News: Farm bill markup aftermath

Tuesday, May 28, 2024

Farm bill markup aftermath

May 28, 2024

With help from Marcia Brown

G.T. Thompson walks down the hall of the Capitol on his cell phone.

Following the House Ag Committee’s passage of G.T. Thompson's farm bill, policy debates are heating up between lawmakers ahead of the Sept. 30 deadline. | Francis Chung/POLITICO

QUICK FIX

— Following the House Ag Committee’s passage of the GOP-led farm bill, bitter policy debates are heating up between lawmakers ahead of the Sept. 30 deadline.

— We’re breaking down key amendments considered during last week’s markup, from sustainable aviation fuel to child labor in food manufacturing.

— USDA’s ongoing surveillance of the food supply in response to the bird flu outbreak still finds no threat to public health, per a sample of condemned cattle.

IT’S TUESDAY, MAY 28. Welcome to Morning Agriculture! I’m your host Grace Yarrow. Send tips and farm bill hot takes to gyarrow@politico.com and follow us at @Morning_Ag.

Want to receive this newsletter every weekday? Subscribe to POLITICO Pro. You’ll also receive daily policy news and other intelligence you need to act on the day’s biggest stories.

Driving the day

MARKUP AFTERMATH: In case you (somehow) missed it, House Ag Chair G.T. Thompson’s (R-Pa.) farm bill advanced out of committee with a 33-21 bipartisan vote before the holiday weekend.

Though four committee Democrats joined Republicans (calling the bill a “first step”), the bill’s path forward is uncertain as the already-extended Sept. 30 deadline nears.

As we wrote after Thursday’s markup, the ongoing fight will likely grow increasingly bitter given partisan fighting over nutrition and climate policies.

INDUSTRY REACTS: The National Corn Growers Association, which hadn’t officially weighed in on the farm bill draft, praised many of the programs under the House farm bill and noted that broad bipartisan support will be necessary for a farm bill to be finalized this year.

Other ag groups — like the American Soybean Association, National Sorghum Producers, Corn Refiners Association, Almond Alliance, the U.S. Dairy Export Council — have expressed approval of the bill’s farm safety net, crop insurance, trade promotion and conservation programs.

The NCGA supported “several amendments” filed by committee members, including Max Miller’s (R-Ohio) on sustainable aviation fuel and Dusty Johnson’s (R-S.D.) amendment regarding the mandatory base acre update.

The Sustainable Aviation Fuel Coalition also lauded the farm bill product: “The Committee’s affirmation of SAF as an advanced biofuel in the farm bill will make SAF eligible for important [USDA] programs and help to develop a critical new market for crops and agricultural waste streams.”

ABOUT THOSE AMENDMENTS: During the markup, Republicans blocked Democratic amendments to reverse GOP moves on nutrition, USDA’s Commodity Credit Corporation and climate-smart guardrails on conservation funding.

On hemp: Another key amendment prohibits intoxicating hemp products under the farm bill, as our Natalie Fertig reported. That amendment, brought by Rep. Mary Miller (R-Ill.), changes the definition of legal hemp to only include non-intoxicating cannabinoids that are derived naturally from the cannabis plant.

Child labor debate: Rep. Greg Casar’s (D-Texas) amendment stating that USDA will not contract with meatpacking facilities that engage in illegal child labor was shot down in a party-line vote.

Instead, committee members voted to initiate a Government Accountability Office study on child labor. Thompson also said during the markup that he would invite acting Labor Secretary Julie Su and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to talk before the committee about child labor in agriculture.

For context: The Biden administration has said it’s stepping up efforts to combat child labor violations following a New York Times investigation showing a number of factories using child labor.

In a release, Casar cited a Food & Environment Reporting Network analysis that 75 percent of recent child labor violations were in the food industry.

DEM NEGOTIATIONS: Intense opposition from Senate Democrats will further complicate the future of Thompson’s farm bill.

Senate Ag Chair Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) said in a statement after the House markup that she’s “glad” the process is moving forward, but reiterated her disdain for Thompson’s policy proposals.

“Despite areas of common ground, it is now clear that key parts of the House bill split the Farm Bill coalition in a way that makes it impossible to achieve the votes to become law. And it is also clear that we do not have time to waste on proposals that cannot meet that goal.”

A ‘break glass option’: Vulnerable Democrats facing tough re-elections desperately want to forge a bipartisan farm bill before the current farm bill authorities expire at the end of September.

As Meredith and Nicholas Wu scooped, some House Democrats are considering sidelining Scott and anointing a new chief negotiator to restart bipartisan talks over the bill or if there’s an effort to move the bill on the House floor.

BIRD FLU OUTBREAK

BIRD FLU UPDATE: Officials at USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) found viral particles in beef samples for the first time late last week. An earlier, smaller set of tests on retail ground beef were negative for the virus. The latest tests found viral particles in samples of meat from one of 96 culled dairy cows. No meat from those cows entered the food supply, USDA said.

USDA officials maintain that the risk of the virus spreading among humans is low. Still, public health experts have expressed worry after a second dairy farmworker tested positive for avian influenza last week.

Raw milk fears: FDA tests have shown that pasteurization effectively neutralizes the virus in milk, which is where officials have found the most significant viral shed in cows. But sales of raw milk, which is not pasteurized, have spiked in recent months despite the outbreak of bird flu in dairy cows.

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) recently vowed on social media to keep drinking raw milk despite the “bird-flu fearpron.” Other right-wing commentators, The New York Times reported, have said federal concerns about raw milk are overreach.

Row Crops

— First in MA: Reps. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) and Andy Harris (R-Md.) are sending a letter to USDA today about a final rule from the agency that “ignored” a congressional directive to not reduce the maximum monthly allowance for milk under WIC.

— Protestors arrested after disrupting the House farm bill markup were confirmed to be representing Free from Harm, an organization “dedicated to helping end animal exploitation,” per its website.

— A California lawmaker ended his attempt to ban state agencies from buying plastic bottles following backlash from powerful business and manufacturing groups like the American Beverage Association, our Camille von Kaenel reports.

— Morgan Spurlock, a filmmaker who documented America’s food industry and highlighted the dangers of a fast food diet in his film “Super Size Me” died last week at 53 from complications of cancer.

— Gum arabic, an ingredient in products like chocolate and soda, is a key source of funding for both sides in the war between the Sudanese government and a powerful militia, The Wall Street Journal reports.

In Memoriam

Kathleen Elder died last Tuesday at her home in Waterford, Virginia from metastatic breast cancer in the liver. After graduating from the University of Montana, she came to Washington where she worked on forestry issues for the Senate Energy Committee before moving to the House Agriculture Committee as a professional staff member. She was the mother to three sons: Fitzhugh Elder V, William O’Connell Elder, and Keegan Morse Elder.

THAT’S ALL FOR MA! Drop us a line and send us your agriculture job announcements or events: gyarrow@politico.com, meredithlee@politico.com, marciabrown@politico.com, abehsudi@politico.com and ecadei@politico.com.