Texas Sen. Ted Cruz won’t let go of his “hold” on USDA nominee Bill Northey, said Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, so he and fellow Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst have appealed to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to arrange a vote. “We want to do it as soon after Nov. 30 as we can,” Grassley told ag reporters.
“When it comes to the farm bill, we need him [Northey] in place — and from that standpoint, the leader said he would help to move it along,” said Grassley. “How he will do that, I don’t know.”
In a body where tradition and courtesy are highly valued, “holds” are an informal way to block Senate action on a nominee. At the same time, collegial pressure can outweigh deference to an individual senator’s position.
Cruz has blocked a vote on Northey, nominated to be the undersecretary in charge of the USDA’s crop subsidy and conservation programs, in retaliation for Corn Belt maneuvering in support of corn ethanol and biodiesel. The EPA is obliged to announce by Nov. 30 the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) for 2018. Cruz would lose his leverage when the EPA acts. In a letter last week to Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, the Texan said he wanted President Trump to call a White House meeting so “oil patch” senators could hash out their differences with Corn Belt backers of ethanol.
Biofuel backers turned to Trump a month ago in an effort to put the brakes on potential cuts in the RFS. Trump campaigned as a strong backer of corn ethanol. Taking a cue from the White House, EPA administrator Scott Pruitt said the agency’s preliminary analysis supported a biofuel mandate “equal to or greater than the amounts proposed” last summer, which included the maximum 15 billion gallons of corn ethanol and 2.1 billion gallons of biodiesel for 2018 and 2019.
Pruitt also said the EPA is exploring whether it can approve year-round sales of E15, a blend of gasoline and 15 percent ethanol. He nixed talk of counting ethanol exports toward meeting the RFS, which was created to reduce reliance on petroleum imports, or of relieving refiners from the obligation of complying with the RFS.
The biodiesel industry contends it merits a higher usage target because of idle domestic capacity. Backers of cleaner-burning, second-generation “advanced” biofuels are rankled by EPA proposals to permanently lower the RFS for advanced fuels, which include ethanol made from grass, woody plants, and crop debris. At present, biodiesel generates nine of every 10 gallons of advanced biofuels.
To date, the Senate has confirmed three of the eight members of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue’s executive team: Deputy Secretary Steve Censky, Undersecretary for Trade Ted McKinney, and Gregory Ibach, undersecretary for marketing and regulatory programs. Northey would be the fourth of the executives, who stand one level below Perdue. The administration has yet to nominate the remaining four undersecretaries.