More shutdown votes
Senators are back in D.C. today for votes on a stopgap spending bill to end the partial government shutdown. But so far, there’s been no sign of progress to end the shutdown.
"There’s not a lot to negotiate. The Democrats just need to open up the government," Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told Fox News.
Meanwhile: Federal employees still face the threat of being fired. Many federal employees, including half of USDA’s workforce are furloughed, which is typical during shutdowns. But this time, White House Budget Director Russ Vought is threatening to use the shutdown to fire workers.
“We haven't seen the details yet about what's happening,” House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday. “But it is a regrettable situation that the president does not want.”
Separately, Kevin Hassett, who directs the White House’s National Economic Council, told CNN that, “If the president decides that the negotiations are absolutely going nowhere, then there will start to be layoffs.”
Keep in mind: The furloughed workers at USDA include Farm Service Agency staff, scientists, economists and others.
For more on this week’s D.C. agenda, read our Washington Week Ahead.
Sen. John Thune, R-S.D. (AP photo)
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., speaks, flanked by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, about the government shutdown. (Agri-Pulse photo) Agri Stats case stayed as shutdown halts DOJ work
A federal judge has approved a temporary stay in an antitrust lawsuit against data firm Agri Stats after being notified that Justice Department attorneys are barred from working on the case during the shutdown.
Agri Stats opposed the DOJ’s request for a stay, arguing that it would unfairly give DOJ attorneys more time to work on briefings scheduled in the near future. However, Judge John F. Docherty of the U.S. District Court in Minnesota called that argument “unconvincing given the law governing lapses in appropriations.”
Docherty said if he had not granted the motion, DOJ employees may have been forced "to work on this case without pay, in the hopes of receiving back pay after new appropriations are passed into law”.
The stay will lift as soon as appropriations are restored for the DOJ, Docherty said. He barred DOJ attorneys from working on the case or other matters related to Agri Stats in the meantime.
Oilseed prices set to recover, but will remain shy of 2022 peaks
After a year of moderation, oilseed prices are set to bounce back in the 2025-2026 fiscal year.
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In their October market update, University of Missouri researchers say biofuel demand should raise global oilseed prices in the upcoming fiscal year. Prices are expected to be below 2022 levels, however. Grains fare worse in their estimates because of ample global supplies and reduced need for livestock feed.
Dairy price increases are set to end as production increases and China’s march to self-sufficiency continues, albeit at a slowed pace.
But, but, but: The researchers say trade disputes are complicating forecasting efforts. Global negotiations could lower trade barriers, creating additional market openings and new price pressures.
“It is therefore impossible with any accuracy to predict the evolution of global markets, even in the near term,” the researchers warn.
Groups seek disclosure of air emissions from animal ag operations
Advocacy groups want to make air emissions data from animal operations publicly available.
A collection of environmental and community groups appealed a federal court decision that concluded animal ag facilities don’t have to report air emissions information.
The appeal to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals “seeks to ensure that industrial-scale livestock and poultry operations report significant releases of the extremely hazardous gases ammonia and hydrogen sulfide, as required by the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA),” the groups’ news release said.
In an August decision, U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly said the 2018 Fair Agricultural Reporting Method Act applies to EPCRA. The groups appealing his decision contest that conclusion.
Administration’s partisan messaging on websites, emails challenged
Public Citizen has filed a complaint with the Office of Special Counsel, a government watchdog agency, challenging partisan political statements on government websites.
The Agriculture Department and Department of Health and Human Services are among the agencies
the complaint says posted such website messaging.
The American Federation of Government Employees, or AFGE, also filed a lawsuit challenging the Education Department’s decision to commandeer employees’ out-of-office email messages. After being furloughed due to the shutdown, employees discovered that their out-of-office email responses were edited to blame Senate Democrats for the shutdown.
“The changes were made without giving notice to the employees and without obtaining consent,” a Public Citizen news release said. “The Trump-Vance administration’s use of official government resources to push partisan messaging is both unprecedented and in violation of the First Amendment.”
Public Citizen is representing AFGE.
EAT-Lancet Commission releases second report
The EAT-Lancet Commission caused a stir with its 2019 report recommending a shift in global eating patterns to aid the planet.
Now there’s a second report, and it largely repeats the conclusions of the first.
The commission’s planetary health diet, or PHD, “emphasizes a balanced dietary pattern that is predominantly plant-based, with moderate inclusion of animal-sourced foods and minimal consumption of added sugars, saturated fats, and salt,” a paper published in The Lancet medical journal states.
“Successful implementation of the PHD requires careful consideration of cultural contexts and the promotion of culturally appropriate and sustainable dietary traditions.”
The report also said that “the massive use of novel entities in food production, processing, and packaging (ranging from plastics to pesticides) remains a major concern but is alarmingly understudied.”
Lawsuit challenges H-1B changes
A new lawsuit is challenging the Trump administration’s decision to charge $100,000 for H-1B visas.
The lawsuit, filed by labor unions, health care providers, schools and religious organizations, argues that the $100,000 fee is really a tax, which it claims cannot be imposed without Congressional authorization.
Take note: The lawsuit says the H-1B program is often used by both rural healthcare providers and schools to fill vacancies and that they often struggle to find qualified help.
Final word
“The Trump-Vance administration is losing the blame game for the shutdown, so they’re using every tactic to try to fool the American people, including taking advantage of furloughed civil servants” –Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward, one of the groups representing AFGE in a lawsuit that says the administration is unlawfully using employees’ emails to convey partisan political messages.
Oliver Ward and Noah Wicks contributed to today’s Daybreak.
