Items Tagged with 'COVID-19 pandemic'

A Georgia Republican says as Congress gears up to write the next farm bill, he’s looking to add "guardrails" that prescribe how the funds in the Commodity Credit Corporation are used.

The top Republican on the Senate Ag Committee wants the Department of Agriculture to show how it spent $11 billion in funding designed to help producers weather the financial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Agriculture Department failed to adequately guard against fraudulent claims by producers for payments under the $31 billion Coronavirus Food Assistance Program that the Trump administration launched in 2020, the Government Accountability Office says.

The Department of Agriculture plans to leverage $400 million to bolster local food supply chains through its new Regional Food Business Centers.

Farm groups will be keeping a close eye on the Supreme Court when it kicks off its new term in October.

House Agriculture Committee Chairman David Scott says he plans to start holding farm bill hearings in January. And he says the House will likely act on the Growing Climate Solutions Act by early next year as well.

Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack announces plans to finance a series of large-scale projects on climate-smart farming and forestry practices. He's also tapping his Commodity Credit Corp. spending authority to promote drought resilience, combat African swine fever, and assist farms and schools with supply chain disruptions.

Democratic leaders have made it official: A continuing resolution that’s needed to avert a government shutdown on Oct. 1 will include a provision to increase the debt limit.

House Democrats have moved their $3.5 trillion Build Back Better plan a step closer to the House floor, but the legislation is still a work in progress.

Sources familiar with the agriculture provisions in the massive spending package Democrats are putting together expect it to include historic increases in conservation and research spending totaling nearly $36 billion.