July 28, 2026

Contents

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

What We’re Watching

Congress 

Reconciliation / Budget

The House recessed last week after passing a short-term continuing resolution to fund the government through December 4 and narrowly approved a $1.15 trillion defense policy bill.  Both measures face uncertain paths in the Senate given partisan disputes over spending, policy riders, and election-related provisions. For agriculture and food stakeholders, the bigger unresolved question is whether Republicans can move a third reconciliation package that includes roughly $11 billion in farm assistance, with the House and Senate still divided on timing, scope and whether the package can move before recess.  The Senate is scheduled to remain in session through August 7 with the primary focus of working through nominations.

Senate HELP Holds Markup of Food Bills

The Senate HELP Committee held a markup last week on several bills, including the Childhood Diabetes Reduction Act and the Making America’s Food Safer Act. Both bills were passed  out of Committee as amended.

The Childhood Diabetes Reduction Act was introduced by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and has been introduced in previous Congresses. The bill includes a definition of UPFs, requires clear front-of-pack warning labels on ultra-processed foods, bans junk food marketing to children, and directs the National Institute of Health (NIH) to expand research on ultra-processed foods. An amendment offered by Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) to restrict what can be purchased using SNAP failed due to an issue with Committee jurisdiction.

The Making America’s Food Safer Act was introduced by Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Tim Kaine (D-VA). The bill would expand the accreditation of third-party certification bodies to conduct food safety audits and gives the FDA the authority to share food safety information with state and local regulatory agencies. It also expands FDA authority to allow for destruction of refused imports that pose a public health concern.

California Delegation Leads Specialty Crop Letter

Rep. David Valadao (R-CA) led a “Dear Colleague” letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and House Agriculture Committee Chair GT Thompson (R-PA) requesting that $5 billion of the temporary economic assistance for farmers goes toward specialty crop producers. The letter notes that specialty crop growers only received $1.6 billion out of the $12 billion Farmer Bridge Payments and also have limited access to other federal safety net programs. The letter was undersigned by Members on both sides of the aisle who represent districts with a high share of specialty crop growers.

Conference of Mayors Calls for SNAP Cost-Share Delay

The United States Conference of Mayors (USCM) sent a letter to Senate Agriculture Committee Chair John Boozman (R-AR) and Ranking Member Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) urging them to protect and strengthen the SNAP program through reversing the cuts to SNAP, delaying the HR 1 cost share, budgeting SNAP benefit levels and eligibility standards, and enacting legislation to transition Puerto Rico from NAP to SNAP. Mayors from both red and blue states signed on to the letter, noting that mayors are often on the front lines of food security crises.

Senators Write Letter to USDA Regarding USDA RD Reorganization

Senate Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Sen. Peter Welch (D-VT) led a letter to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Deputy Secretary Stephen Vaden requesting responses to questions about the agency’s reorganization plan for the Rural Development (RD) mission area. The letter raises concerns with the reductions in staff over the past year, and how the relocation could further harm the ability of the Rural Development mission area to carry out duties with less staff available. Questions raised in the letter were around the impacts of staffing cuts on RD, plans to recruit new staff in the next three months, training programs for new staff, and recruitment strategies. A response was requested by August 5, 2026.

Administration

USDA Holds Stakeholder Call on Specialty Crop Aid

USDA held a stakeholder meeting on the Assistance for Specialty Crop Farmers program, which received $1.6 billion out of the $12 billion of the previous farmer aid package to assist specialty crop growers who have suffered economic losses. So far, the program has disbursed $520 million, which can be tracked via the ASCF Dashboard by state, commodity, and application approvals. USDA indicated on the call that they will not be expanding eligibility but are looking to ensure eligible farmers apply by August 7.

USDA Launches New Research Initiative on AI and Crop Innovation through AGARDA

Through the Genesis Mission and the Agriculture Advanced Research and Development Authority (AgARDA), USDA will be launching a challenge asking innovators to create solutions using AI to inform crop innovations for resilience and productivity. Challenge teams will have access to the American Science and Security Platform, Department of Energy infrastructure to connect datasets, scientific instrumentation, and AI tools to accelerate findings. More details are forthcoming and should be released sometime later in the year. Read the full press announcement here.

