Legislative Activity Sonny Perdue’s Upcoming Challenges As President Trump is reflecting on his first 100 days in office, Sonny Perdue is just getting his feet wet in his new position as Secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). On April 25, less than 24 hours after the Senate overwhelmingly approved his nomination by … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Full Senate Set to Confirm Sonny Perdue as Agriculture Secretary It has been nearly 14 weeks since President Donald Trump nominated Sonny Perdue, former two-term governor of Georgia, to lead the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). His long wait for formal confirmation is likely to come to an end this week. The Senate … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Sonny Perdue Awaits Full Senate Vote Last week, the Senate Agriculture Committee easily approved Sonny Perdue’s nomination for the position of United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary. The committee favorably reported his nomination by voice vote; however, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) was the lone vote of opposition. Gillibrand stood behind her vote, … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Homeland Security and Agriculture Issues Intersect: Agro-Terrorism Bills Introduced in Both Chambers; House Committee to Hold Markup This week, the House Homeland Security Committee will mark up a bill, H.R. 1238, the “Securing Our Agriculture and Food Act,” introduced on February 28 by Reps. David Young (R-IA), Donald Payne, Jr. (D-NJ), and Daniel … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity 2018 Farm Bill Hearings Officially Underway; Kansas’ “Big First” Representative Roger Marshall Welcomes Panelists Last week, leaders of the Senate Agriculture Committee – Chairman Pat Roberts (R-KS) and Ranking Member Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) – traveled to Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas, to kick off the first 2018 Farm Bill hearing. The discussion … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Outlook for the 115th Congress On Tuesday, January 31, the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee – led by Chairman Pat Roberts (R-KS) and Ranking Member Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) – held a brief business meeting to adopt the committee’s rules and funding resolution for the 115th Congress. Chairman Roberts announced that a separate … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Sonny Perdue Selected for USDA Secretary With the selection of Sonny Perdue, former two-term governor of Georgia, to lead the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), President Trump’s Cabinet picks are complete. Perdue must be confirmed by the U.S. Senate by a simple majority vote before his position as USDA Secretary is official. As … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Child Nutrition Reauthorization After months of inaction, S. 3136, the Improving Child Nutrition Integrity and Access Act of 2016, got an unexpected jolt of life on September 15 when the bill was hotlined, boosting the hopes of supporters and removing a hurdle for the bill to be considered by the full Senate. Last … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) The debate surrounding whether federal standards should exist for the labeling of GMOs will continue this week. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, is charged with the regulation of GMOs and has determined that foods derived … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Senate Agriculture Committee Votes to Reauthorize CFTC Following a Senate Appropriations hearing last week to review the FY17 Budget Requests for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), on Thursday, April 14, the Senate Agriculture Committee voted 11-9, to reauthorize the CFTC. Though the timing of Senate … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity House To Vote On CFTC Reauthorization Bill This week, the House is expected to debate and vote on the reauthorization of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) through September 2018 (H.R. 4413). Additionally, while the Senate Agriculture Committee has yet to unveil its CFTC reauthorization bill, the level of bipartisan support that H.R. 4413 receives … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity House to Vote on CFTC Reauthorization Bill This week, the House of Representatives is expected to take up H.R 4413, a bill that would reauthorize the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) through September 2018. On June 13, House Rules Committee Chairman Pete Sessions(R-TX) asked Members to submit any amendments by Tuesday, June 15. The House bill would make several changes to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity House to Vote on Flood Insurance Bill After delaying plans for a vote last week, Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) is expected to hold a vote on the amended Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act (H.R. 3370) on Wednesday, March 5, under suspension of the rules. Among some of the changes, the latest draft … Continue Reading
LEGISLATIVE ACTIVITY Farm Bill Conferees On Saturday, Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH) and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) named farm bill conferees. The Republicans appointed 17 members, including 12 Agriculture Committee members, two Foreign Affairs Committee members, two Ways and Means Committee members, and one member to represent the Republican leadership. Republican conferees … Continue Reading
