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Shining Light on Farm & Food Policy for 20 Years.
Sunday, December 22, 2024
In this week's Farm Hands, the U.S. Trade Representative's office is undergoing staff changes and may get a new nominee for deputy. Plus, we profile several other new jobs and promotions on Capitol Hill, within trade associations and businesses.
A handful of agricultural districts are in line to play pivotal roles as Democrats and Republicans battle for control of the House in 2024 elections, now one year away.
President Joe Biden and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack are heading to Minnesota Wednesday to kick off a two-week, nationwide effort to showcase how “Bidenomics” is helping rural America through investments in farming, ag production and rural communities, according to the White House.
With record-breaking temperatures continuing nationwide, the Labor Department has issued its first-ever hazard alert for heat and plans to step up enforcement in agriculture and construction, which are considered high-risk industries.
Dairy, meat, produce and other ag producers that count on getting their commodities to Asia and beyond through West Coast ports are lauding a tentative labor agreement between Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) that’s expected to produce a six-year labor contract.
House Republicans who have been struggling unsuccessfully for years to tighten work rules for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program scored a win in the debt limit negotiations that would expand the requirements to people in their early 50s, but President Joe Biden also won key new exemptions for veterans and people who are homeless.
Work requirements remain in play in the debt ceiling negotiations between the White House and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. It’s still not clear which program might be affected, but President Biden has once again signaled that he might go along with some changes.
Congressional leaders are sounding some notes of optimism after a second meeting with President Biden over the debt ceiling. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy welcomed Biden’s decision to appoint administration officials to lead the negotiations from his side. “I think we set the stage to carry on further conversations,” McCarthy said.
