News: The farm bill slide continues

Monday, April 8, 2024

The farm bill slide continues

Apr 08, 2024

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QUICK FIX

— Congress is back to work this week, but a new five-year farm bill — set to determine the future of agriculture and nutrition policy — still seems like an afterthought.

— Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Robert Califf will testify before the House Oversight Committee this week.

— Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan gave new details on the update to the GREET model.

HAPPY MONDAY, APRIL 8. I’m your host, Garrett Downs. Send tips to gdowns@politico.com and follow us at @_garrettdowns and @Morning_Ag.

A message from the National Pork Producers Council:

Prop 12 must be addressed in the farm bill. Unless Congress acts, California Proposition 12 will financially wreck family farms. Prop 12 forces pig farmers to comply with the state’s arbitrary, non-science-based housing standards – without improving animal welfare – and compels many farmers to construct new compliant barns, costing up to $4,000/animal. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said there will be “chaos in the marketplace” unless lawmakers address Prop 12. Visit NPPC.org/Prop12.

Driving the day

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) departs a vote at the U.S. Capitol March 21, 2024. (Francis Chung/POLITICO via AP Images)

The farm bill was notably absent from Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer's plans for the weeks and months ahead. | AP

FARM BILL SLIDE: Last week, Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley suggested that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer could make the farm bill a top priority “to do between now and the summer,” but warned such a move is “not likely to happen.”

On Friday, Schumer appeared to tip his hand by making no mention of the farm bill in a “dear colleague” letter laying out the Senate’s top priorities for the weeks and months ahead.

In his words: In the letter, Schumer laid out a series of bills the Senate will try to advance in the coming months.

According to Schumer, the upper chamber will take action on “bipartisan bills that enhance our national security, advance online safety for kids and promote innovation, expand the Child Tax Credit, work on a path forward on Tik Tok legislation, combat the fentanyl crisis, hold failed bank executives accountable, address rail safety, ensure internet affordability, safeguard cannabis banking, outcompete the Chinese government, lower the cost of prescription drugs like insulin while expanding access to health care, and more.”

Conspicuously absent was any mention of the farm bill.

What’s the holdup? In short, the farm bill has repeatedly been pushed to the backburner as Congress has struggled to function smoothly. Government funding talks dragged on for six extra months, the House was derailed for weeks after it deposed its Speaker and Congress has given greater priority to other stalled legislation, like foreign aid bills to help Ukraine repel Russia’s invasion and replenish military aid for Israel.

The farm bill, meanwhile, has not been considered at the committee level despite a marathon of hearings in both the House and Senate. Behind the delay is a drawn-out funding battle. The farm bill’s budget is flat — meaning there is no additional money at the committee’s disposal.

To add additional funds, lawmakers are hoping to roll about $15 billion worth of Inflation Reduction Act funding for climate-smart agriculture into the farm bill baseline, making it permanent and removing the deadlines for spending it. But Republicans want to loosen climate-smart restrictions on the money, allowing it to be used for a broader set of practices. In the House, Republicans want to reallocate some of the funds to the farm safety net programs that assist farmers in the event of an economic downturn.

Democrats so far have rebuffed both proposals, insisting that climate-related guardrails on the IRA funds must remain intact. That’s left both sides in a stalemate that shows no sign of resolving anytime soon.

The current extension to the 2018 farm bill will expire on Sept. 30.

Access New York bill updates and Congressional activity in areas that matter to you, and use our exclusive insights to see what’s on the Albany agenda. Learn more.

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FDA OVERSIGHT

Robert Califf testifies during his nomination hearing.

Food and Drug Commissioner Robert Califf. | Win McNamee/Getty Images

CALIFF AT OVERSIGHT: U.S. Food and Drug Commissioner Robert Califf will testify before the House Oversight Committee on Thursday, and Oversight Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) vowed to “hold the Commissioner accountable for what the FDA is doing to address ongoing crises.”

Remember: Califf and the FDA have been the subject of intense congressional, often bipartisan, scrutiny throughout the Biden administration after a national baby formula shortage put a spotlight on internal dysfunction at the agency’s foods division.

