USDA spending falls as White House envisions transformational farm bill
Agriculture Department spending would fall 14 percent in the new fiscal year, due almost entirely to reduced SNAP benefits with the end of the pandemic, said the White House on Thursday. It proposed relatively modest initiatives at the USDA for fiscal 2024, such as offering free school meals to more poor children, while seeing golden potential in the new farm bill for broad-scale change.
More money needed for farm bill, says panel, eyeing climate funds
After describing the farm economy in apocalyptic terms, the House Agriculture Committee voted unanimously on Thursday to seek “additional resources … to enact a strong farm bill in 2023.” The committee also said it would consider whether to divert all or part of the $20 billion awarded to the USDA for climate mitigation to other needy programs.
TODAY’S QUICK HITS
House votes to nix WOTUS: The Republican-controlled House voted, 227-198, to void the Biden administration’s Waters of the United States regulation, with five members of the House Agriculture Committee among the nine Democrats voting for the repeal. (House Clerk)
Keeping the ‘F’ in FDA: “There should be no question in anyone’s mind that the F in FDA is a top priority for me,” said FDA commissioner Robert Califf in a social media response to a campaign for a separate food agency. (Califf)
School meal participation soared: Student participation in school breakfast and lunch programs exceeded pre-pandemic levels during the 2021-22 school year, when the meals were free for everyone. (Food Research & Action Center)
Right-to-repair statement: The American Farm Bureau Federation and CNH Industrial, maker of Case IH and New Holland equipment, signed a right-to-repair memorandum of understanding that the AFBF said was similar to its MOU with Deere. (AFBF)
Wary of carbon storage: Navigator CO2 Ventures is struggling to secure a site to store the millions of tons of carbon dioxide that would flow through its midwestern pipeline because landowners fear the underground reservoirs could leak. (Reuters)
