Articles Tagged with ''Dusty Johnson''

The House of Representatives voted 369-42 Monday to approve the Senate’s version of the Ocean Shipping Reform Act in an effort to reduce bottlenecks at U.S. ports and improve conditions for agricultural exports. The overwhelming vote sends the legislation to the White House, where President Joe Biden says he will sign it.

Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack said USDA is walking a fine line as it navigates competing pressures to produce more food, keep growers profitable and address climate change.

South Dakota Rep. Dusty Johnson, a member of the House minority who's just in his third year in Congress, is on something of a legislative hot streak.

A bill aimed at relieving port bottlenecks and reining in shipping rates advanced through committee Tuesday, but the legislation still faces significant legislative hurdles.

The House of Representatives Friday narrowly approved the America COMPETES Act, pushing the legislation that is supposed to make the U.S. more competitive with China closer to enactment. While similar to the Senate version passed last summer, the House bill – passed with a 222-210 vote – includes significant differences such as the inclusion of the Ocean Shipping Reform Act as well as reauthorizes and alters the Trade Adjustment Assistance and Generalized System of Preferences programs.

The Ocean Shipping Reform Act, a bill aimed at ending port bottlenecks for ag exports, was introduced in the Senate Thursday even as sponsors of a tougher House-passed version sought to ramp up pressure for its enactment.

The Biden administration, together with U.S. shippers and the ag sector, are pressuring ocean carriers to stop turning down farm commodity shipments, but it may take Congress to force the issue.

The USDA will fund 60% of the cost of adding a new 25-acre container yard at the Port of Oakland, while also subsidizing ag exporters' shipping expenses, and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says the Biden administration wants to repeat the project elsewhere.

Farm groups are concerned the Senate version of the House-passed Ocean Shipping Reform Act won't have the same strong provisions for getting U.S. farm goods onto container ships amid the supply chain crisis.

The Biden administration is turning up the heat on ocean shipping companies to stop denying cargo space to U.S. agricultural goods and indicating the federal government may take action.