The Democratic National Convention wraps up tonight with Kamala Harris’ acceptance speech.
Agri-Pulse’s Steve Davies caught up with EPA Administrator Michael Regan at the United Center Wednesday evening to talk about Harris. Regan, who made clear he was speaking in his personal capacity, said he expects Harris to build on the Biden administration’s climate policy and environmental justice initiatives.
“She knows that we have to move further and faster if we really want to hold polluters accountable like she did in California, if we want to come up with creative solutions that really give an advantage to those who have been disproportionately impacted,” Regan said.
Regan said Harris has been focused on EJ issues since she was a prosecutor in San Francisco.
Producer perspective: National Pork Producers Council President Lori Stevermer was one of vice presidential candidate Tim Walz’s constituents when he represented the state's 1st District. She told Agri-Pulse on the sidelines of the DNC that Walz was “really open to our conversations and wanting to understand our issues” as a congressman.
“I would say the same thing as governor," she added. "I had the opportunity to visit with him many times at (Minnesota) Farmfest, and once again he was really interested in what the big issues were for us as pork producers and what he could do to help us with those issues.”
By the way: House Agriculture Committee member Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, said she brought up the farm bill in a speech Monday as part of an effort to reach a broad range of voters. In her speech, Crockett blamed MAGA Republicans for preventing the passage of a new farm bill.
She told Agri-Pulse Wednesday, “We literally can't even get a farm bill, something as basic as food as right now, because of how extreme these people are. … I thought that it was important that I go there, and so I hope that all of America heard it.”
The farm bill has been stalled because of differences over nutrition and conservation funding as well as how to pay for changes to commodity programs.
Senate GOP No. 2 concedes farm bill extension likely
The Senate’s No. 2 Republican, John Thune, says Congress is likely to have to pass another one-year extension of the farm bill. But Thune, who is a leading candidate to succeed Mitch McConnell as Senate GOP leader in 2025, also says Republicans should “be in a better position to get a bill that's more to our liking” next year. That’s because Republicans are in a strong position to win control of the Senate in the November elections.
Thune made the comments in his home state of South Dakota at the annual Dakotafest.
“Unfortunately, right now, I don’t see any evidence among Democrats in the Senate that they want to do” a bill this year, Thune said. Democrats argue that GOP proposals cross key red lines and aren’t properly funded.
By the way: House Ag Committee member Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., agreed with Thune’s assessment of the situation. “Clearly an extension looks more likely,” he said. But he added, “I think it’s a big mistake to give up the possibility of a five-year farm bill unless we absolutely have to. I mean, in some way, the only thing that makes Congress work is a deadline.”
Thune: Divided government means ‘much more complicated path’ for taxes
Thune says it will be relatively easy for Congress to extend expiring provisions of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, if Republicans win the White House and both chambers of Congress.
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“If it's a divided government, it's a 60-vote threshold in the United States Senate to pass anything, and that is a much more complicated path,” Thune acknowledged.
The expiring provisions include reductions in individual tax rates, the doubling of the estate tax exemption, and the 20% deduction for pass-through business income. Extending the expiring TCJA provisions would cost an estimated $4 trillion over 10 years.
“What Congress looks like, who's in the White House, is going to matter enormously in whether a lot of that expiring tax law gets extended,” Thune said. “And I would tell you … if all of it goes away, it's a $4 trillion tax increase on the economy borne mostly by individuals and families, but a lot of it also by businesses.”
Rounds: SCOTUS ruling means Congress needs more experts
Lawmakers are going to need to get more specific when writing legislation in the wake of the Supreme Court's overturning of Chevron deference, Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., said at Dakotafest. Under Chevron deference, courts were expected to defer to federal agencies’ reasonable interpretation of ambiguous federal laws.
After that decision, "a lot of the folks that write the rules now will probably be brought back as congressional employees to do a better job of actually writing the laws in the first place,” Rounds said at Dakotafest in Mitchell, South Dakota.
"That means that Congress can be held accountable for what actually gets laid down in front of the American public," Rounds said.
FSIS slows salmonella framework for more comment
USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service has extended the comment period on its proposed salmonella framework for raw poultry items after industry associations requested more time.
The agency announced its proposed salmonella framework late July, and posted it to the Federal Register on Aug. 7. The proposal would prevent poultry products with certain levels of salmonella from entering the market.
The public now has until Nov. 7 to submit comments.
As of Wednesday, FSIS had received 13 comments, including one from the Meat Institute and National Turkey Federation requesting more time to adequately review the proposal, given the potentially significant economic impact, testing concerns and other implications. In their comments, the groups wrote the framework "represents the most significant shift in agency policy" since the 1996 Pathogen Reduction/Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point rule.
"Though the proposal would have an immediate and considerable effect on the poultry industry, the agency has made it clear that its Salmonella framework will have broader implications, because it will be the basis for future policy for all species," the groups wrote in the comment.
FSIS also plans to hold two webinars presenting the science behind its proposed salmonella framework.
Final word: “Next year is going to be maybe the most consequential year for tax policy in this country since I don't even know when.” – Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., talking about the expiration of individual tax provisions in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