As our Meredith Lee Hill reported, top FDA officials were warned about food safety concerns at a key infant formula plant owned by Abbott Nutrition in the months before the agency’s inspectors found strains of a bacteria that can be deadly to babies. Abbott eventually issued a recall of some formula products and shut down the plant in February 2022, triggering widespread shortages across the country. The shortage was so extensive that the Biden administration organized a massive effort to fly baby formula from abroad in to stock shelves.

FDA is currently restructuring its foods division after an independent report found “constant turmoil” at the agency, and has tapped Jim Jones to lead the division as deputy commissioner after the role was phased out during the Trump administration.

What to expect: In a statement announcing the hearing, Comer ticked off several priorities for the GOP side of the committee.

Comer specifically accused FDA of a “botched response to a nationwide infant formula crisis, failure to regulate safe tobacco products, failure to prepare for and address critical drug shortages,” in his statement. The release also specified a number of other areas the Oversight Committee is investigating, including facility inspections, hemp regulation and over-the-counter decongestants.

A message from the National Pork Producers Council:

BIOFUELS FIGHT

REGAN TALKS SAF: EPA Administrator Michael Regan addressed expected updates to the modeling used to determine what feedstocks will qualify for the sustainable aviation fuel tax credit created under the Inflation Reduction Act, our Kelsey Tamborrino reported late last week.

Remember: The administration has already missed a self-imposed March 1 deadline to issue the update to the GREET model, which is hotly anticipated by farm groups and the biofuels industry seeking to break into the new sustainable aviation fuel market.

What he said: Regan argued that model is crucial for some future programs that USDA, EPA and the Treasury Department are designing and to be sure its application can comply with the Clean Air Act.

“The timeline that we originally announced has fallen by a couple of weeks, if not a month, but in the near future — the very near future — we will have that model up and running and applied in the ways that we said it would be applied,” he said.

Why it matters: Farm groups and the biofuels industry are eagerly awaiting the update to the GREET model and have criticized the administration for missing its deadline.

The Biden administration has pitched SAF — and its tax credit — as a major opportunity for farmers and biofuel producers when electric vehicles supplant gas-powered cars. But producers of the fuel remain largely in limbo without the updated GREET model to provide guidance on what feedstocks will be eligible for the fuel.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has sought to make climate-smart agriculture practices account for emissions reductions in the new model — allowing farmers who use the lower carbon practices to more easily qualify for the IRA’s tax credit.

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Row Crops

— Maryland Gov. Wes Moore on Sunday said the Port of Baltimore could be fully functional by the end of May, our Kelly Garrity reports. His comments came on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”

— Six things to know to help decipher avian flu worries. (POLITICO Pro)

— Something’s fishy with composting at D.C. farmers markets. (WAMU)

THAT’S ALL FOR MA! Drop us a line: gdowns@politico.com, meredithlee@politico.com, marciabrown@politico.com, mmartinez@politico.com, abehsudi@politico.com and ecadei@politico.com.

A message from the National Pork Producers Council:

The U.S. pork industry delivers more than bacon. American pig farmers provide affordable, sustainable, and healthy food around the world. A pillar of the U.S. economy:

· 96% of U.S. pig farms are family-owned.
· Pork production adds $57 billion+ to the U.S. economy.
· The pork industry supports 610,000+ U.S. jobs.
· $8.2 billion of pork was exported in 2023.
· Pork exports account for more than 25% of U.S. production.

Advocating for all U.S. pork producers, NPPC:

· Supports the renewal and expansion of key farm bill programs that protect against foreign animal diseases.
· Supports a federal solution to the sweeping issues posed by the Supreme Court’s decision on California Proposition 12.
· Advocates for eliminating trade barriers for U.S. pork in South Africa and pushes for reciprocity through AGOA.
· Seeks labor reform for access to a reliable workforce, including through the H-2A program for year-round industries and the TN visa program.

Visit NPPC.org/Advocacy.