Lawmakers are rushing to finalize a new budget for USDA and several other departments and agencies after the White House and congressional leaders announced a deal Sunday on overall funding limits for fiscal 2024.
Congress has until Jan. 19 to pass spending bills to fund departments and agencies covered by the Agriculture, Energy-Water, Transportation-HUD and Military Construction appropriations measures, which are currently funded through Jan. 19. The Agriculture bill funds USDA and FDA.
The $1.6 trillion topline agreement caps non-defense spending at $772.7 billion, a win for Democrats that reflects the level set by last spring’s debt-ceiling agreement. Still, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., says in a “Dear Colleague” letter that the deal would reduce non-defense funding from FY23 levels.
Bottom line: “Congress now faces the challenge of having only 12 days to negotiate and write language, secure passage by both chambers, and get the first four appropriations bills signed into law,” says the top Republican on the Senate Appropriations Committee, Susan Collins of Maine.
Key senator hopeful of border deal
Sen. James Lankford, an Oklahoma Republican who’s been involved in bipartisan negotiations over border security, told Fox News Sunday he’s hopeful the text of an agreement will be ready this week. Lankford said it was critical to tighten regulations around the asylum process to ensure it’s limited to people who have legitimate needs.
“It’s going to have to be an agreement that a Democratic White House, Democratic Senate can also line up with a Republican House, and we’re working to thread that needle for things that can actually work,” Lankford said.
House Speaker Mike Johnson wouldn't commit to supporting an agreement when asked about it on CBS' Face the Nation. "Of course, we want a deal. We want to solve this crisis.”
By the way: Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack will be in Durham, New Hampshire, and Portland, Maine, today to talk about various USDA programs, including disaster assistance.
For more on the FY24 spending deal and this week’s D.C. agenda, read our Washington Week Ahead.
Chromium found in applesauce pouches, in addition to lead, FDA says
The Food and Drug Administration says that applesauce pouches recalled because of elevated lead levels also contained high levels of chromium.
In testing the cinnamon from the Austrofoods facility in Ecuador, the agency found lead levels more than 2,000 times higher than the action level. In the finished product, FDA found lead levels more than 200 times higher than the action level.
In November, WanaBana USA voluntarily recalled all lots of WanaBana Apple Cinnamon Fruit Purée pouches due to reports of elevated lead levels. But as of Dec. 13, DollarTree was still selling WanaBana Apple Cinnamon Puree product, FDA says.
Job unemployment stabilizes, but Congress has work left to do
According to the latest jobs report, the economy saw some stabilization with the increase of 216,000 more jobs for December, and a total of 2.7 million more jobs for the year.
The One Country Project, a group aimed at helping Democrats win over rural voters, says while 2023 saw stabilization for the economy, Congress saw “disarray” and must do better in 2024 to pass a farm bill that “enables rural America to thrive for years to come by securing our farming foundation, providing the resources Americans need to continue living and working in rural regions, and opening opportunities for rural economic growth.”
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Commerce rejects request for massive increase in tin mill steel duties
The Consumer Brands Association is applauding the Commerce Department’s rejection of astronomical duty levels on imported tin mill steel products that a domestic manufacturer requested.
“Since last year when Cleveland-Cliffs petitioned for duties of up to 300% on tin mill steel, which is used in everyday canned good products, we have adamantly opposed their efforts because America's largest manufacturing sector and the most vulnerable consumers would bear the cost,” says CBA President and CEO David Chavern.
The International Trade Commission will determine next month whether to finalize the duties. Commerce proposed hitting China with duties of 122.52% after finding that China is subsidizing its tin mill steel.
Philippines lowers tariff rates on pork for third consecutive year
Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has signed an executive order extending reduced tariff rates on imported pork for the third straight year, according to the National Pork Producers Council.
The in-quota duty will remain at 15% and the out-of-quota rate at 25%. The country first lowered its rates in 2021 from 30% and 40%, respectively, after African swine fever caused a shortage of pork in the Philippines.
NPPC says the country is one of the top 10 markets for U.S. pork exports and that the country’s lower tariffs have helped “spur significant increases in U.S. pork exports there.”
New American Farmland Trust report answers questions on ag carbon markets
Ninety-seven percent of farmers surveyed were not prepared to participate in a carbon market, American Farmland Trust notes in a report out today that aims to clarify some of the questions growers have about how those markets work.
In the report, Top 10 Things You Wanted to Know About Ag Carbon Markets, AFT tackles questions surrounding eligibility and payments.
“We're looking to help catalyze interest and put out there the information that inspires farmers to start looking into” the ag carbon markets, says Michelle Perez, Water Initiative Director at AFT.
Philip Brasher, Jacqui Fatka and Noah Wicks contributed to this report
