The House Freedom Caucus is raising the stakes for a showdown over federal spending this fall. The group of hard-line conservatives on Monday issued a list of demands that they insist must be met before they will support a continuing resolution needed to keep the government funded when the new fiscal year starts Oct. 1.
A clean CR “would be an affirmation of the current FY 2023 spending level grossly increased by the lame-duck December 2022 omnibus spending bill that we all vehemently opposed just seven months ago,” the group says.
The Republicans also are demanding action on three specific issues: Border security, “the unprecedented weaponization of the Justice Department,” and the “cancerous woke politics” in the Pentagon.
Why this matters: If House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., can’t get Freedom Caucus members to support a CR, he’ll have to move it with Democratic support, potentially putting his leadership post at risk, or risk a partial government shutdown in October. Until this issue gets resolved in some fashion, it could be difficult for the GOP leadership to move a farm bill.
Trump competitors have room to grow Iowa base
A closely watched Des Moines Register poll confirms that former President Donald Trump is maintaining a big lead in polling of likely Iowa caucus-goers. But the survey also shows that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and South Carolina Gov. Tim Scott still have some significant room to increase their support.
DeSantis is the first choice of only 19% of those polled. That’s well behind Trump at 42%. But another 20% of those polled consider the Florida governor their second choice, and 22% say they are actively considering him. Adding those groups together gives DeSantis a ceiling of 61%. Scott’s ceiling is at 53%.
Trump’s ceiling is 64%, when you factor in the voters who say he is their second choice or that they are considering him.
House members oppose EATS Act
A total of 171 House members, including five Republicans, signed a letter sent Monday to Agriculture Committee leaders opposing the Ending Agricultural Trade Suppression (EATS) Act, a bill which a Harvard analysis estimates could nullify as many as 1,000 state agriculture laws, including California’s Proposition 12 mandating animal production standards.
“Modeled after former Representative Steve King’s amendment, which was intensely controversial and ultimately excluded from the final 2014 and 2018 farm bills, the EATS Act could harm America’s small farmers, threaten numerous state laws and infringe on the fundamental rights of states to establish laws and regulations within their own borders,” the letter says.
Reps. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., and Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., led the letter, which opposes EATS inclusion in the upcoming farm bill discussion or any similar legislation.
Bill targets NRCS watershed program for improvement
A new bill aims to make it easier for communities to get funding for watershed and flood prevention projects
“The bipartisan Healthy Watersheds, Healthy Communities Act would streamline the planning and administration processes to enable more watershed-wide projects, shift decision-making to local NRCS staff, expand program eligibility, and allow federal funding to count toward state and local match requirements,” a news release from Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., says.
Bennet and Sens. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., and Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., introduced the bill to improve the Natural Resources Conservation Service’s Watershed and Flood Prevention Operations program, which they say is facing increased demand.
The Biden administration sought an increase of about $100 million, to $175 million for the program in fiscal 2024. The House’s FY 24 spending bill would zero out funding, while the Senate would provide about $90 million. The program received $500 million in the 2021 infrastructure bill.
Hearing on carbon pipeline on tap for Fort Dodge, Iowa
The Iowa Utilities Board kicks off its evidentiary hearing today in Fort Dodge on Summit Carbon Solutions’ proposed liquid carbon dioxide pipeline.
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Dozens of landowners are expected to testify at the hearing, which could take weeks. The IUB last week ordered Summit to provide the Iowa Farm Bureau and Sierra Club with financial details on the project.
Summit says that through payments for voluntary easements, it has secured more than 70% of the land needed for its 2,000-mile route through five states. In Iowa, landowners of about 1,000 parcels have not signed up, raising the possibility that Summit will have to seek eminent domain to proceed with the project.
USDA watchdog: AMS did not adequately keep track of contracting process
The Agricultural Marketing Service did not “adequately monitor its contracting process” for its Food Purchase and Distribution Program or verify whether some of the commodities it purchased were produced domestically, according to arecent report from the USDA’s Inspector General.
Through the program, the agency purchased around $2.3 billion in agricultural products impacted by trade tariffs in fiscal years 2019 and 2020, according to the USDA. The inspector general report also found that “at least one piece of key documentation” was missing from each of the 30 purchase orders it reviewed from the program.
The inspector general found “no reportable issues relating to the type and quantity of commodities purchased for the program,” according to the report. AMS agreed with recommendations from the inspector general that future iterations of the program ensure that domestic origin of commodities is “adequately verified” and create a formal review process for contracting commodities, among other things.
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