Articles by Philip Brasher

Democrats are seeking a long-term extension of wind power subsidies and reauthorization of the lapsed Land and Water Conservation Fund in return for ending the ban on oil exports. Republicans are seeking to use negotiations on a broad year-end tax package to lift the oil expo

Lawmakers are taking it down to the wire this week as they negotiate sweeping deals on spending and tax policy. Federal spending authority runs out Friday but the deadline will almost certainly be extended temporarily to give the talks more time.

Cotton growers are stepping up their push for new subsidies that could cost as much as $1 billion annually, according to the Agriculture Department0s internal estimates. The industry, which is struggling to deal with a sharp decline in cotton prices, is asking USDA to allow

USDA is overhauling its Process Verified Program (PVP) with an eye to handling a flood of requests for certifying non-GMO food labels. The Agricultural Marketing Service is consolidating PVP into a single administrative structure to ensure that the management and implementation is

The week ahead is shaping up to be the most important period for agriculture and food policy since at least the passage of the 2014 farm bill, with critical action coming on country-of-origin labeling, school nutrition standards, tax policy and a range of other issues

The Agriculture Department is tightening its Process Verified Program to ensure more uniform administration across commodities and to make it easier for consumers to check marketing claims. USDAps Agricultural Marketing Service is instituting a single management structure for th

Senators who have been trying to negotiate a compromise bill to block state GMO labeling laws say the issue is dead for this year. Agriculture interests and food companies have been holding out hope that compromise legislation that could be inserted in a must-pass omnibus spending bill tha

The Senate cleared a long-term transportation bill late Thursday after soundly rejecting a last-ditch effort to restore a $3 billion cut to the crop insurance program. The cut, which was part of the two-year budget agreement enacted in November, would be repealed by the

The food industry is launching a smartphone-based system that companies hope will satisfy consumer demands for information about genetically engineered ingredients, livestock production methods and other product attributes. The SmartLabel system, which also will allow con

The White House is trying to protect its waters of the United States rule during negotiations over a government-wide funding bill for fiscal 2016, a senior House appropriator says.