The future of $31 billion in disaster relief and economic assistance for farmers was in doubt Wednesday night after Elon Musk and then, Donald Trump, threatened the political future of any Republicans who voted for the 1,500-page bill that contains the funding.
 
Take note: Wednesday night, Trump indicated he was open to including farm aid in a stripped-down bill so long as it omitted “Democrat giveaways” and raised the federal debt limit. “Republicans want to support our farmers, pay for disaster relief, and set our country up for success in 2025,” Trump said in a statement from his transition office.
 
House Ag Committee Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson, R-Pa., told Agri-Pulse he would oppose any new bill that omits the economic assistance for farmers.
 
WRDA clears Senate
 
A new water resources authorization bill is on its way to President Biden’s desk. The bill, which the Senate passed Wednesday night, 97-1, has a provision to increase funding for construction and upkeep on locks and dams.
 
GAO: Producers saw $161B in assistance over 5-year span
 
USDA provided $161 billion in financial assistance to farmers between 2019 and 2023 through both farm bill and supplemental assistance programs, according to a new Government Accountability Office report.
 The report says one million producers received some form of financial assistance each year during that time frame. The report totaled up crop insurance subsidies, commodity payments, disaster assistance and conservation funding as well as temporary assistance authorized by Congress.
 
 Some 7% of the producers accounted for $20.3 billion a year in average total funding, or about $272,000 per producer. The other 93% of producers received a total of $11.9 billion annually, or $12,000 per farmer.
 Federal crop insurance provided the most total financial assistance overall between 2019 and 2023 at $53 billion. The Coronavirus Food Assistance Program followed at $30 billion, while the Market Facilitation Program came in third at $22.6 billion.
 
Lawmakers told broad tariffs threaten ‘extensive’ ag damage
 
 If the Trump administration presses ahead with proposals to impose sweeping tariffs on U.S. imports, the damage inflicted on U.S. agriculture would be substantial, economists told lawmakers on Wednesday.
 
 “It would be quite extensive,” Ed Gresser, director for trade and global markets at the Progressive Policy Institute said during a Joint Economic Committee hearing. “If we have, for example, threats of tariffs on Canada and Mexico and China together, that's 10% of all farm income,” Gresser said. “It would be a pretty difficult time.”
 
 Democratic Reps. Suzan DelBene of Washington, Gwen Moore of Wisconsin and Jimmy Panetta of California all said agriculture producers in their states had faced repercussions from previous retaliatory tariffs, even with subsidies to offset export losses.
 
 “You're essentially paying people who were making good livings and honest livings,” before the tariff escalations, Gresser said. “Why not let people keep winning rather than subsidizing for losing.”
 
ITC  picks see merit in pre-emptive trade protections
 
 Both the Republican and Democratic picks to serve on the International Trade Commission say that, if confirmed, they’ll look into why the agency hasn’t done more to prevent harm to industries from unfair trade.
 
 “We hear from our constituents about how government doesn't act until everybody is devastated – ‘They're just picking up the pieces,’” Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said during a hearing Wednesday on the two nominations.
 
 Wyden pointed out that Congress has given ITC the authority to act pre-emptively before damage has been inflicted on an industry, but that the powers are rarely used.
 
 Democratic nominee James Coughlan said the issue would be something worth looking into, while Republican Haile Craig also said she would work with lawmakers on the issue, if confirmed.
 
 “China is not sitting around waiting for us,” Wyden added. “They're moving now, moving aggressively.”
 The appointments of both remain uncertain this Congress after senators have expressed concern about the expedited approval process.
 
Report assesses evidence on alcohol consumption
 
 A new report that will be considered in revising the nation’s dietary guidelines finds that moderate alcohol consumption could be tied to lower overall mortality. The review by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine summarizes research on the health outcomes tied to alcohol consumption.
 
 The committee did not reach any findings with “high certainty.” It’s finding on lower overall mortality, for example, was labeled as having “moderate certainty.”
 
Congress requested the review with the hope it could inform the next edition of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. The final DGAs for 2025-2030 will consider the NASEM report and another separate review by an independent panel at the Department of Health and Human Services.
 
Federal agencies to reevaluate impacts of Snake River dams
 
 Three federal agencies in charge of operating dams along the Columbia and Snake Rivers intend to reevaluate the project’s environmental impact after the Biden administration forged new agreements with local tribes frustrated over declining salmon populations.
 
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Bureau of Reclamation and the Bonneville Power Administration plan to prepare a supplemental environmental impact statement with updated information about the dams, the endangered species that live in or along the river, and changes in the river’s flow caused by the ongoing renegotiation of a treaty with Canada.
 
 The dams have been a source of controversy along the river in recent years, with tribes, environmental groups and fishermen arguing they should be breached to revive shrunken salmon populations. Farmers, shippers and utilities have fiercely opposed that move. It would end a shipping route for 10% of the nation’s wheat exports, reduce renewable power supplies, and eliminate a water source for irrigating thousands of acres of farmland.
 
Final word
 
 “Keeping foreign animal diseases out of our country is critical to the security of Iowa agriculture and our food supply. As we’ve seen with bird flu, our farmers have faced serious financial losses and uncertainty over the spread of this disease, and African Swine Fever has the potential to seriously harm our hog industry. – Rep. Randy Feenstra, R-Iowa, referring to the Beagle Brigade Act, which passed the House Wednesday.
 
 The bill funds the National Detector Dog Training Center in Georgia, which trains dogs to detect invasive pests and diseases at the border.

Related Articles