House passes ‘minibus’ with USDA funding and CFIUS role
After four stop-gap bills stretching over five months, U.S. representatives overwhelmingly passed and sent to the Senate on Wednesday a $467.5 billion package to fund the USDA and six other federal departments for the rest of the fiscal year. The so-called minibus includes a $1 billion increase for WIC and for USDA membership, on a case by case basis, on the powerful Treasury-led committee that decides if foreign investments in America pose a national security risk.
Use ‘non-prime’ farmland for renewable energy
At the same time he announced $2.2 billion in loans and loan guarantees for rural electric cooperatives, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack acknowledged on Wednesday fears that U.S. farmland will be covered by wind turbines and solar collectors. “We know that there are some concerns out there about whether renewable energy will overtake prime farmland,” he said.
TODAY’S QUICK HITS
Climate change hits women harder: Women leading households in low and middle-income countries suffer larger losses than male counterparts due to climate change — 8 percent more from heat stress and 3 percent more from floods. (Food and Agriculture Organization)
SEC dilutes climate rule: The new Securities and Exchange Commission rules that require public companies to disclose their greenhouse gas emissions no longer include suppliers; farm groups were among opponents who said such a mandate would be onerous and costly. (New York Times)
Fed seeks price stability: At a House hearing, Chairman Jerome Powell said the Federal Reserve wants assurance that inflation is slowing toward its goal of 2 percent a year before it lowers interest rates; “restoring price stability is essential” for a strong economy. (House Financial Services)
Now grilling, the NotHotDog: Sausage maker Oscar Meyer launched plant-based NotHogDogs and NotSausages with parent company Kraft Heinz saying it expects the meat-alternative market to double by the end of the decade. (NBC News)
