‘Early stages’ of farm bill negotiations with House, says Boozman
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell all but ruled out new funding for the 2023 farm bill on Tuesday while the lead Republican on the Senate Agriculture Committee said "we're in the early stages of negotiations with the House" on the legislation. Neither committee has taken a step in public to write a successor to the 2018 farm law, which expires on September 30.
School food programs rely on USDA pandemic waivers
Nine out of every 10 schools are providing meals for free to all students under USDA waivers that are an unexpected issue in congressional budget negotiations this week. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell is a strong opponent of extending the waivers, issued to help schools cope with the pandemic, into the 2022-23 school year.
Farm bill to help hemp grow into a multibillion-dollar industry
In a flourish of political pomp, Sen. Mitch McConnell signed the final draft of the farm bill Monday with a hemp pen, grown and made in Kentucky. It wasn’t accidental. The legislation legalizes the production of industrial hemp, a multipurpose, quick-growing plant that farmers in …
Senate names high-power team for farm bill negotiations
When farm bill negotiators get down to business, the 47 House "conferees" will face an unusually big-caliber Senate team, with Majority Leader Mitch McConnell as one of its members, a rare role for the leader. Senate Agriculture Committee leaders, in cheering the formal appointment of their nine negotiators, used "bipartisan" to describe their approach and take a swipe at the Republican-written House farm bill and its proposal to require more people to work 20 hours a week to qualify for food stamps.
McConnell quashes objections to industrial hemp
Industrial hemp, used in products from clothes to health aids, could be the new cash crop for small farms, perhaps the successor to tobacco for making money on limited acreage, said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Wednesday.
Senate will vote on farm bill before end of June, says McConnell
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell put the farm bill and a defense bill at the top of his list for Senate passage before the Independence Day recess three weeks from now.
Uncertain future for GMO-disclosure bill when Senate votes
After the showdown vote scheduled for Wednesday in the Senate, the outlook for a GMO-disclosure bill may darken. The Senate bill, which preempts state GMO food-labeling laws along with allowing foodmakers to use a symbol, a digital code or wording on a package to disclose GMO ingredients, has few friends in the House, which has voted against mandatory labeling.
Obama: ‘The longer we wait, the harder it will be to pass the TPP’
China is trying to outmaneuver the United States in the Asian market, President Obama said, in pressing for approval of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact.
‘A major part of the food business’ is hostile to GMOs, says McConnell
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says he hasn't given up on passing a bill to pre-empt states from requiring special labels on food made with genetically modified organisms.
Timing of tax ‘extenders’ bill uncertain, says Senate leader
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says he wants to enact a tax "extenders" bill in a timely way, but did not suggest a likely course of action during a news conference, reports Agri-Pulse.
Another Ag panelist joins Senate leadership
Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar, an Agriculture Committee, member will be part of Democratic leadership in the next session. She was elected to chair the Democratic Steering and Outreach committee.
Rural voters shifted toward Republicans, like rest of US
Rural Americans, often socially and fiscally conservative, tend to vote at higher rates for Republicans than the nation overall. This year, when the country leaned Republican, the rate went up in rural areas too, says the Daily Yonder.
A dozen elections with food and agriculture policy impact
A dozen elections today may influence food and agriculture policy nationally, They range from the Kansas race that could determine the next chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee to referendums on soda taxes and GMO labeling.
Revenge of the farm bill
Four farm bill skeptics - Republicans Eric Cantor, Steve Southerland, Pat Roberts and Mitch McConnell - are having an ample share of electoral trouble, writes David Rogers at Politico. Cantor, the former House majority leader, was defeated in his Virginia primary election. Southerland, Roberts and McConnell face strong challenges in the general election. Politico notes there are unique factors in each race and the farm bill is a minor issue, if at all.
McConnell, Grimes argue farm bill in Kentucky Senate race
Democrat Alison Grimes faulted Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell for missing many Agriculture Committee hearings and for not being one of the negotiators who wrote the 2014 farm law, says the Associated Press.
Senate spat sidelines USDA funding
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid set aside the "minibus" appropriations bill that includes fiscal 2015 funding for USDA after a disagreement over how to handle amendments.