Articles Tagged with ''Tom Vilsack''

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says he’s fairly confident that Congress will succeed in either passing an extension to the 2018 farm bill or finish up work on a new one by the end of the year in order to avoid severe repercussions of doing nothing.

The House is set to debate the annual funding bill for USDA and FDA this week, even as a partial shutdown looms at the end of this week unless House Republicans and Democratic-controlled Senate can agree on a stopgap spending bill.

The top Republican on the Senate Ag Committee says Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack’s commitment to provide $1.4 billion for trade promotion assistance from the Commodity Credit Corporation should make a “big difference” for U.S. farmers.

House Republicans remain unable to agree on a continuing resolution to keep the government funded in October. Meanwhile, senators left town Thursday still unable to get agreement on bringing up a three-bill spending package that includes its version of the USDA-FDA bill.

The Government Accountability Office says Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack had the legal authority to use the Commodity Credit Corporation to fund the Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities program, an initiative aimed at building markets for agricultural practices and products that reduce greenhouse gas emissions.