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 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 Cabinet Confirmation Hearings This week, the Senate will be busy holding confirmation hearings for at least seven of President-Elect Donald Trump’s cabinet nominees. The president-elect’s choice for Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), however, has yet to be named. As history has shown, it is not unusual for the agriculture secretary … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Catfish Inspection Program Although discussions surrounding government regulation of catfish have slowed on Capitol Hill since the enactment of the 2014 Farm Bill, the catfish inspection program at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is likely to once again be the subject of great scrutiny and debate as legislators begin to prepare … Continue Reading
Regulatory Activity 2015 Drinking Water Infrastructure Needs Survey and Assessment The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water is seeking comments on an information collection regarding identifying infrastructure needs of public water systems for the next 20 years, from January 2015 through December 2034. This is a renewal of an information … Continue Reading
Executive Activity President’s Task Force To Meet on Climate Change The President’s Task Force on Climate Preparedness and Resilience will meet for the first time on Tuesday, December 10. The Task Force is composed of 26 state, local and tribal officials and is charged with identifying ways to prepare communities for the impact of climate … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Farm Bill Conference: Priority Issues At-A-Glance On October 30, the 41 House and Senate farm bill conferees convened at a public meeting to formally kick-off negotiations, although informal talks began a few months ago between agriculture leadership’s staff. Despite many conferees cautioning against pre-maturely drawing lines on issues, it was clear what issues … Continue Reading
LEGISLATIVE ACTIVITY Farm Bill Conference This Wednesday, October 30, marks the official start to the farm bill conference, which will be a public meeting involving the 41 House and Senate conferees. For months, agriculture leadership and their staff have met behind the scenes on an informal basis to start conversations on reconciling the two farm … Continue Reading
