Items Tagged with 'senate'

Ukrainian farmers will begin harvesting millions of acres of winter wheat in July, but if Ukraine is unable to export it, the country’s economy will likely collapse and the hundreds of millions of people that depend on receiving that grain will suffer even worse than they are now, United Nations World Food Program Executive Director David Beasley said Wednesday.

The House of Representatives Friday narrowly approved the America COMPETES Act, pushing the legislation that is supposed to make the U.S. more competitive with China closer to enactment. While similar to the Senate version passed last summer, the House bill – passed with a 222-210 vote – includes significant differences such as the inclusion of the Ocean Shipping Reform Act as well as reauthorizes and alters the Trade Adjustment Assistance and Generalized System of Preferences programs.

The Ocean Shipping Reform Act, a bill aimed at ending port bottlenecks for ag exports, was introduced in the Senate Thursday even as sponsors of a tougher House-passed version sought to ramp up pressure for its enactment.

Farm groups are concerned the Senate version of the House-passed Ocean Shipping Reform Act won't have the same strong provisions for getting U.S. farm goods onto container ships amid the supply chain crisis.

The Senate easily confirmed Katherine Tai to be President Joe Biden’s U.S. Trade Representative with a bipartisan 98-0 vote Wednesday.

Tom Vilsack’s return to USDA has been on hold for reasons because of delays in getting the 50-50 Senate organized. But incoming Senate Agriculture Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow tells Agri-Pulse she hopes to get Vilsack’s nomination for agriculture secretary approved “as soon as possible” once she takes over the committee.