6 years, 3 months ago AFBF
Senate leaders have reached an agreement to end the government shutdown, passing a bill to fund the government until February 8th. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer agreed to end a filibuster on the spending bill, in exchange for Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s word that the Senate will begin debating immigration by the day the short-term spending bill expires. The Senate vote was 80 to 18, with 33 Democrats joining 47 Republicans in voting for the measure. The Department of Agriculture had planned to furlough roughly 70 percent of the agency’s employees, despite notices from Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue that many core programs would remain open during the shutdown. USDA insisted that during the brief shutdown, food safety inspection would occur, along with import controls, core nutrition programs and crop insurance. Some speculate that the brief government shutdown harms efforts to pass future legislation later this year, including the next farm bill.
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Another Round of NAFTA Talks Getting Underway
Trade negotiators are in Montreal for the next round of talks regarding the North American Free Trade Agreement. The session could be the last round of significant talks before the Mexican presidential campaigns which lead up to a July first election, making negotiations too difficult, according to the Hagstrom Report. The talks will last until January 29th, when the top U.S., Mexican and Canadian trade officials are scheduled to meet. The Canadian Press reports the nation will be hosting an “angry” U.S. trade delegation, and many expect contentious issues to be addressed, including agriculture. The talks come as Bloomberg claims the U.S. and Canada agree on 40 percent of the topics being negotiated, and that Mexico may be able to accept terms for vehicles. Mexico claims that trade negotiators are close to completing work on ten of the 30 NAFTA chapters. Still, the fate of the agreement remains unclear, as the Trump administration has routinely threatened to end the trade pact. President Trump has also said that a new NAFTA will greatly benefit U.S. farmers and ranchers.
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TPP Talks Continue as Canada Shows Hesitation
Trade officials gathering this week in Tokyo are trying to forge ahead on the Trans-Pacific Partnership without the United States but are bogged down by Canada. The member countries of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, also known as TPP 11, reached a basic agreement on the pact in November. But, Canada is holding out to secure protection of its cultural industries and has said it will not be rushed into signing a deal that other members hope to conclude by March, according to Reuters. TPP nations are “committed” to advancing the deal forward as quickly as possible. While not likely, the nations could exclude Canada, as an Australian official says: “Our focus is on bringing a new TPP agreement into force as soon as possible with those who are ready to move.” Farm groups, including the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association, last week urged Canada to commit to the agreement. Without the new TPP, the Association says: “Canadian beef producers will watch helplessly as our exports to Japan erode.”
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Federal District Courts Have Jurisdiction to Review WOTUS, Stay to be Lifted
The U.S. Supreme Court Monday ruled that federal district courts, not the federal court of appeals, have jurisdiction to review the 2015 Waters of the U.S. rule. The decision, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation, “brings greater clarity” to an issue that has “bogged down” the litigation for years. AFBF general counsel Ellen Steen says the decision is positive, but also provides uncertainty because the Sixth Circuit must soon lift its nationwide stay of the 2015 rule. The Environmental Protection Agency of the Trump Administration is reworking the rule but has not yet finalized the proposal to delay the 2015 WOTUS rule. Nearly all sides of the WOTUS rule declared the ruling a win, including environmental groups, as all sides argued that the rule did not fall within categories that the Clean Water Act stipulates belong in appeals courts. However, the Trump Administration had argued that the challenges were legally within the purview of appeals courts because the rule touched on the EPA’s permitting authority.
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National Farmers Union Announces Farm Bill Priorities
The National Farmers Union is calling on Congress to increase funding for farm programs in the farm bill and pass the legislation as soon as possible. Announcing the organization's farm bill priorities Monday, NFU President Roger Johnson says the new farm bill “must strengthen the safety net so that farmers and ranchers can manage risk.” NFU leaders set 14 farm bill recommendations for Congress to follow, including a set of changes to the farm bill’s commodity title. NFU is calling for “increased and robust reference prices” under the Price Loss Coverage program, technical corrections to the Agricultural Risk Coverage program, and an “incentives-based inventory management program” to manage milk supplies based on market demand. The organization also called for mechanisms to address oversupply of grain and dairy, and for “meaningful” assistance to cotton producers. NFU also urged Congress to provide additional acreage under the Conservation Reserve Program, “robust” funding for Rural Development programs, and strong nutrition programs.
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Analysts to Dairy: Speak Up Now on Immigration
CNN political analyst and Republican strategist Ann Navarro told dairy farmers it’s time to make sure lawmakers “hear your voice” on immigration. Speaking to dairy farmers at the annual Dairy Strong Conference last week, she says farmers understand the immigration issue and urged them to keep pushing their representatives in Washington to act. Immigration is a key issue for dairy farmers since immigrants make up a large portion of their workforce. Navarro says the Republican Party “is like a big, dysfunctional family around the holiday table,” noting that the closer the calendar turns to the midterm election, the less work Congress will get done. With that in mind, Navarro told dairy farmers to make their voices heard sooner rather than later. As part of the agreement in the Senate to end the brief government shutdown, the Senate is expected to consider immigration issues, primarily DACA, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, within the next three weeks.
