Legislative rider directs USDA to block farmland purchases by four nations
To foil foreign adversaries, the Agriculture Department should “take such steps as may be necessary” to prevent them from buying U.S. farmland, said the House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday, despite questions about whether the USDA has the authority to intrude on sales. “This is a very important step,” said Rep. Don Newhouse, sponsor of the legislative rider aimed at China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran.
House panel: Put the brakes on China-owned farmland in U.S.
China would be barred from buying more U.S. farmland and the land already in its possession would become ineligible for farm subsidies under language approved by the House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday. On a voice vote, the provision was added to a $197 billion USDA-FDA funding bill headed for a vote on the House floor.
Meatpacking plants in the spotlight at House hearing
Meatpacking, poultry, and agricultural workers have faced "devastating" conditions during the pandemic, in part due to employers' and federal regulators' lax approach to worker safety, argued advocates during a hearing before a House Appropriations Subcommittee on Tuesday. The hearing comes as food system workers are becoming eligible to receive the Covid-19 vaccine in many states, but new outbreaks and cases of the virus continue to emerge in these crowded workplaces across the country. No paywall
House coronavirus bill boosts SNAP, other public nutrition programs
The $3 trillion coronavirus bill backed by House Democrats would increase SNAP benefits by 15 percent and put $4 billion into other public nutrition programs, according to summaries released by the House Appropriations Committee. Democratic leaders announced the bill on Tuesday and said the …
House panel votes to keep SNAP retailer data secret
A May court ruling that would allow the release of SNAP sales data may not be the end of a South Dakota newspaper’s seven-year battle for access to the information. The House Appropriations Committee voted on Wednesday to keep the data confidential.
House panel forgoes big Trump cuts in food stamps, crop insurance
With the big budget battle in another arena, House appropriators proposed steady-as-you go funding for the USDA and FDA in the fiscal year that begins on Oct. 1. President Trump has proposed cutting food stamps by 25 percent and crop insurance by 36 percent.
Ag industry asks Congress to fund biotech ‘education’
Three months after Congress passed a law for mandatory disclosure of GMO ingredients in food, five dozen farm and food industry groups asked Congress to assure access to "modern agricultural tools." They also asked for a $3 million appropriation so the FDA and USDA can "educate the public" about use of biotechnology in the food and agriculture sector.
Democrats see chance to oust House ag appropriator
Due to voter distaste for Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, Democratic strategists say their party may have chances to win in up to a dozen GOP-held seats in the House, including the district held by Kevin Yoder, reports the New York Times. Yoder, a fiscal conservative who represents the suburbs of Kansas City, is a member of the House Appropriations subcommittee that oversees funding for FDA and USDA.
The season of farewells on Capitol Hill
The general election is more than six months away and the new administration won't take office for nine months but the farewells are being heard already on Capitol Hill.
Spare us from budget cuts, says everyone in ag and food
In a show of solidarity, 254 groups spanning the world of food and agriculture signed a letter of opposition to any cuts in USDA programs in the coming fiscal year.