President Biden delivered a defiant argument for a second term in his SOTU speech Thursday. From the economy to his thoughts on infrastructure, the border and climate, there were several key takeaways for agriculture.
With Republicans now in control of the House, Rep. RandyFeenstra (R-Iowa) said he wants to introduce legislation shielding the stepped-up basis and like-kind exchanges.
“It’s a mystery as to why the USDA began to hide the names of many recipients,” said Scott Faber, senior vice president for government affairs for the Environmental Working Group.
The revamped foods program would absorb the functions of Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition and the Office of Food Policy and Response, as well as some of the work of the Office of Regulatory Affairs.
Vilsack said USDA believes there are more options for farmers other than “get big or get out. There’s got to be a system in which the many and most have a fair shot.”
For example, Rep. Ralph Norman in the past unsuccessfully pushed crop insurance amendments that would have cut premium incentives/subsidies by 15% for producers with specified adjusted gross incomes.
Some legislative officials have discussed the possibility that the Treasury could use an obscure law authorizing platinum coins to circumvent Congress if lawmakers don't raise the debt ceiling.
Speaker McCarthy agreed that the House wouldn’t lift the debt ceiling unless Congress slashes federal spending next fiscal year. Because of this, Bank of America is telling clients to expect a debt default this fall.
President Biden traveled on Sunday to the U.S./Mexico border amid a surge in illegal border crossings. The administration announced a new program for up to 30,000 migrants a month to enter the U.S. legally.
After four days and 15 rounds of voting, McCarthy’s wait to become Speaker of the House has ended. During his first year as Speaker, he will need to raise the debt limit and fund the government.
The definition maintains longstanding exemptions for farming activities but trims an exclusion for prior converted cropland that had been in the Trump administration’s Navigable Waters Protection Rule.
Export tariffs on aluminum and aluminum alloys will be raised. The current import tariff will stay on seven types of coal until March 31, with tariffs adopted for most favored nations from April 1.
Taiwan’s defense ministry said China sent 71 warplanes and seven naval vessels on “strike drills” — rehearsals for conflict — into its air-defense zones.
From the docks of Southern California and Europe to the parcel hubs in the Midwest and the store shelves in New York, signs are growing that the global supply chain crisis is over.
Under the USMCA, Canada conceded to granting lower tariff access across dairy products. But Canada was allocating a bulk of those imports to processors, limiting the ability of other groups to buy U.S. products.
Text of the $1.7 trillion omnibus spending package was released early Tuesday morning. The Senate will vote first and intends to pass the measure before Thursday, leaving the House no time to demand changes.
The agreement will allow lawmakers to spend the coming week hashing out specific spending levels for each federal agency as well as what legislative items they will attach to the bill, likely including ag aid.
Shippers urged the U.S. railroad regulator to create more competition in the industry during hearings in which Union Pacific was called to explain a spike in service restrictions.
Georgia voters today will decide the final Senate contest in the country, choosing between Democratic incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican challenger Herschel Walker.
Europeans argue that the act is a beggar-thy-neighbor scheme designed to lure investors away from Europe, just as the region's economy teeters on the verge of recession.
China moved to close parks, malls and museums on Tues. as COVID-19 cases hit near-record levels. Lockdowns follow reports that, days before COP27, Xi sent policy and business advisers to New York to meet U.S. executives.
Unions and railroads are back at the negotiating table. By law, Congress can intervene to impose an agreement if the two sides remain deadlocked. However, one union is now on schedule to strike Dec. 5.
Pelosi is to step down as leader of the Democratic Party in the House, a position she has held since 2003. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer says he will remain in Congress but won’t seek a leadership position.
Most now look for President Biden to increase his use of executive orders and regulations to fulfill some other goals, including those in the coming farm bill.
“I strongly believe Trump should no longer be the face of the Republican Party,” said former Representative Peter King of New York, a longtime Trump supporter.
What caused the polls to shift away from the predicted ‘red wave’ many had suggested? It comes down to multiple factors, including abortion, Trump and voter turnout.
Global diesel and distillate fuel stocks have fallen to dangerous levels and the U.S. has been exporting a lot of diesel to Europe and Latin America, but now things are changing.
American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) released its general new farm bill recommendations on Thursday. First on the AFBF’s list: “protect farm bill program spending.”
The Virginia farmers filing the suit allege repeal of the debt relief effort is a breach of contract by the government, arguing some farmers made financial plans based on the expectation of getting debt relief.
USDA says the organizations were selected for their proven track records working with farmworkers, meatpacking workers, and grocery workers. The funds amount to $600 per person and will be dispersed in the fall.
By the end of the year, the Biden administration is expected to issue new rules that Government Lawyer Brian Fletcher told the court will “provide greater clarity to the regulated public on all parts of the test.”
The WOTUS case, Sackett v. EPA, centers on a long-running dispute involving an Idaho couple named Chantell and Michael Sackett. The Sacketts have won at the Supreme Court before.
A pandemic-era program that provided free breakfast and lunch to all schoolchildren expired this year. Republicans voted against efforts to include free school meals this week. Biden's plan reinstates the program.
President Richard Nixon hosted the last White House Conference on Food, Nutrition and Health in 1969. That confab led to expansions of the food stamp program, the school lunch program and WIC.
Farm-state lawmakers will eventually add billions to the aid package, but Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) agrees it could take until a later omnibus spending measure to be approved.
When adjusted for inflation, 2022 net cash farm income is forecast to increase by $13.5 billion (8.7%) from 2021 and be at its highest level since 2012.
Secy. Yellen directed the IRS not to use any of the new funding allocated in the reconciliation package to increase the number of audits of Americans making less than $400,000 a year. So, what will the funds be used for?
USDA raised its consumer food price forecast again, to 8.5% to 9.5% for 2022. The agency had initially predicted a 2% to 3% rise in prices. Eggs, fats and oils, and poultry prices are making the biggest gains.
The CPI, an inflation gauge measuring what consumers pay for goods and services, rose 1.3% from May to June. Prices were up across the economy, with gasoline far outpacing other categories, up 11.2%.
President Biden and Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador are meeting Tuesday as both face a surge in migration. They are expected to announce multiyear, joint projects to modernize border infrastructure.
U.S. Labor Secretary Marty Walsh remained optimistic about contract negotiations between workers and shipping companies for some of the country’s most important ports, even as talks extend past a previous deadline.
The move is contingent on legislative action, which would temporarily lift the 18.3 cents tax per gallon on gasoline and 24 cents tax per gallon on diesel during the summer months.
