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Shining Light on Farm & Food Policy for 20 Years.
Tuesday, April 23, 2024
President-elect Joe Biden is moving forward with his transition with promises to move on his climate proposals that involve farmers in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Over the weekend, the president-elect went live with a transition website - BuildBackBetter.com - that includes a summary of Biden’s top policy priorities, starting with getting COVID-19 under control.
Farms that use H-2A workers will be allowed to pay them significantly lower wages under a sweeping overhaul of the program’s wage regulations announced by the Labor Department on Monday.
A federal judge orders USDA to continue collecting farmworker wage data, agreeing with farm labor groups that challenged the suspension of the survey that is used to set minimum wage requirements for H-2A workers.
Sen. John Boozman, who is set to take over as the top Republican on the Senate Ag Committee, next year is optimistic that Congress will provide more aid to farmers for the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The question is when a new aid package will pass, and that looks unlikely before the election.
Negotiations on a major new coronavirus relief package remain alive, but with the election less than two weeks away, Senate Republicans see little chance of passing a deal before a lame duck session in November or December at the earliest.
The centerpiece of Joe Biden’s plan to help farmers address climate change is a “dramatic” expansion of the Conservation Stewardship Program, but he’ll quickly find skeptics on Capitol Hill and among environmental groups if he gets elected and tries to carry out the proposal.
Democratic congressional leaders refused to allow replenishment of a key Agriculture Department account, charging that the White House is employing it as a “political slush fund.” Senate Republicans quickly criticized the measure.
Lawmakers look to move a compromise stopgap funding bill this week to keep the government operating until December, even as much of the nation's attention is focused on the Supreme Court opening created by the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
The Agriculture Department is launching a new round of coronavirus relief payments worth up to $14 billion that will be spread over more commodities with new methods of calculating the assistance.
President Donald Trump used a campaign event in Wisconsin to announce the administration's plan to distribute about $13 billion in additional payments under the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program.
