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Balanced Reporting. Trusted Insights.
Thursday, April 10, 2025
House Republican leaders on Wednesday narrowly won approval for their bill to raise the debt ceiling while also slashing federal spending and expanding SNAP work requirements.
House GOP leaders, struggling to shore up Republican support for their debt-ceiling bill, gave in and moved to preserve some, but not all, of the biofuel provisions that would be repealed or scaled back by the legislation.
House Republicans will try to pass a plan to raise the debt ceiling that would cut domestic spending, expand SNAP work requirements and gut the biofuel and clean energy tax incentives that are the centerpiece of President Joe Biden climate policy.
Pending Treasury Department rules for a new biofuels tax credit could determine whether farmers can earn significant new income from conservation practices and whether ethanol can qualify as a feedstock for sustainable aviation fuel, a potentially massive new market.
The Department of Agriculture’s Rural Energy for America Program is receiving a $1 billion boost from the Inflation Reduction Act to fund projects improving the renewable energy infrastructure across farm country.
Leaders of the Senate Agriculture Committee reiterated their commitment to passing a new farm bill with strong bipartisan support that will meet the needs of farmers as well as low-income Americans who rely on nutrition assistance programs.
The Natural Resources Conservation Service is struggling to meet the Biden administration's growing climate and sustainability goals — and handle billions in new conservation funds — due to challenges in finding people to replace its aging workforce.
An increase in capacity for technical assistance within the Natural Resources Conservation Service is necessary as the agency looks to integrate $18.5 billion in Inflation Reduction Act funding into its conservation programs, but the agency will likely need to look at ways to expand its roster of non-government experts as it struggles to bring in enough qualified professionals to fill its internal workforce needs.
