News: What Biden bombshell means for ag

Monday, July 22, 2024

What Biden bombshell means for ag

Jul 22, 2024

Presented by

With help from Meredith Lee Hill and Marcia Brown

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks in the East Room of the White House.

Major players in the Democratic Party on Sunday swiftly coalesced around Vice President Kamala Harris to be its new presidential nominee. | Evan Vucci/AP

QUICK FIX

— Joe Biden is out of the presidential race and endorsed Kamala Harris. We have the details of Harris’ ag history and the impact of the Democratic turmoil on federal ag agencies.

— The House Rules Committee is meeting today to consider the FY 2025 Ag-FDA spending bill.

— An Indiana baby formula warehouse was struck by a tornado, shaking the already-unstable supply chain as federal policymakers look for solutions to secure the domestic baby formula industry.

IT’S MONDAY, JULY 22. Welcome to Morning Agriculture! I’m your host Grace Yarrow. It was indeed an eventful National Ice Cream Day. Send tips to gyarrow@politico.com and follow us at @Morning_Ag.

A message from the National Pork Producers Council:

The dangers of California Proposition 12 are real. Congress can protect farmers and consumers and stop price increases by passing the Prop. 12 fix in the House farm bill. Since implementation, the cost of California pork products has increased as much as 41%. A patchwork of state-by-state regulations would multiply this effect nationwide. USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack warned that without congressional action, “We’re going to have chaos in the marketplace.” Visit NPPC.org/Prop12.

Driving the day

BIDEN DROPS OUT: After Joe Biden’s bombshell announcement Sunday afternoon, a number of DNC delegates and other top Democrats — including the president himself — quickly endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to take over the top of the ticket.

Harris said Sunday she intends to win the nomination, giving her the responsibility to decide the Democratic Party’s biggest priorities. And if you’re anything like us here at Morning Ag, your first question might be: What does this all mean for agriculture?

The vice president’s track record as a California attorney general, U.S. senator and Biden’s second-in-command gives us limited clues about how she might lead. Though her native California ranks first in agricultural production, Harris hasn’t been too vocal on any federal ag policy.

Animal welfare history: Harris’ past position aligning with aggressive positions on animal welfare laws could put her at odds with politically powerful agriculture groups during the campaign, Meredith reported.

As California’s attorney general, Harris appealed a federal ruling that struck down California’s ban on the sale of foie gras. She also defended state laws that said eggs sold in California must come from free-range or similarly humanely raised hens.

Other end of the spectrum: Biden’s Justice Department in 2022 backed a move to block a new California livestock welfare law, and his administration filed a brief to back two major agriculture groups’ challenge of the California law. The Supreme Court ultimately allowed it to stand.

Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack, a close Biden ally, has since said that he favors Congress pursuing legislation to clarify that law to avoid chaos in the national markets.

Power players of ag industry groups are still trying to overturn the California animal welfare law, which dictates how farmers elsewhere in the country can raise pigs and other animals destined to be sold inside the state’s borders.

Harris may be more inclined to direct USDA to press Congress to allow the California law and similar state measures to stand, while pushing for new animal welfare regulations.

At USDA: Vilsack, who returned for a second stint as secretary in 2021 at Biden’s request, released a lengthy statement Sunday, praising Biden as “one of our most consequential American presidents.”

He pointed to Biden’s record on the economy, support for Ukraine and other American allies and work reviving the economy from the pandemic.

“I am immensely proud to play a role in the Biden-Harris Administration, under which USDA has advanced food and nutrition security for tens of millions, invested in new, better and more markets to create a fairer and better marketplace for all farmers, improved the health and resilience of our national forests and grasslands, made our food safer, and centered equity in all that we do,” he added.

NERVES HEIGHTENED: The Democratic Party’s unprecedented turmoil has prompted USDA employees to game out how to prepare for a change at the White House, as Meredith and our other colleagues reported.

As Biden contemplated dropping out in recent weeks, some USDA staff openly talked with colleagues about making plans to leave their posts early, according to the three current and former USDA officials.

“One set of folks that seem to be the most concerned and bewildered would be the civil servants within USDA, who have endured so much and that really went out of their way to carry out the Biden rural agenda,” said one of the USDA officials. “Because they just cannot endure another phase of uncertainty.”

Several USDA branches have already had significant turnover of senior career staff this year and are currently operating with a number of vacancies.

