The House on Thursday passed the Farm Workforce Modernization Act for the second time in less than two years as Democrats look to prod the Senate into acting on immigration reforms.

A key Republican says the $1.9 trillion stimulus bill Democrats are pushing through the Senate will lead to automatic cuts in farm programs and other forms of federal spending. Sen. John Boozman, the top Republican on the Senate Ag Committee, is referring to the Congressional Budget Office’s determination that the legislation would trigger the budget sequestration process under the 2011 budget law.

Former Sen. Bob Dole, who is 97, starts treatment on Monday for stage four lung cancer. “While I certainly have some hurdles ahead. I also know that I join millions of Americans who face significant health challenges of their own,” Dole said in a statement he posted Thursday.

President Joe Biden’s proposal to provide a path to legal status for illegal immigrants offers farm groups a new chance to persuade Congress to expand the availability of guest workers for agriculture, but winning critical Republican support for a major immigration bill could be harder than ever in the post-Trump era.

President Joe Biden kept his promise to immediately send an immigration proposal to Congress. But it’s not clear how high it will be on his list of legislative priorities, and two key Republicans say they doubt any large immigration bill can even pass the Senate, which is split 50-50.

Joe Biden took office at noon Wednesday as the 46th president of the United States, appealing to the nation to end its “uncivil war” and reach across partisan and urban-lines to address the “cascading crises” facing the country, starting with the COVID-19 pandemic.

In one of his first acts as president, Joe Biden is sending an immigration bill to Congress that offers a pathway to citizenship for about 11 million undocumented workers, including about a million farmworkers.

President-elect Joe Biden is out with a $1.9 trillion stimulus proposal that includes some significant new food assistance provisions, including an extension through the summer of the 15% increase in SNAP benefits provided by the COVID aid package enacted in December.

Members of the American Farm Bureau Federation gathered virtually Thursday to assess the changes the organization would pursue in its lengthy policy book.

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.