Ben Nuelle

Now that the Senate has reached a deal to increase the federal debt limit, Democrats can turn their attention back to passing President Biden’s Build Back Better agenda.

The Food and Drug Administration is hoping to release soon its voluntary sodium reduction targets for processed, packaged and prepared foods, Food and Drug Administration Acting Commissioner Janet Woodcock told the Consumer Federation of America’s Food Policy Conference Wednesday.

Now that congressional Democrats have to slash their $3.5 trillion Build Back Better spending plan, the attention is turning to what gets eliminated or cut, and by how much.

U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai signaled Monday that the Biden administration is ready to begin pressing Beijing to fulfill its promises under the Phrase One agreement, but she didn’t commit to negotiating a much-desired second phase that would elicit new promises of ag commodity purchases.

Congress has averted a government shutdown today while providing $10 billion in assistance for ag disasters that have occurred over last year and this year. The aid was included in the stopgap funding bill that President Biden signed into law Thursday night.

A stopgap-funding bill that will keep the government operating this fall includes a $10 billion expansion in agricultural disaster aid and temporarily extends authority for USDA’s livestock price reporting system.

Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack today will announce some new spending on climate policy and to deal with market disruptions and animal disease prevention. Vilsack is making a speech on climate issues at Colorado State University today.

The National Association of State Departments of Agriculture set policy for the coming year at a recent gathering, where the organization put a priority on the flow of ag goods in the U.S. and overseas.

We’ve got some more detail on Democrats’ plans for using their huge Build Back Better bill to promote cover crops and other forms of climate-smart agriculture. Agri-Pulse obtained a draft amendment to the bill that authorizes the $28 billion in conservation funding.