Articles Tagged with ''budget reconciliation''

The Department of Agriculture is in touch with Capitol Hill as Democratic leaders work to craft legislation that has the potential to funnel more money into the farm bill and expand the number of producers who could receive funding and assistance for government conservation programs.

More than 60 groups are urging Democratic congressional leaders to prioritize climate-friendly agriculture, food systems and equity in their $3.5 trillion domestic spending package.

House Democrats are setting aside the Senate-passed bipartisan infrastructure bill this week to take up a $3.5 trillion budget resolution needed to move President Joe Biden's domestic spending priorities and climate policy.

Senate Republicans used the debate on a $3.5 trillion budget framework to force votes on energy and environmental issues that exposed potential fractures among Democrats.

After weeks of negotiations, the Senate moved quickly this week to pass a bipartisan infrastructure package Tuesday that was quickly followed by a party line vote early Wednesday morning to advance a $3.5 trillion budget framework.

Senate Democrats released a fiscal 2022 budget resolution that calls for $3.5 trillion in new spending, including as much as $135 billion for agriculture and child nutrition programs, funded largely by a border carbon tariff and tax increases on capital gains and high-earning individuals.

During a visit with Gov. Gavin Newsom to the site of the massive 2020 August Complex fire, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack promised the federal government would send more resources to California, and other states combatting increased wildfire threats, to prevent catastrophic fires.

Congressional Democrats are pushing for a historic increase in conservation program funding that would help pay farmers to address climate change, but the money also could create some challenges for the House and Senate Agriculture committees as they write the new farm bill.

Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow is working to secure a historic increase in conservation spending as part of a climate and infrastructure package, creating a rift with the panel’s top Republican, who says she is prematurely trying to reshape farm bill programs without GOP input.