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Balanced Reporting. Trusted Insights.
Saturday, January 22, 2022
Following a failed attempt by the Trump administration to freeze farmworker wages for two years, the Labor Department is proposing to go back to setting minimum wage rates for foreign workers the same way it had been for 30 years.
House Agriculture Committee Chairman David Scott tells Agri-Pulse that he wants to make sure that carbon markets are going to be workable for farmers and won’t harm food production.
House Democrats look to finish pulling together their $3.5 trillion tax and spending package this week, despite a fierce internal struggle over the taxes they need to pay for it and delays in finalizing $94 billion in agriculture provisions.
Sen. Chuck Grassley, a top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, says Democrats can’t pass a tax proposal that is raising alarms with farmers. That includes a transfer tax on inherited assets that would nullify the benefits of stepped-up basis.
After weeks of negotiations, the Senate moved quickly this week to pass a bipartisan infrastructure package Tuesday that was quickly followed by a party line vote early Wednesday morning to advance a $3.5 trillion budget framework.
Democrats on the Senate Agriculture Committee have started meeting privately to start dividing up $135 billion in new spending that would be authorized by the partisan, fiscal 2022 budget resolution the Senate is considering.
The House is close to finishing work on a seven-bill package of fiscal 2022 spending measures needed to fund USDA, EPA and other departments and agencies important to agriculture.
Senate Democrats are proposing a tariff on carbon-intensive imports that critics say could increase farm production costs and invite retaliation by countries that would see the tax as unfairly protectionist.
The $3.5 trillion reconciliation package that Senate Democrats are putting together could have significant implications for agriculture when it comes to taxes and climate policy. One aspect to watch: A proposed border adjustment tax on carbon.
Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow says she’s “very optimistic” that substantial new funding for farm bill conservation programs will be included in the $3.5 trillion spending agreement that Democrats have announced. Stabenow has been seeking $50 billion in new conservation funding to promote climate-friendly farming practices.
