House panel approves $ 8.5 billion disaster bill for agriculture Responding to calamities that range from drought in the West to floods in the Southeast, the House Agriculture Committee approved an $ 8.5 billion disaster relief bill on Tuesday to cover farm and ranch losses in 2020 and this year. Producers would be eligible for […]
White House slams Russia over ransomware attack on JBS President Biden will meet President Vladimir Putin as planned on June 16 “as a vital part of defending America’s interests,” said a White House spokeswoman on Tuesday after holding Russia culpable for the ransomware attack that crippled meatpacker JBS. Farmland prices rise by up to 15 […]
House Ag chairman: Use tax code to encourage purchases from Black farmers Black farmers “don’t have access to the same markets our white farmers have,” said House Agriculture chairman David Scott, but the tax code could put them on equal footing. Scott is working on legislation to offer tax incentives to processors and other companies […]
House bill would bar racial favoritism at USDA Motivated by opposition to $ 4 billion in debt relief for minority farmers, two Republican representatives announced legislation on Thursday to prevent the USDA from considering race or gender in operating its programs. “All American farmers constitute a minority, and they are hurting right now as a […]
House clears pathway for farm labor reform bill The Democrat-controlled House put a bill giving legal status to undocumented farmworkers and streamlining the H-2A guestworker program on the legislative fast track on Tuesday. Party leaders hope to score a victory this week on a popular idea — an earlier version of the bill passed with […]
Meatpacking plants in the spotlight at House covid hearing Meatpacking, poultry, and agricultural workers have faced “devastating” conditions during the pandemic, in part due to a lax approach to worker safety by employers and federal regulators, advocates said on Tuesday at a House Appropriations Subcommittee hearing. Farmers expect rapid growth for plant-based meats, but don’t […]
House panel approves debt relief to minority farmers The House Budget Committee approved an estimated $ 4 billion of debt relief for minority farmers on Monday as part of a $ 1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package on Monday, with one member protesting that the aid was unfair. More adherents to voluntary climate mitigation The Food […]
Farm labor a priority in House for immigration reform Immigration reform, including legal status for farmworkers, is vital for assuring U.S. economic strength, said chairman Jerry Nadler of the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday. Congress has deadlocked repeatedly over immigration, whether comprehensive legislation or piecemeal reforms, but President Biden, on his first day in office, […]
Multibillion-dollar debt relief for minority farmers is backed by House committee The House Agriculture Committee approved a landmark $ 4 billion program of debt relief for socially disadvantaged farmers on Wednesday despite Republican objections that the aid was an unconstitutional form of reverse discrimination. Chairman David Scott, a Georgia Democrat, said minority farmers deserved the […]
House panel to vote on SNAP extension and minority farmer debt relief Following President Biden’s lead, the chairman of the House Agriculture Committee proposed an extension until Sept. 30 of the temporary 15 percent increase in SNAP benefits on Tuesday. Chairman David Scott also included a sweeping proposal for the government to pay off USDA […]
House Ag panel will start with climate change With the resolution of a disputed election in New York State, the House Agriculture Committee is ready for action with climate change as its top issue. “Everything will tie into climate change,” says the committee chief of staff and the first hearing of the year will focus […]
First Black chairman of House Ag will fight climate change, rural-urban split Rep. David Scott of Georgia soundly defeated a California rival in a vote among majority-party Democrats on Thursday to become the first Black chairman of the House Agriculture Committee. Scott, who represents a suburban Atlanta district with 313 farms, pledged to tackle an […]
Scott, seeking to chair House Ag, calls for racial justice and economic equality Nine-term Georgia Rep. David Scott asked House Democrats to name him Agriculture Committee chairman with a call on Thursday for racial justice and economic equality in agriculture, rural economic development, and a safety net for hungry Americans. He would be the first […]
New chairs on the way for Senate and House Agriculture panels Southerners could lead both of the Agriculture committees in Congress as a result of Tuesday’s general election, which trimmed the majorities Republicans hold in the Senate and Democrats hold in the House. Rep. David Scott of Georgia was first in seniority to succeed chairman […]
Peterson, ag committee chair, defeated after three decades in House Michelle Fischbach, a well-financed Republican and former Minnesota lieutenant governor endorsed by President Trump, soundly defeated House Agriculture chairman Collin Peterson in a strongly conservative western state district, according to unofficial results from Tuesday’s election. The blunt-spoken Peterson was a supporter of the farm program […]
House ag leadership at stake in tight Peterson-Fischbach race If there were a “toss-up caucus” of U.S. representatives in the tightest races, House Agriculture chairman Collin Peterson could be its premiere member. The Blue Dog Democrat from western Minnesota is running for re-election against a well-financed Republican, former Lt. Gov. Michelle Fischbach, in a district […]