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Shining Light on Farm & Food Policy for 20 Years.
Friday, October 11, 2024
Democrats forced a $16.1 billion agriculture stimulus plan through the House Agriculture Committee on Wednesday, brushing aside Republican assertions that a provision providing debt relief for minority farmers was far too broad and could face legal challenges.
The panel charged with addressing farm and food policy in the House of Representatives is adding four new Democrats and bringing one more member with previous experience back to the committee.
The House Agriculture Committee will debate a $16 billion stimulus measure that includes a substantial down payment on Democrats’ promise to address racial justice issues. The committee’s draft bill, which will be part of a broader $1.9 trillion stimulus package, would provide sweeping debt relief to minority farmers on USDA loans.
Democrats are moving to provide unprecedented amounts of debt relief and other assistance to Black farmers and other minority producers as part of a $1.9 trillion stimulus package that's being designed to address racial justice as well as the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
Major farm states are likely to lose influence in the U.S. House because of population shifts that are expected to result in lost seats across the Midwest as well as in Pennsylvania and New York.
There were high hopes after the phase one agreement was implemented last February that China would finally overhaul its opaque and sluggish approval process for new agricultural biotech traits, but that optimism has mostly turned to disappointment a year later.
A new report recommends 20 ways to inexpensively replace or extend the life of deteriorating rural bridges across the country that are critical for moving agricultural commodities and farm equipment.
Agriculture stimulus provisions released by Democrats on Tuesday would pay off minority farmers' USDA loans and provide $4 billion for purchasing commodities and providing pandemic-related assistance to processors and other parts of the food supply chain.
House committees begin voting starting today on the first provisions in the massive $1.9 trillion coronavirus aid package President Joe Biden is pushing to pass. The House Agriculture Committee is scheduled to meet Wednesday to approve its portion of the package.