U.S. Announces New Tariffs for 60 Economies

Just as the 10% Section 122 tariffs expired on July 24, USTR issued a Federal Register Notice finalizing new Section 301 tariffs ranging from 10% to 12.5% following its investigations into countries’ failure to prohibit and effectively enforce bans on imports produced with forced labor. With limited exceptions, the new tariffs will apply to all products from the investigated economies. Countries that have implemented, or committed to implement, a forced labor prohibition through an Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART) arrangement, or that maintain a partial forced labor enforcement regime, will face an additional 10% tariff. All other investigated countries will be subject to an additional 12.5% tariff. For certain economies, these rates are inclusive of existing MFN duties. The FRN includes a list of exempt products, which includes a number of food and agricultural products such as beef, tropical produce, coffee, spices, and tea. Additional exclusions apply to products already subject to Section 232 tariffs, those entered under Chapter 98, and USMCA-qualifying goods.

USDA Reopens Southern Ports for Livestock Trade

Beginning on August 24, 2026, USDA will be opening the Douglas, AZ port of entry to cattle trade, and then will open ports in Santa Teresa, NM and Columbus, NM. Every animal entering through these ports will be assessed for signs of the New World Screwworm. The phased reopening is part of the USDA Action Plan. The opening of ports will be fluid based on risk and Mexico’s progress in meeting Action Plan requirements.

EPA Announces Members of Farmer Advisory Council

EPA announced 21 new members of the Farm, Ranch, and Rural Communities Advisory Committee (FRRCC), which provides independent advice and recommendations to the EPA on environmental issues affecting agriculture and rural communities. Appointees bring expertise in row-crop production, soil health, conservation, and agricultural innovation, perspectives to inform EPA’s likely work on policies affecting nutrient management, precision agriculture technologies, technical assistance for rural communities, and balancing environmental stewardship with long-term farm viability.

Notable News

• Strait of Hormuz traffic at a standstill as fears for global oil supply grow - NBC News
• New Illinois Paper Puts Price Tag on Farming Without Glyphosate - AgWeb
• USDA Reversal on Crop Insurance Change Welcomed by Farm Groups - Successful Farming
• Save Our Bacon Pushback, Bayer’s Tariff Reversal and New Bills Introduced – ProAg
• Brooke Rollins: Opinion: Loan modernization at USDA is reviving rural America – Agri-Pulse
• When is Cyclospora season? Timeline so far, when outbreak could end – USA Today
• How the Government’s Obligation to Keep Foreign Workers Safe Collided With Its Efforts to Keep Farms Afloat – ProPublica
• Tick bites snag Congress’ attention as red meat allergies rise – Roll Call

This Week’s Legislation

• Reps. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) and Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) introduced the “Americans vs. Poisonous Pesticides Act” to amend the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) to prevent preemption of State law claims that are consistent with misbranding standards.
• Reps. Randy Feenstra (R-IA) and Jimmy Panetta (D-CA), along with Sens. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE) and Jim Justice (R-WV), introduced the “Farmers Lifeline Options for Overcoming Disasters (FLOOD) Act” to help farmers better manage rising flood risks and strengthen long-term food security.
• Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA) introduced H.R. 9781 to amend the Commodity Credit Corporation Charter Act with respect to funding and assistance.
• Rep. Pat Harrigan (R-NC) introduced the “Sustainable and Flood Resilient Engineering for Rural Areas (SAFE Rural) Act” to expand access to FEMA flood resilience funding for rural communities.
• Sen. John Curtis (R-UT) introduced S. 5045 to amend the Clean Air Act to modify the handling of air quality monitoring with respect to prescribed fires.
• Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL) introduced the “FORMULA Act” to amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to establish maximum permissible levels for contaminants in infant formulas. 
• Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY) introduced “Lawful Hemp Protection Act” to establish the first comprehensive federal regulatory framework for hemp-derived consumer products.
• Rep. Gabe Vasquez (D-NM) introduced the “CHILE Act” to establish a specialty crop emergency assistance framework.
• Sen. David McCormick (R-PA) introduced S. 5079 to amend the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 to reauthorize the Genome to Phenome Initiative.

Upcoming Hearings

Wednesday, July 29

• 8:30 AM: Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee will hold a hearing to examine the testimony of Anthony Fauci. 

Thursday, July 30

• 9:00 AM: Senate Judiciary Committee will have a business meeting to consider the nomination of Todd Blanche, of Florida, to be Attorney General.

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.