We use cookies to provide you with a better experience. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies in accordance with our Privacy Terms and Cookie Policy
Balanced Reporting. Trusted Insights.
Thursday, April 03, 2025
Ag groups are debating once again the idea of a permanent disaster aid program, but congressional budget rules and concerns about the crop insurance system are likely to make it as difficult as ever for lawmakers to agree on a proposal.
Senators are trying to find an agreement on a new Ukraine supplemental spending bill by the end of this week, while Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and other cabinet members head to Capitol Hill for questioning about their spending plans.
Cabinet members will be back on Capitol Hill this week, this time in the Senate, where they will face questions as lawmakers and appropriators mull 2023 budgets for the federal agencies.
Congress faces a Friday deadline to pass a massive bill to fund the government for the rest of the fiscal year, but negotiations were still far from final heading into the weekend.
Democrats hope to get President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better bill to the finish line in December, but first they face a more urgent stalemate with Republicans ahead of Friday’s expiration of a stopgap funding bill.
Congress is facing a Dec. 3 deadline to avert another government shutdown. That’s when the continuing resolution that’s currently funding the government runs out. But Republicans say they won’t agree to a fiscal 2022 spending deal any time soon.
Vermont Democrat Patrick Leahy, a longtime member and former chair of the Senate Ag Committee who took a special interest in the nation’s dairy and organic policy, plans to retire at the end of his current term.
Senate Democrats have set up a new fight with Republicans by releasing a tranche of fiscal 2022 spending bills that don’t have GOP support. The bills include funding for the EPA and the departments of Interior and Labor.
The Senate Appropriations Committee has approved a fiscal 2022 spending bill for the Department of Agriculture and Food and Drug Administration that includes about $7 billion in disaster assistance and $700 million for USDA’s ReConnect program for rural broadband.
The Senate's proposed fiscal 2022 funding bill for the Agriculture Department and Food and Drug Administration would provide $7 billion in disaster assistance to cover producers' losses in 2020 and 2021.
