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Shining Light on Farm & Food Policy for 20 Years.
Thursday, April 18, 2024
Our guest on Open Mic is U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich. In this week’s interview the ranking member on the Senate Agriculture Committee discusses a challenging agricultural agenda. With time running out on the congressional calendar, Stabenow feels an urgency to find compromise on GMO labeling and COOL trade laws. Stabenow discusses a potential compromise on child nutrition reform and defines the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal as a complicated proposal with benefits for agriculture but challenges for industry. Stabenow also lists legislation that could be included in an omnibus appropriations bill next month.
Our guest on Open Mic is U.S. Senator Pat Roberts, R-Kan. In this week’s interview, the Chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee discusses further action on the EPA’s Waters of the U.S. definition and says his committee is close to a compromise on a child nutrition bill. Roberts expects further attacks on the crop insurance industry and says he and other congressional farm state leaders are ready to defend farmers’ top policy priorities. Roberts says with the text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership now public, he and other leaders can begin to evaluate and debate what the proposed deal would mean to agriculture and the nation.
From her family’s Iowa farm to the troubled lands of the Middle East, Iowa Senator Joni Ernst has dedicated her life to the nation’s security: for ample food and against foes. In this week’s Open Mic Interview U.S. Senator Joni Ernst shares her thoughts on proposed legislative action to block the EPA’s new clean water rules, the economic significance of the agency’s RFS volume obligation announcement, long term funding for the Highway Trust Fund and why Washington should address GMO food labeling.
This week’s guest on Open Mic is former US Senator Kent Conrad. As a former Chair of the Senate Budget Committee the North Dakota Democrat is well versed on the country’s challenging fiscal policy. In this week’s interview Senator Conrad discusses the appropriations deadline, the debate over the debt ceiling, the advantages to a two-year budget and secure long term funding for the country’s transportation infrastructure. Conrad says the American people should ignore some voices in the Congress,
This week’s guest on Open Mic is U.S. Senator Roy Blunt. The Missouri Republican believes the nation is on the cusp of major decisions that could wreak havoc or provide great opportunities for growth for the nation’s economy. In this week’s interview, Blunt discusses Congressional challenges including uncertainty in the House Speakers post, obstacles to an agreement on spending, long term funding options for highway infrastructure and the outlook for Senate action on GMO labeling and Country of Origin Labeling.
This week’s guest on Open Mic is Wisconsin Representative Reid Ribble. The 8th district Republican left the Freedom Caucus last week in the fallout from a failed attempt to elect a new House Speaker. In this week’s interview, Ribble outlines challenges the Congress faces in approving a spending plan and his efforts to bring about a two-year budget cycle. He sees action soon on the nation’s debt ceiling and tax extenders but says the bigger issue lies between liberal Senate Democrats and conservative GOP leaders on spending. Ribble strongly opposes the EPA’s new clean water rules but supports a new voluntary program to reduce nutrient runoff in his home state.
