WASHINGTON, Jan. 11, 2017 - We’re just nine days away from
President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration and there’s no sign of his
agriculture secretary. Speculation abounded last week that former Gov. Sonny
Perdue had a lock on the job, but there are signs Trump may be looking elsewhere.
A member of Trump’s agriculture advisory team, Rep. Robert
Aderholt, R-Ala., tells Agri-Pulse that there are regional tensions
at play, and that there is still pressure to use the nomination to put a
Hispanic in the cabinet. Aderholt chairs the House Agriculture Appropriations
Subcommittee that controls USDA’s budget.
Maldonado backer huddles with Trump advisers. The
president and CEO of the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Javier Palomarez,
wrote an op-ed earlier
this week promoting former
California Lt. Gov. Abel Maldonado for the job. And yesterday,
Palomarez met with members of Trump’s transition team.
There was no word from the group on whether Palomarez talked
about Maldonado in that meeting, except
that the meeting covered a “variety of issues.” Palomarez is a member of
Trump’s National Diversity Council.
In the op-ed, Palomarez wrote, “Having a real farmer, who
understands firsthand the complexities of the agricultural sector, is important
to effectively lead the Department of Agriculture. That is why America needs
Abel Maldonado.”
Maldonado is the eldest son of immigrant Mexican farm
workers who turned a half-acre strawberry farm near Santa Barbara into a
6,000-acre operation.
Democrats blast Labor pick. Some in agriculture have
been encouraged that Trump’s nominee for labor secretary, fast-food executive
Andrew Puzder, has an appreciation for immigrant labor. But Senate Democrats
are using the run-up to Puzder’s confirmation hearing to highlight claims that
he underpaid workers at his chains, Carls Jr. and Hardee’s.
Democrats held an informal hearing yesterday for some of the
workers. Debbie Stabenow, the senior Democrat on the Senate Agriculture Committee,
said it was “outrageous” in view of the complaints that Puzder is in line to
run the Labor Department. “That person is supposed to be advocating for each of
you,” Stabenow said.
Stabenow is one of 23 Democrats who signed a letter asking
for Puzder’s confirmation hearing to include witnesses who will talk about his
labor practices.
Roberts to discuss trade concerns with USTR pick. Senate
Agriculture Chairman Pat Roberts plans to meet Thursday with Trump’s nominee
for U.S. Trade Representative, Robert Lighthizer. Lighthizer, a trade lawyer
who served at USTR under Ronald Reagan, is known primarily for pursuing trade
enforcement cases against China.
Roberts plans to press Lighthizer on U.S. agriculture’s
concerns about Trump’s trade policy and his plan to scrap the Trans-Pacific
Partnership. Roberts says he wants to make clear that “an aggressive trade
policy that involves agriculture is absolutely essential.
Farm Bureau preserves support for insurance-conservation
linkage. The American Farm Bureau Federation is standing behind its
support for linking conservation requirements to federal crop insurance, but
the issue sparked a sharp debate yesterday at the group’s annual meeting.
The AFBF policy recommendations supported the linkage, but
North Dakota delegates led a reversal motion that passed 178 to 139. Later in
the day, they reversed course again to reaffirm the existing policy on a strong
vote of 255-85. Conservation compliance was added to crop insurance in 2014 as
part of a broad deal between farm groups and conservation organizations.
Minnesota Farm Bureau President Kevin Paap said that
conservation compliance was a realistic expectation in exchange for public
support of agriculture.
For more on the incoming Trump administration as well as the
Farm Bureau meeting, and the outlook for regulatory reform in Congress, be sure
and read this week’s Agri-Pulse newsletter.
Five new Democrats join House Ag. Jimmy Panetta, a
freshman House Democrat who represents California’s Salinas Valley, is one of
five new Democrats on the House Agriculture Committee. All five are new to
Congress.
Panetta, the son of Leon Panetta, who served as CIA director
and secretary of defense under President Obama, replaced Sam Farr, who was the
top Democrat on the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee before his
retirement last year.
The other five new Ag members are Dwight Evans from
Philadelphia; Al Lawson and Darren Soto, who represent districts in central
Florida; and Tom O’Halleran, who represents much of eastern and northeastern
Arizona.
The new members will replace three Democrats who left
Congress and a fourth, Suzan DelBene, D-Wash., who’s taking a seat on the Ways and
Means Committee, which oversees tax and trade policy.
RFK Jr. sighting. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has long
been a harsh critic of livestock agriculture, showed up at Trump Tower
yesterday, albeit on a different issue than farm runoff.
Kennedy, who is president of the environmental group
Waterkeeper Alliance, also is a leading proponent of the theory linking
vaccines to autism. Trump has reportedly asked Kennedy to lead a panel to
review vaccine safety.
Transition shift on Dole role. Trump spokesman Sean
Spicer has rescinded an announcement that former Sen. Bob Dole would be vice
chair of the transition. “Due to some time commitments he’s not able to take on
an official role,” Spicer said.
Spicer did not say what Dole was going to do as vice
chair.
He said it. “Earl Butz, is he being
considered?” - Senate Agriculture Chairman Pat Roberts’ quip to reporters who
asked about Trump’s search for agriculture secretary.
#30
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