of borrowers; reinforce the supervisory responsibilities of banks and review banks’ YBS programs; and to require each direct-lender association to enhance plans for the YBS program. 

Notable News

ICYMI: Watch Torrey Advisory Group Vice President Katie Naessens discuss recent developments in Congress, the appropriations outlook, and the farm bill on Agri-Pulse Newsmakers.

• Farm Bill An Opportunity To Promote Healthier Retail Environment, Says New Report – Center for Science in the Public Interest
• More Women and Young People to Join Agricultural Workforce – The Daily Advertiser
• Preventing Foodborne Illness, Improving Nutrition Top Priorities For New FDA Food Czar – Agri-Pulse
• Getting A New Speaker May Not Clear Hurdles To Agriculture Bills – Roll Call
• For Israeli Farmers Near Gaza, Damage May Be Temporary But Long-Term Crisis Looms – The Times of Israel
• California Moves Ahead on ESG Reporting – Wiley

Upcoming Hearings

Tuesday October 24

• 10:00 AM: The House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment will hold a hearing on “Water Resources Development Acts: Status of Past Provisions and Future Needs”
• 10:00 AM: House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy, Climate and Grid Security will hold a markup on Energy, Climate, and Grid Security.
• 10:15 AM: The House Education and the Workforce Subcommittee on Workforce Protections will hold a hearing titled “Bad For Business: DOL’s Proposed Overtime Rule”
• 2:00 PM: The House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Work and Welfare will hold a hearing on “Measuring Poverty: How the Biden Administration Plans to Redraw the Poverty Line and Rob Resources from Rural America”

Wednesday, October 25

• 10:00 AM: The Senate Budget Committee will hold a hearing on “How Climate Change Threatens Supply Chains”

Thursday, October 26

• 10:00 AM: The Senate Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Superfund, Waste Management, and Regulatory Oversight will hold a hearing to “Examine evaluating alternative materials for single-use plastics”

Contact the Team

Feel free to contact Michael Torrey, Tara Smith, Cassandra Kuball, Barbara Patterson, Katie Naessens, Caroline Snell, Danielle Nelson, Julie McClure, Ashley Smith, Olivia Lucanie, Heath Brandt, or Tracy Boyle 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.