Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman John Boozman, R-Ark., tells Agri-Pulse he’s ready to act swiftly if the Trump administration wants Congress to permanently move Food for Peace to the Agriculture Department.
“If we need to change the statute, I think there's a willingness to do that,” he said Thursday, noting that both USDA and the State Department are in favor of the move. Both departments signed an interagency agreement to temporarily move the program in December.
“It seems a natural thing,” Boozman said, adding that lawmakers are ready to act “as soon as possible.”
Kansas GOP lawmakers Sen. Jerry Moran and Rep. Tracey Mann have introduced legislation to make the transfer permanent. Moran was interviewed on Agri-Pulse’s Newsmakers program yesterday, where he cited widespread support among colleagues and the general public for the transfer.
Hear more about Food for Peace on Agri-Pulse Newsmakers today with the North American Millers’ Association's Kim Cooper & Dalton Henry from the U.S. Wheat Associates.
U.S. unveils trade pact with El Salvador to streamline ag exports, address fraud
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has secured a deal with El Salvador to reduce U.S. tariffs in exchange for trade concessions, including measures to streamline ag exports.
The deal commits El Salvador to recognize U.S. dairy sanitary certificates and USDA inspections of meat and poultry products and facilities. El Salvador also agreed to avoid fumigating U.S. food and ag products unless scientifically justified, accelerate biotech approvals and implement new protections from geographic indicators.
A commitment to work together to stop fraud in Central American rice markets has the U.S. rice industry particularly pleased.
Thai milled rice imported to El Salvador is being relabeled as U.S. origin and reexported tariff-free to countries in the region under a Caribbean and Central American free trade deal.
“We've been talking to USDA and USTR for probably close to a year about this issue,” Peter Bachmann, president and CEO of USA Rice Federation, tells Agri-Pulse. “Even a small retail portion of this is problematic, and it was enough for USTR to include it in their negotiations, so we're happy about that.”
New Jersey Senator Booker could get bigger Ag Committee job
Sen. Amy Klobuchar is officially running for governor of Minnesota. If she wins, Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey would be in line to replace her as the top Democrat on the Senate Ag Committee.
Booker would be an unconventional new ranking member – or possibly chairman if Democrats win the Senate in November. Booker is a vegan and has been an outspoken critic of America’s food system, concentrated animal feeding operations and checkoff programs. He’s a proponent of conservation funding.
Booker would also be the panel’s highest-ranking African-American to date.
Senate Agriculture Chairman John Boozman, R-Ark., tells Agri-Pulse: “We’d certainly look forward to working with him if Amy becomes the next governor” of Minnesota.
Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., chair of the Ag Committee’s livestock, dairy and food safety panel, says he had a good relationship with Booker, though he added that Booker doesn’t have a “traditional ag background.”
On whether the agriculture industry would support someone with Booker’s vegan and conservation slant, Hoeven told Agri-Pulse: “As long as he does good work for farmers, then yeah.”
Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)Democratic senators assail WOTUS proposal
A group of Democratic senators went after the Trump administration’s proposed WOTUS rule Thursday, saying it goes beyond restrictions on federal jurisdiction imposed by a 2023 Supreme Court ruling.
The court’s Sackett decision excludes from Clean Water Act definition any wetlands that don’t have a “continuous surface connection” to waters considered “relatively permanent.”
But 15 senators said the proposal issued in November goes further and would leave 81% of nontidal wetlands unprotected. Other water bodies that would be imperiled by the rule include “many types of headwaters, tributaries, and ephemeral or intermittent streams.”
The comment period on the EPA-Army Corps of Engineers proposed rule ended earlier this month. Farm groups have been largely supportive of the anticipated changes.
Senators including Ron Wyden of Oregon, Adam Schiff of California and Cory Booker of New Jersey signed the letter to EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin.
Crypto clarity?
The Senate Ag Committee on Thursday approved legislation aimed at providing clarity in the developing digital commodities market.
With crypto about as clear as mud to the average person, the Digital Commodity Intermediaries Act calls for a framework with a “clear” legal definition of digital commodities. It also would give new authority to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to regulate the space and bolster protections for consumers.
“This is a critical step toward creating clear rules for digital asset markets,” Ag Committee Chairman John Boozman said in a statement.
2026 Super Bowl wing consumption projected at 1.48 billion
Chicken wings have long ruled the roost at Super Bowl parties. And Super Bowl 60 promises more of the same.
The National Chicken Council estimates that Americans will eat 1.48 billion chicken wings during the Super Bowl on Feb. 8, which is around 10 million more than last year.
Over the last four weeks, coinciding with the NFL playoffs, chicken wing sales grew 19.8% year-over-year by unit, and 11.4% by dollar, according to a press release.
Take note: The National Chicken Council says if laid end over end, 1.48 billion chicken wings would stretch 27 times across the space between the home stadiums of the New England Patriots in Foxborough, Massachusetts, and the Seattle Seahawks, the two teams playing in the Super Bowl.
Final Word
“Sometimes there's a criticism of foreign aid by constituents … but when it comes to Food for Peace – food aid – there’s just a lot of support. It makes a lot of sense to people. If we can get it in the right process by which we get it to the floor, this is something that can become law and make this program stronger and long-lasting at USDA.” – Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan. talking about moving Food for Peace to USDA. Moran was interviewed yesterday for Agri-Pulse’s Newsmakers program.
Kim Chipman, Steve Davies, Oliver Ward, and Noah Wicks contributed to today’s Daybreak
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