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Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack heads to Capitol Hill this week to testify before the Senate Agriculture Committee amid growing concerns about the global food supplies and soaring costs for fertilizer and other ag inputs.

The Legislative Analyst’s Office is recommending lawmakers reject Newsom’s proposal for $75 million in drought aid to small agricultural businesses.

The Capitol, along with several downtown blocks, lost power, just as committees were to deliver the fate of about a thousand bills in the suspense files.

FDA Commissioner Robert Califf, already grappling with the infant formula crisis, told lawmakers Thursday the agency lacks the leadership and staff to properly regulate food safety and appealed for more funding.

California Senator Dianne Feinstein and Arizona colleagues have introduced a bill to boost the Western water supply and modernize infrastructure.

State Senators Melissa Hurtado and Dave Cortese are requesting U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland investigate possible water profiteering during the drought.

California lawmakers and the governor are hashing out the final details for investing billions of state dollars into a drought relief plan with long-term water investments and some benefits to farmers.

Farmers fear the companies could undercut U.S. producers by controlling the water supply, circumventing shipping bottlenecks and monopolizing the food supply chain.

The Agriculture Department will soon start distributing $6 billion in disaster relief payments for losses producers experienced in 2020 and 2021 through a wide range of natural disasters, including drought, wildfires and excessive heat and cold.