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Balanced Reporting. Trusted Insights.
Monday, April 12, 2021
President Joe Biden’s $2.25 trillion infrastructure plan offers many provisions that have long been priorities with farm groups, including a $100 billion plan to connect the entire U.S. to high-speed internet.
On Tuesday, Vilsack took part in a wide-ranging interview with Agri-Pulse from his home in Iowa, touching on subjects ranging from helping farmers through the COVID-19 pandemic to addressing the “cumulative effect of discrimination over a long period of time.”
The Senate on Tuesday voted to confirm Vilsack as the nation’s Secretary of Agriculture, giving the former Iowa governor another term at the helm of USDA.
There are new signs of division on the Senate Agriculture Committee when it comes to climate change. The committee’s top Republican, John Boozman, told members of the National Cotton Council Thursday that funding to address climate change could come out of existing farm bill programs.
The House Agriculture Committee will debate a $16 billion stimulus measure that includes a substantial down payment on Democrats’ promise to address racial justice issues. The committee’s draft bill, which will be part of a broader $1.9 trillion stimulus package, would provide sweeping debt relief to minority farmers on USDA loans.
The Biden administration’s climate policy is still a work in progress, especially when it comes to agriculture. But we have a better idea of where the Senate could be headed, and the implications could extend into the next farm bill.
Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., emphasizes the need for the Biden Administration to recognize the vital role farmers and ranchers play in U.S. international food aid programs and make certain that American agricultural producers are not forgotten in the administration's Made in America initiative.
President Joe Biden is slowing down the regulatory process in order to give his new executive team time to review pending or recently issued Trump administration rules. He also issued an executive order requiring review of a wide range of health and environmental regulations.