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Shining Light on Farm & Food Policy for 20 Years.
Wednesday, November 13, 2024
Sen. Tina Smith remains optimistic that the farm bill can be approved by the end of the year, in part because of the progress the Senate is making on appropriations bills.
The government is reopening for at least three weeks and the Agriculture Department plans to jump-start work on implementation the 2018 farm bill, a task that was interrupted just as it was beginning in December.
A supplemental appropriations bill that includes $3 billion in agricultural disaster aid passed the House over Republican opposition on Wednesday after Democrats attached a provision that would reopen the government without resolving the impasse with President Donald Trump.
The government shutdown is now in effect, but that doesn’t mean USDA officials aren’t still keeping the nation’s meat supply safe and doing many of the jobs that keeps agricultural commerce flowing. However, some farm payments may be delayed after the first week.
Last Friday, Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue hosted a breakfast at the Department of Agriculture’s executive dining room for former Secretaries of Agriculture.
The Senate today voted to end the partial government shutdown, now in its third day. The vote on the procedural measure was 81-18, with Democrats joining Republicans to provide well more than the 60 vote super-majority needed.
As lawmakers inch toward a Friday deadline and stare a shutdown square in the face, USDA has issued guidance to its employees on what happens if a deal to fund the government can’t be struck.
WASHINGTON, Sept. 3, 2017 – Congress returns from its five-week summer recess on Tuesday facing a massive to-do list, only complicated by the need to pass legislation to help the people of Texas and Louisiana recover from the wrath of Hurricane Harvey.