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On the Hill

EYES ON APPROPS: The House Rules Committee will meet this afternoon to consider the Agriculture and FDA spending bill before a full floor vote expected before lawmakers’ August break.

House Republicans advanced the bill through the Appropriations Committee on a party-line vote earlier this month. The Rules Committee will consider a slew of amendments to the funding bill.

What’s next: Republicans are hoping to pass all 12 of their spending bills on the House floor before the August break.

The GOP-led House bill will ultimately hit a wall in the Democratic-controlled Senate, which advanced its own ag appropriations bill that awaits floor action.

The details: The House’s Ag-FDA bill provides $25.9 billion in funding across USDA and FDA, with more than $22 billion going to USDA — a roughly 1 percent cut below current funding levels.

This year’s ag appropriations bill is designed to have stronger Republican support than last year.

Some bumps in the road: House Republicans failed to pass their $7 billion funding bill for parts of the legislative branch on July 11, in a vote that should have been an easy victory for GOP leaders.

That misstep casts some doubt on the GOP majority’s ability to pass the rest of their fiscal 2025 spending bills on the floor in the next two weeks, with the rest of the bills being more politically divisive than the failed package.

A message from the National Pork Producers Council:

FIRST IN MA: In a new letter, Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) is urging USDA to quickly finalize its proposed rules strengthening the Packers and Stockyards Act, a 1921 competition law.

Fetterman argues the rules will curb the “overpowering influence of large corporate interests” in domestic poultry and livestock industries.

“These rules are necessary as the livestock and poultry markets currently face similar challenges with consolidation that they faced in 1921 when the PSA was originally passed,” Fetterman wrote.

Approps piece: The Senate’s FY 2025 Ag-FDA bill provides an additional $1 million over last year for enforcing the Packers and Stockyards Act. Democrats say the rules will boost competition and curb monopolistic practices in agriculture.

But in the House, lawmakers are looking to rescind several Biden administration final rules and prevent USDA from finalizing outstanding rules strengthening the PSA.

IN THE STATES

BABY FORMULA WAREHOUSE HIT: A Reckitt’s Mead Johnson baby formula warehouse sustained “significant damage” from a tornado in Mount Vernon, Indiana.

The company is working to manage inventory at other warehouses to minimize disruption to the formula supply chain, per a release. Rickett also said it expects insurance to offset the impact on earnings, which will be affected in the short term.

Response: Georgia Machell, president of the National WIC Association, said the group is “closely monitoring” the aftermath of the tornado, which struck the warehouse earlier this month. Infant formula shortages in 2022 left families scrambling to find enough to feed their children, while revealing how a consolidated infant formula market could make supply chains more vulnerable to shocks — like a tornado.

“The last thing families need right now is undue panic,” Machell said in a statement, adding that the Access to Baby Formula Act of 2022 has put state WIC agencies in a “better position” to respond to the incident by granting USDA authority to issue waivers.

“Even still, this incident highlights the need for Congress to explore more stable ways to fund the WIC program,” Machell said. Last week, Machell said in an interview that making WIC funding mandatory is “something that is worth considering.”

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Row Crops

— The FDA and FTC are joining forces to warn hemp companies against selling Delta-8 THC products that mimic the look of popular foods that appeal to children, our Mona Zhang reported.

— A bipartisan group of lawmakers sent a new letter to the National Institutes of Health demanding more details on the agency’s role in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans for 2025 to 2030 with respect to alcohol recommendations. The process has previously come under scrutiny from lawmakers and industry as two outside committees conduct separate reviews of alcohol consumption to help the committee make recommendations.

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.

A message from the National Pork Producers Council:

Ensure stability: Pass a farm bill that protects farmers and food prices.
The farm bill is an essential, bipartisan effort to support American farming, consumer food affordability, and our nation’s economic vitality.

The Biden administration agrees on Prop. 12 dangers.
The farm bill gives Congress the opportunity to fix problems caused by California’s Proposition 12, which allows one state to regulate how farmers across the country raise their animals. USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack underscored the need for urgent action to prevent chaos in the marketplace, warning the agricultural sector will face unprecedented disruption.

The impacts are real.
USDA economists found that since Prop. 12 was implemented:
• Retail pork prices in California have increased on average by 20%.
• Bacon prices were 16% higher, while pork loins were 41% more.
• Share of fresh pork sales has declined, from 10% to 8%.

Stakes are high to finalize a farm bill this year.

Visit NPPC.org/Prop12.