Chuck Grassley
End farm subsidy payments to people who aren’t farmers, says Grassley
Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, who nearly succeeded in tightening the eligibility rules for farm subsidies in the 2014 farm law, says he’ll try again with the 2018 farm bill to end payments to city dwellers who never set foot on the farm or take no role in running it.
Grassley sees wind, solar phase-down where Pruitt wants a cut off
Although EPA administrator Scott Pruitt favors elimination of tax credits for wind and solar power, he isn't calling the shots for the administration, said Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, the No. 2 state in wind-generated electricity. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin "will be in the room when these agreements are made," said Grassley, a member of the tax-writing Finance Committee, and Mnuchin backs an ongoing phase-down of wind and solar tax credits."
Trump calls Grassley to talk about ethanol
Iowa Sen. Charles Grassley, chairman of one of the committees investigating Russian meddling in U.S. elections, said on Twitter that President Trump called him and "he assured me he's pro-ethanol ... he knows that ethanol is good, good, good." The phone call came on the same day the Senate Judiciary Committee said it would interview Trump's son, Donald Jr., in coming weeks as part of the Russia investigation.
Put USDA on panel that reviews foreign investment, say senators
Two senior farm-state senators filed legislation to make USDA a permanent member of the high-powered federal panel that decides whether foreign investment in the United States would impair national security interests. The legislation sponsored by Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley and Michigan Sen. Debbie Stabenow, the senior Democrat on the Agriculture Committee, would require the panel to consider the impact of a proposed foreign investment on U.S. food and agricultural systems.
Grassley pushes for Iowan in senior USDA post
Southerners and Westerners don't appreciate the family farming tradition as highly as Midwesterners, said Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, in promoting Bill Northey, his state's agriculture secretary, for a top job at USDA such as deputy secretary or undersecretary. Former Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue is President Donald Trump's choice for agriculture secretary.
Will ChemChina claim immunity against U.S. lawsuits?
With state-owned ChemChina prepared to take over Syngenta, one of the largest seed companies in the world, Senate Judiciary chairman Chuck Grassley wants to know if the Chinese company would invoke sovereign immunity against lawsuits in U.S. courts. "If they fail to answer my questions, it ought to raise a big red flag with our regulators checking the antitrust laws against the mergers," Grassley told reporters according to DTN.
Farm sector stronger than expected in a down year
Record livestock prices and bumper crops are blunting greatly a downturn in the farm economy, said the Agriculture Department in its semiannual Farm Sector Income forecast. USDA says net cash farm income, a measure of the ability to pay bills, will drop by 6 percent this year instead of the 22 percent plunge forecast in February.
Senate opens work on tax “extenders” bill
Senators voted 96-3 to take up a bill that would retroactively reinstate five dozen tax breaks for two years at a cost of $81 billion. "Lawmakers overseeing tax policy have indicated that a final deal to extend all of the expired credits might not come until after the midterm elections," said The Hill newspaper. The Senate was scheduled to continue consideration today of a motion to proceed on the bill.
Wetter than normal outlook for Farm Belt, Northwest
The National Weather Service forecasts more precipitation than usual in the Midwest, the Plains and the Pacific Northwest for late April, which could delay spring planting but relieve dry conditions in the western Corn Belt and the central and southern Plains.
Senators urge more market opening by Japan
Eighteen US senators sign letter to USTR Michael Froman saying United States should press Japan to increase market access for US farm exports.