President Donald Trump has sent a $9.4 billion package of proposed spending rescissions to Capitol Hill, and the targets include some foreign food assistance initiatives.
The package largely goes after the U.S. Agency for International Development and public broadcasting. The USAID projects that would be hit by the spending cancellations aren’t laid out in detail, but the Office of Management and Budget offered some clues in a series of posts on X.
One project that would be killed, according to OMB, involves $4 million for “legume systems research.” Another cut appears to target a project developing an insect-based product for hungry children in Madagascar. Climate resilience projects also would get the ax.
Take note: Congressional approval isn’t a given. Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins, R-Maine, said her committee would “carefully review the rescissions package” and its potential impact on issues such as “global health” as well as “emergency communications in rural communities, and public radio and television stations.”
DOGE cuts likely will need backfilling at USDA
A former USDA transition official says the cuts carried out by the Department of Government Efficiency were “ambitious” and “painful.” And Brian Klippenstein says the department will have to backfill some personnel losses.
Deferred resignations resulted in about 15,000 people leaving the department.
“There's some extraordinary talent that walked out the door when this happened,” said Klippenstein, who served as a senior adviser to former Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue and aided both Trump transitions. He was speaking on a webinar with Dave Muth, managing director for capital markets at Peoples Co. in Iowa.
“Everyone's replaceable, but sometimes it takes more than a minute,” Klippenstein said. “It's going to be months before we fully appreciate it all.”
Looking ahead, he added, “This isn't insider information, but I'd be astonished if there weren't other shoes to drop. … If you think this might be the end of it, I’d caution against thinking that.”
Nominee says he’s always worked things out with Forest Service
The nominee to oversee the Forest Service insisted he has had “disagreements” but not “disputes” with the Forest Service. Michael Boren made the comment at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Agriculture Committee Tuesday.
Boren has been nominated to be undersecretary for natural resources at USDA, where he would oversee an agency that has lost more than 4,000 employees through deferred resignations.
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While calling some of what the Forest Service has done “oppressive,” Boren said that when there have been disagreements, “we've always come around to a settlement that works for everyone.”
A tech executive from Idaho, Boren has run into controversy over his building of an airstrip on a ranch he owns within a national recreation area in the state, as well as a cabin.
On managing the national forests, Boren said, “We need to find ways to balance all of the uses – recreation, timber production, clean air and water, which sometimes involves non- production in areas [of] oil and gas and forage.”
Take note: Ahead of the hearing, the committee approved a bill to let schools serve whole milk.
Lawmakers urge Greer to focus on biofuels in India trade talks
Seventeen House Republicans are urging U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer to prioritize improving market access for ethanol, distillers’ dried grains and soybean meal in trade discussions with India.
India only allows U.S. ethanol imports for industrial use. The lawmakers say in a letter that expansion of market access for transportation uses could allow for up to $400 million in additional ethanol exports.
The lawmakers say India's growing need for animal feed could open market opportunities DDGs and soybean meal. In addition, elimination of an Indian tariff on soybean meal and the establishment of a permanent tariff rate quota for U.S. soybean meal “would promote a more level playing field for U.S. soybean farmers in the Indian market."
Rural groups ask appropriators to maintain USDA telecommunications funding
Sixteen rural groups are urging House and Senate appropriators to continue funding telecommunication programs through USDA's Rural Utilities Service.
In a letter, the groups say USDA telecom programs have historically received “robust bipartisan support” from the appropriations committees in the House and Senate. Some of the programs provide loans that must be paid back, they add.
The groups include NTCA-The Rural Broadband Association, the American Farm Bureau Federation and the National Association of Counties.
Take note: The Trump administration’s budget request includes a 4% cut to overall budget authority for RUS programs from 2025 levels. The budget has no money for the ReConnect program.
Oversight Dem probes use of AI in MAHA report
The top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee wants Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to explain how artificial intelligence was used to draft the first Make America Healthy Again Commission report.
In addition to details about what AI tools were used, Rep. Stephen F. Lynch of Massachusetts has asked for communications and records related to the citations and selection of studies used to back up the report’s findings.
The probe follows reports of erroneous citations in the commission report. Some of the citations included broken links and listed the incorrect authors or journal. There are other instances where the author of the cited work said the study does not support claims in the study. Experts believe the errors are evidence that AI was used, according to the Washington Post.
Democrats and farm groups have criticized the citation issues in the report.
Final word
“Responsible governance means prioritizing fiscal sanity and holding Washington accountable. Just as everyday Americans make tough choices and cut costs, so should their government.” – House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole, R-Okla., on the White House rescissions package.
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