Government Relations & Washington Update
AAEA Chairs Section Meets in Washington, DC
On October 23-24 the AAEA Chairs Section held a series of meetings in Washington, DC. The chairs spent October 23rd at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Economic Research Service (ERS) Administrator Spiro Stefanou hosted the group and provided meeting space. In addition to meeting with Stefanou and other ERS leadership, the chairs met with leaders from the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Office of the Chief Economist (OCE), National institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) and the Office of the Chief Scientist. The meetings resulted in productive discussions about ways that AAEA and its members can strengthen collaboration with USDA agencies and offices, the importance of data, and the role of economics within the overall USDA research portfolio. Section members also had the opportunity for internal discussions on key issues impacting departments including student recruitment and mental health.
On October 24th, the group visited Capitol Hill and had a full day of meetings with Congressional offices. Meetings included the House and Senate Agriculture Committees, the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman’s office and numerous other House and Senate offices from the states represented by the chairs. Topics included the importance of agricultural economics, the need for federal investment in agricultural research through appropriations and the Farm Bill and AAEA’s request to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to include agricultural economics on its STEM Designated Degree list.
New House Speaker Prioritizes Appropriations and Farm Bill
After a whirlwind of politicking, the House GOP elected Mike Johnson (R-LA) to be the 56th Speaker of the House, with all Republicans unanimously backing him. Johnson was able to gain the support of the House GOP moderates, and the support of the Freedom Caucus. Johnson has been serving Louisiana’s 4th congressional district since 2017, and previously chaired the Republican Study Committee. Speaker Johnson released a letter on October 23rd outlining his plans should he be elected Speaker. The letter suggests a very ambitious timeline to complete all of the fiscal year 2024 appropriations bills. He successfully moved the Energy and Water appropriations bill on October 26th. The Agriculture Appropriations bill is currently slated for floor consideration the week of November 13th. In the Senate, Chairwoman Murray announced an agreement to proceed with amendment votes and final passage of the Senate appropriations minibus that includes the Agriculture, Military Construction/Veteran’s Affairs, and Transportation-HUD bills. Final passage is expected the week of October 30th.
Speaker Johnson is also prioritizing House action on the next Farm Bill by the end of the year. Despite his goal of the House passing its version of the Farm Bill in December, it is highly unlikely that a bill can be finalized between the House and Senate before the new crop years begin in 2024. There is increasing discussion about a one-year extension of the current Farm Bill to ensure that programs are able to operate while Congress works to finish a new bill.
Program Impacts of Farm Bill Expiration
The 2018 Farm Bill authority expired on September 30th. Congress is working on Farm Bill reauthorization, but there is an increasing chance that a short, or longer term, extension may be passed. While many Farm Bill programs are not immediately impacted by the expiration of authority, there are implications for a number of USDA programs. Impacted programs include several organic programs to assist with organic transition, marketing, data and trade. Other impacts include the Conservation Reserve Program, which is not currently able to enter into new contracts and USDA is unable to accept new enrollments for the Price Loss Coverage and Agricultural Risk Coverage programs covering the 2024 crop year. In addition, a ban prohibiting swipe fees on retailers who accept nutrition program benefit cards has expired, which could potentially raise costs for grocery stores and discourage them from participating in federal food assistance programs.