House Republicans are back on the hunt for a new speaker after Steve Scalise withdrew from consideration Thursday night, one day after winning the nomination of the GOP conference.
Scalise never came close to securing the 217 votes he needed on the House floor, despite a 2 ½-hour conference meeting Thursday afternoon, as well as some smaller private meetings.
“Our conference still has to come together and is not there,” Scalise told reporters. “There are still some people that have their own agendas.”
What's next: The Scalise exit opens the door to Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, to run again. House Freedom Caucus Chairman Scott Perry, R-Pa., quickly endorsed Jordan, though it's not clear he could get to 217 either. "We need to ,,, get this DONE. Jordan is a complete AND NECESSARY departure from the status quo," Perry said in a post on X.
Jordan's hardline record on farm policy could give some rural lawmakers heartburn.
Torres Small to GOP: Pass a budget
Deputy Agriculture Secretary Xochitl Torres Small is warning House Republicans that a government shutdown could slow work on a new farm bill and hurt their farmer constituents.
In an interview with Agri-Pulse Newsmakers, Torres Small said the threat of a shutdown Oct. 1 forced the USDA to spend a lot of time preparing for disruptions to its operations. A shutdown remains possible when a stopgap spending bill that’s funding the government expires Nov. 17.
Says Torres Small: “The House needs to figure out what they’re going to do in terms of a speaker. Then, they’ve got to pass a budget, and then we will be here to provide the technical assistance necessary to get the farm bill reauthorized.”
By the way: Torres Small says the fiscal 2024 Agriculture funding bill that was defeated in the House last month “gives me a lot of heartburn” because of its potential impact on USDA staffing.
This week’s Newsmakers will be available today at Agri-Pulse.com.
Spending deadline looms closer amid turmoil
Once Republicans agree on a new House speaker, a senior House appropriator expects the chamber to resume debating individual spending bills for FY24. Work on the spending measures has been stalled since the ouster of Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Oct. 3.
“I have no doubt that if we can get a speaker and get back to work, we can meet that Nov. 17 deadline and be in a position to negotiate with the Senate and the White House” on FY24 funding, said Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, a Tennessee Republican who chairs the House Energy-Water Appropriations Subcommittee.
One big, unanswered question: What happens to that FY24 Ag bill that concerns Torres Small? The bill was voted down “because a lot of people from states with a very strong agricultural presence just could not take those votes based on very strong comments from their constituencies. That’s going to have to be revisited,” Fleischmann said.
EPA asks for info on treated seeds, with eye toward regulation
EPA is seeking input on the use of pesticide-treated seeds and pesticide-treated paints, which are exempt from registration requirements under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act.
The agency rejected a petition a year ago that sought an end to that exemption for treated seeds, but EPA also said it planned to issue an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking – which it did Thursday.
“States and other stakeholders have raised questions about the clarity and enforceability of instructions” related to the use of treated seed products, the agency said Thursday, noting it will gather input before deciding whether to propose new regulations.
EPA wants information on the use of treated seed products, including storage, planting, and disposal.
Federal dairy hearing takes six-week recess
For the past seven weeks, dairy industry representatives and USDA officials have been in Carmel, Indiana, debating comprehensive reform of the federal milk marketing order. But despite department officials’ best attempt at estimating how long the process would take, they couldn’t finish by their anticipated wrap-up date of Oct. 11.
The process began Aug. 23 and allowed for testimony on five different topic areas with a total of 22 different proposals.
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Stephen Cain, senior director of economic research and analysis at the National Milk Producers Federation, told Agri-Pulse the last topic is on Class 1 differentials. It’s one of the most complicated issues to tackle that has meaningful impact on milk checks paid to farmers. NMPF’s opening witness on the topic was on the stand for a total of 12 hours, facing questions for over 11 hours after his initial hour testimony.
The hearing is now in recess until Nov. 27 in order to get everyone who’s needed from USDA, the administrative law judge, court reporter and all the other interested parties and lawyers back in the room again. Another two weeks of testimony are expected.
“The six-week recess that we’re having right now, honestly, I think is kind of good. A lot of folks were getting burned out at this point,” Cain said.
Diverse group announces agreement to advance solar energy
A coalition of groups calling itself the Solar Uncommon Dialogue has come together to try to advance U.S. solar power development while conserving land and protecting local communities.
An agreement was announced Thursday by the groups, which are led by Stanford’s Woods Institute for the Environment, the Solar Energy Industries Association, and The Nature Conservancy. American Farmland Trust also is part of the dialogue. The next step is the formation of working groups to advance the goals.
In the next 10 years, the groups say, “U.S. solar energy output is expected to increase five-fold, helping to address climate change and bring clean and affordable energy to more communities.” But that rapid increase in utility-scale solar “also means that the industry must address various issues, including agricultural land conversion, wildlife and habitat impacts, and community engagement.”
He said it. “Yes, I do.” – Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo., when asked by a reporter whether he thinks Jesus could get 217 GOP votes to be House speaker. During a private GOP meeting Thursday, a lawmaker reportedly had said Republicans were so divided they couldn’t unite behind Jesus.
