A top Republican on the House Agriculture Committee says he’s glad to see the panel’s Democrats laying out their priorities. But Minnesota Rep. Brad Finstad, who chairs the subcommittee that oversees nutrition assistance programs, is chiding Democrats for failing to say how they would pay for increased spending in a new farm bill.
“You can't just say you want everything, but you're not willing to say how you want to pay for anything,” Finstad says on this week’s Agri-Pulse Newsmakers.
The House Ag Democrats released a position paper this week that makes clear they oppose any cuts in projected nutrition assistance spending or Inflation Reduction Act funding to pay for boosting commodity programs or addressing other parts of the farm bill. Democrats say it’s up to the House GOP leadership to find new money for a farm bill.
Finstad defends the GOP proposal to save $30 billion over 10 years by restricting the way USDA updates the economic model, known as the Thrifty Food Plan, that’s used to set SNAP benefits.
Republicans are “putting our money where our mouth is and looking at the Thrifty Food Plan,” Finstad says.
States told to improve SNAP oversight
USDA is cracking down on some state agencies that administer SNAP benefits. USDA says delayed or inaccurate SNAP benefits can harm people who need food assistance, and recent data show there's been a decline in several benchmarks for state performance.
The Food and Nutrition Service will, among other things, require states to take corrective actions, if they fail to meet certain benchmarks. FNS also is contracting with payroll data providers to improve the verification of income for SNAP applicants and recipients.
USDA says the measures should “reduce payment errors and improve the timely processing of applications and recertifications.”
Immigration reform chances ‘come and go’
Republicans have passed up one of the best chances they may have for a while to address immigration reform, says Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D. Cramer reminded reporters Thursday that then-President Donald Trump couldn’t get a deal through Congress that also included a path to citizenship for some illegal immigrants as well as border security.
Senate Republicans just scuttled a bipartisan compromise that was primarily focused on securing the border. Critics of the deal, released on Sunday, said it was riddled with loopholes. Cramer had warned in January that the deal could be in trouble because it would be seen as helping President Biden’s re-election.
“These moments come and go, and I don’t know that we’ll ever have the language we have had this time,” Cramer told reporters Thursday. “It comes down to what price are you willing to pay for your solution. There just wasn’t the political will to do that this time.”
The kicker: “I don't know what scenario it would take to fix the border or even more complicated immigration policy in general,” Cramer said.
Keep in mind: The border security compromise, which would have tightened the asylum process, omitted many of the issues that have vexed negotiators in recent years, including Dreamers and ag labor reforms. Ag labor reform will likely remain in limbo while the border issues remain unresolved.
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Rounds seeks China farmland purchasing ban
With the border compromise scrapped, the Senate managed Thursday to get the votes to take up a supplemental spending bill that’s now focused solely on aid for Israel and Ukraine. Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., told reporters he wants to get a vote on an amendment that would block Chinese investors from buying U.S. farmland.
Rounds got a similar amendment included in the Senate’s defense authorization bill last year, but the provision was ultimately scrapped in final negotiations with the Senate. Rounds said he’s not sure whether he’ll get a vote on the amendment this time.
Monarch decline has ag, enviros concerned
Ag groups are worried a decline in Western Monarch butterfly overwintering numbers could prompt the Fish and Wildlife Service to issue an emergency listing under the Endangered Species Act.
The Xerces Society, which helps conduct the count on habitat in Mexico, estimates there were 233,394 monarchs, a 30% decrease from last year. Contacted by Agri-Pulse, Xerces’ western monarch lead Emma Pelton said the group is “deeply concerned about the vulnerability and fate of the migratory monarch butterfly, and we must all act to save this incredible phenomenon.”
Take note: FWS is scheduled to announce a listing decision by Sept. 30, under a court settlement.
Almond Alliance President and CEO Aubrey Bettencourt says in a statement that “all of California’s farms, orchards, growers and families will feel the impacts under the restrictions that would be triggered by a listing, severely impacting our ability to work with the FWS to support our monarchs and pollinators while producing healthy goods found in household kitchens worldwide."
He said it. “I don't sense that there's a lot of people in the conference looking to make a leadership change. Mitch could argue that he's got a follower-ship problem as much as we have a leadership problem.” – Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., telling reporters he didn’t think Mitch McConnell’s leadership position was in jeopardy despite criticism over his handling of the border security compromise and foreign supplemental spending bill.
Thursday’s Daybreak incorrectly described the CBO forecast for rice and cotton prices. They are estimated higher in the latest projections, potentially lowering the cost of changes to the Price Loss Coverage program.
