Farm Bill

President Donald Trump’s nominee to be deputy agriculture secretary, Stephen Vaden, sought to assure senators Tuesday that USDA would be a forceful advocate for ensuring that tariff negotiations seek to remove barriers to farm exports.

House GOP leaders will try to win passage of the Senate-passed budget framework over opposition of deficit hawks this week, and lawmakers will get a chance to vent their concerns about the market turmoil unleashed by President Donald Trump’s stiff new tariffs. You'll find a full list of hearings and events scheduled for this week.

The Senate early Saturday advanced a budget framework for sweeping tax and spending cuts after debating Democratic amendments on tariffs, Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. 

Senate Republicans released a new budget blueprint that leaves critical fights over spending cuts and key questions about farm bill programs until later and assumes the GOP doesn’t have to pay for the cost of permanently extending expiring provisions of the 2017 tax law.

President Donald Trump this week is set to unveil his reciprocal tariffs on U.S trading partners, while in Congress Republicans try to show some progress on his key legislative priorities.

Congressional Republicans return from a one-week recess under pressure to reach agreement on a budget reconciliation plan, while the Trump administration will listen to concerns about its push to promote domestic shipbuilding.

The budget reconciliation bill that congressional Republicans want to pass this year to enact President Donald Trump’s policy priorities and extend expiring tax cuts is emerging as a possible vehicle to enact portions of a new farm bill, including high reference prices.

The Trump administration’s mass firing of probationary federal employees has swept out workers across USDA, including loan analysts in Farm Service Agency field offices, ag scientists, and about 1,200 staff of the Natural Resources Conservation Service, according to sources.

A panel of farmers and agricultural economists painted a bleak picture of the current state of the farm economy at a House Agriculture committee hearing Tuesday while calling for strengthening safety net programs in the next farm bill.