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Shining Light on Farm & Food Policy for 20 Years.
Friday, December 20, 2024
Democratic congressional leaders are under pressure from progressives to fund as many social programs as possible as the Build Back Better plan is pared back. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Tuesday that discussions are continuing about what to fund.
U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai signaled Monday that the Biden administration is ready to begin pressing Beijing to fulfill its promises under the Phrase One agreement, but she didn’t commit to negotiating a much-desired second phase that would elicit new promises of ag commodity purchases.
U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai delivers a speech today on the Biden administration’s approach to the bilateral trade relationship with China. U.S. ag groups will have plenty of questions as they listen to her remarks:
Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack today will announce some new spending on climate policy and to deal with market disruptions and animal disease prevention. Vilsack is making a speech on climate issues at Colorado State University today.
We now have the details on the $28 billion plan that Democrats have developed for funding climate-smart agriculture. According to a summary circulating on Capitol Hill and obtained by Agri-Pulse, the plan features a new $5 billion program to provide direct payments to farmers who plant cover crops.
House Democrats are moving ahead this week with debating key provisions of the $3.5 trillion tax and spending package. The House Ways and Means Committee has announced plans to take up the health care, paid leave and child care provisions Thursday and Friday. That would push its action on tax issues into next week.
While work continues to find nominees for some vacant high-level positions, Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack says it’s just as important to fill “worker bee” positions throughout the entire department.
Members of the U.S. House may want to make note of this: Most teenagers believe unreliable access to high-speed internet and lack of digital skills are driving economic and social inequities in their communities, according to a Harris poll sponsored by the National 4-H Council and a coalition that includes Land O’Lakes, Microsoft and Verizon.
Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer is making it clear he wants the Senate to finish its $3.5 trillion reconciliation package by Sept. 15. “We’ve got a chance, a good decent chance” of passing the bill, he told reporters Wednesday.