Washington outlook - August 2018

By Aaron Stauffacher, associate director of government affairs

As the summer wraps up, the work does not. At the end of July, I visited Washington, D.C., to engage key agency officials and lawmakers on Capitol Hill on behalf of Edge members. The purpose of the trip was to encourage the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to enforce standards of identity for dairy products, but we were also able to provide insight on the farm bill’s dairy provisions, workforce legislation and the impact of trade.

Washington is bustling with activity as lawmakers and ag groups try to resolve the outstanding issues with limited congressional days before the November mid-term elections. Watch for more dairy and ag news coming out of D.C. in the next few months.

Farm bill: The House named 47 members to serve on the conference committee to resolve differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill, while the Senate only called nine members to serve. Once a final version is agreed upon, it must pass through both chambers before going to the president for his signature. Agricultural organizations continue to call on Congress to get a farm bill in place before the Sept. 30 deadline. It is still uncertain how the controversial work requirements for SNAP in the House bill will play into the conference committee negotiations.

Workforce: With time winding down before midterms, Edge continues to work toward a sustainable ag workforce solution. A bipartisan, standalone piece of legislation that would address year-round ag workforce needs has been introduced in the House. The Ag and Legal Workforce Act of 2018 creates a year-round H-2C visa and is based on the same language included in the comprehensive SAFA immigration that failed on the House floor in June. There was a possibility that the measure could have received a vote in late July. However, House leadership does not want to bring another immigration measure without being certain of having the votes to pass it.

The House is in recess for August. A window of opportunity remains for a vote soon after they are back in session in early September. Some ag groups in California remain opposed due to concerns over how it would replace the current H-2A visa. Edge continues to rally support for the bill alongside other agricultural stakeholders. Representatives are back in the district over the recess and it is vital for Edge members to urge their representatives to support the Ag and Legal Workforce Act of 2018.

Trade: In late July, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced a $12 billion program to provide relief to the farm community from the strain retaliatory tariffs are putting on commodity markets. The tariff mitigation plan has three prongs: direct payments to farmers, a food and commodity piece, and a component to put more funds into developing foreign markets. Most of the funds will be put toward directly paying farmers for the commodity market losses sustained in this tariff tit-for-tat. USDA is in the process of collecting information and expects to start implementing the programs in early fall.

After NAFTA negotiations stalled in late spring, the U.S. and Mexico are picking up talks again to wrap up an agreement soon. Canada has not yet engaged in these meetings. The administration has floated the idea of splitting NAFTA into two separate bi-lateral agreements, but some congressional members have pushed back against the idea in a letter to U.S. Trade Representative. Watch for more NAFTA progress in the coming weeks.