House GOP Sets Leadership; Impact on Immigration, Other Issues Unclear
The Republican Caucus in the House of Representatives this week moved to elect a new majority leader and majority whip. The election comes in the wake of last week’s primary defeat of current leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) and his subsequent announcement that he was stepping down as leader at the end of July.
Representative Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), who has served as the majority whip, easily won approval as the new majority leader. The race to replace McCarthy as whip was more competitive, with Representatives Steve Scalise (R-La.), Peter Roskam (R-Ill.) and Marlin Stutzman (R-Ind.) all vying for the GOP’s number three spot. While the whip’s race seemed competitive through most of the week, Scalise ultimately won his caucus’s approval on the first ballot.
With the House majority’s leadership set, the chamber now has a number of issues—from the annual appropriations process to reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank to shoring up the highway trust fund—on its plate ahead of the August recess and the start of the election season. For issues important to agriculture such as immigration, which do not have a firm deadline for action, the outlook remains unclear, though signals this week from sources in the House have been cautiously optimistic. NCFC and the Agricultural Workforce Coalition continue to push for House action on immigration in the next month and urge our members to contact their representatives—especially Republicans—to show support for action.
Agriculture Appropriations Delayed by Leadership Transition in House, Amendments Disagreement in Senate
Both the House and Senate had intended to take up the fiscal year (FY) 2015 agriculture appropriations bills this week; ultimately, neither chamber took up the legislation setting discretionary funding for the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Food & Drug Administration, though for different reasons in each.
The House, which had begun consideration of the bill last week, dealt with no substantive legislation this week as the Republican leadership race played out. The Senate had combined the agriculture approps bill into a so-called mini-bus bill with two other appropriations bills, Commerce-Justice-Science and Transportation-Housing & Urban Development. The motion to proceed to the bill was objected to, however, after Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) insisted on a 60-vote threshold for any amendment to the package.
There remains hope that both chambers will take up the bills next week. NCFC continues to urge members of Congress that, as they debate the agriculture appropriations bills, that they reject any amendment that would weaken the farm bill enacted earlier this year.
Farmer Co-ops Participate in CFTC Roundtable As Reauthorization Bill Set to Move
Two NCFC members this week participated in the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s roundtable covering various provisions contained in CFTC’s proposed position limits rule. Ed Gallagher from DFA and Kristen Rebertus from CHS outlined areas of concern to agricultural hedgers contained in the proposed rule. It was a timely meeting given the new CFTC Chairman, Timothy Massad, and two new Commissioners, Sharon Bowen and Christopher Giancarlo, have just recently been sworn in.
On Capitol Hill, the House is scheduled to vote on the Customer Protection and End-User Relief Act (H.R. 4413) next week, which will reauthorize the CFTC. H.R. 4413 contains a number of provisions that address the many difficulties and costs to hedgers, including farmer cooperatives, that have inadvertently resulted from implementation of various CFTC regulations.
Groups Urge USDA to Clarify All Forms Pilot Program
NCFC joined with organizations representing producers and processors of frozen, dried and canned fruits and vegetables in urging the U.S. Department of Agriculture to extend the application period for the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP) all forms pilot program included in the 2014 farm bill.
In particular, the groups called on USDA to update the pilot’s Request for Application to clarify that schools can purchase canned, dried or frozen fruits and vegetables with the additional funds provided by Congress for this purpose in the farm bill, and that school food authorities need not use their existing FFVP fund allotments for this purpose.
Upcoming Events:
- Fall NCFC Executive Council Meeting—September 25 & 26, 2014—NCFC offices, Washington, D.C.
- LTA Subcommittee Chairs/Vice Chairs Meeting—October 2 & 3, 2014—Four Seasons Hotel, Austin, Texas
- NCFC Human Resources Conference—October 23-24, 2014—Hyatt Regency O’Hare, Chicago, Ill.
- Government Affairs Committee Meeting—November 12-14, 2014—Benson Hotel, Portland, Ore.
- 86th NCFC Annual Meeting—February 11-13, 2015—Paradise Point Hotel, San Diego, Calif.