The House today is set to take up a package of six spending bills ahead of Friday’s deadline to avert a partial government shutdown.
The minibus includes fiscal 2024 funding for USDA, FDA, EPA and the departments of Interior, Commerce and Transportation.
Republicans won cuts in spending for a range of agencies and programs, including EPA. The Agriculture portion of the minibus includes new provisions to address concerns about foreign acquisition of U.S. farmland and agribusiness interests and also provides full funding for the Women, Infants and Children nutrition assistance program. The legislation would add USDA to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States and fund a data system to track foreign purchases of U.S. farmland.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., is pledging to move the minibus quickly once it gets to that chamber. “I will put these bills on the floor so we can have them on President Biden’s desk before Friday’s deadline. But the clock is ticking, and because of the State of the Union on Thursday we need to cooperate to move extra fast to get these bills through. Between now and Friday, the watchwords for the Senate will be cooperation and speed,” Schumer said Tuesday.
Also today: The Securities and Exchange Commission is set to vote today on a final, scaled-back version of its controversial rule that would require publicly held corporations to start disclosing greenhouse gas emissions. According to a report by Reuters in February, the final rule will drop a requirement that companies report Scope 3 emissions, those that originate in their supply chains.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack is back in Texas today to speak to members of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association. He’s expected to announce new funding for clean power projects.
Check out the Agri-Pulse weekly newsletter today for a report on USDA’s decision to scale back farm data requirements for the Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities initiative.
Farmers draw offers to lease farmland for solar
One of every ten farmers say they have had discussions with a company in the last six months about leasing farm land for solar power projects, according to the monthly Purdue-CME Group survey of producers.
More than half of those producers who’ve been involved in lease discussions, 56%, say they were offered at least $1,000 an acre. That’s up from 48% who reported in February 2023 that they had been offered $1,000 or more.
Bayer announces win in third straight Roundup trial
Bayer is touting its legal strategy for Roundup cases after announcing it won its third trial in a row “when a jury reached a unanimous defense verdict” in a product liability case in Philadelphia.
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The victory in the Kline case came after Roundup plaintiffs in Superior Court in Sonoma County, California, voluntarily dismissed their case with prejudice. This case follows a defense verdict in Arkansas and a mistrial in Delaware.
Bayer said it’s won 13 of the last 19 cases “where judgments were entered at trial, validating the company’s strategy of taking cases to trial based on strong scientific and regulatory evidence.”
Take note: On Monday, Bayer CEO Bill Anderson said the company was “badly broken,” pointing to debt and litigation costs as two problematic areas. But he also said Bayer was sticking with its strategy.
GOP lawmakers demand withdrawal of EPA packing plant regs
Republicans in both the Senate and House are asking EPA to withdraw its proposal to reduce wastewater discharges from meat and poultry facilities.
Eleven GOP senators and 17 House Republicans signed on to the letter to EPA Administrator Michael Regan, saying the 60-day comment period for the proposal “demonstrates EPA is not interested in seeking meaningful input from the regulated industry.”
Take note: EPA has decided against extending the comment deadline, noting that it must comply with a schedule set under a consent decree.
“We are concerned the number of potential closures is likely much higher than estimated, and we believe it is irresponsible for EPA to propose regulations that will arbitrarily close plants and eliminate jobs from the rural economy,” the lawmakers wrote.
EPA estimates its “preferred alternative” in the proposal would result in the closure of 16 facilities. The most stringent option would result in 53 facilities closing, the agency predicted.
NY cheese processor pleads guilty in case linked to listeriosis outbreak
A raw milk cheese manufacturer in New York has pleaded guilty to helping ship adulterated cheese across state lines. According to the Justice Department, Johannes Vulto, who operated Vulto Creamery LLC, admitted to shipping adulerated cheese across state lines between December 2014 and March 2017 in violation of federal law. The cheese was linked to a 2016-17 listeriosis outbreak that caused eight hospitalizations and two deaths.
Vulto faces a maximum sentence of up to a year in prison, a term of supervised release of up to one year, and a fine of up to $250,000, according to the U.S. District Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York. The creamery could face a maximum fine of up to $500,000.
FDA looks to fund antibiotic data collection
FDA is accepting proposals for funding to support the collection of antibiotic use data in various animal sectors. Cooperative agreements will provide up to three awards totaling $600,000 in fiscal 2024 and up to five awards totaling $1 million in FY25. The deadline for proposals is May 13.
Correction: Tuesday's Daybreak misstated the award ceiling for projects under the McGovern-Dole international school feeding program. The ceiling is $30 million.
