Does not matter: Democrats’ next big legislative push — Farmworker bill heads for Senate slog

Mar 22, 2021

With help from Rebecca Rainey and Helena Bottemiller Evich

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DRIVING THE WEEK

WELCOME TO YOUR WEEKLY AG REPORT! House lawmakers are mostly out of town this week, but virtual committee work continues apace, including some key hearings on food and ag policies. Behind the scenes in both chambers, the gears are already turning on Democrats' next major legislative effort — which could be a gigantic mishmash of their top priorities. Let's take a closer look…

Front and center: The House Agriculture Committee has a hearing on "the state of Black farmers," as Democrats continue to focus on racial disparities in the farm industry. The meeting, set for Thursday, comes shortly after Congress passed the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package that includes sweeping debt relief for farmers and ranchers of color.

— House appropriators are also digging into several ag-related issues, including forestry innovation and the rural economy.

In the Senate, a bipartisan companion bill to the House-passed Farm Workforce Modernization Act is expected soon (more on that below). But first up, the chamber will vote today on Boston Mayor Marty Walsh's nomination for Labor secretary. And on Thursday, the Senate Agriculture Committee will meet to discuss reauthorizing child nutrition programs.

Big ambitions: After passing President Joe Biden's economic rescue package through the budget reconciliation process, Democrats are already dreaming up their second act. Some are clamoring for a mega-package that covers everything from climate change and infrastructure projects to drug pricing and immigration, writes POLITICO's Sarah Ferris.

About that last rescue package: Farmers waiting for the Agriculture Department to release another round of pandemic relief payments will likely have to hold on until April, per DTN. That's because USDA is still reviewing its options for distributing billions of dollars provided by Congress in December and earlier this month.

HAPPY MONDAY, MARCH 22! Your host is happy to be back after a restful week off, but sad to report that his March Madness brackets are already in shambles. Send tips to rmccrimmon@politico.com and @ryanmccrimmon, and follow us @Morning_Ag.

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NEXT STEPS FOR FARMWORKER OVERHAUL: Amid a surge in border migration, Republicans are effectively slamming the brakes on any immigration reform in the Senate. Even bipartisan measures, like the House-passed bill to create a path to citizenship for thousands of farmworkers and expand the H-2A agricultural visa program, appear destined to languish in the evenly divided chamber.

Still, the farmworker bill has more bipartisan support than the so-called Dream and Promise Act, which would provide a path to citizenship for an estimated 2 million undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children. (Thirty House Republicans voted for the ag-focused bill, compared to just nine GOP votes for the Dreamer bill.)

The sponsors: Sens. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) and Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) have announced plans to introduce a companion Senate bill. Other GOP senators have mentioned it as a potential priority, POLITICO's Burgess Everett reports.

On the other hand, the influential American Farm Bureau Federation is not backing the legislation, saying that "flaws and shortcomings in the bill are too great for us to support it," per the Food and Environment Reporting Network.

SCOTUS TO HEAR UNION FARM ACCESS CASE: The Supreme Court today will hear oral arguments in Cedar Point Nursery v. Hassid, a case weighing the constitutionality of a California law that allows unions to access agricultural sites to speak to workers about organizing, our Pro Employment and Immigration colleagues tell MA.

— Two companies are challenging the state law, arguing it runs afoul of the Fifth Amendment's protections against the government seizing private property without compensation. The feud stems from a worker strike at a northern California strawberry plant farm, which the owner blamed on union organizers.

— The California Agricultural Labor Relations Board contends that the law "serves a critical purpose by allowing unions face-to-face contact with farmworkers — a necessary means of informing this increasingly vulnerable community of their right to collectively organize."

The broader stakes: State and local governments warned SCOTUS that "under the growers' approach, governments at all levels would face the prospect of having to pay private property owners whenever public officials need to enter the land — for example, to conduct health and safety inspections, such as home visits by social workers or to inspect coal mines, railroads or drug manufacturers," writes Amy Howe of SCOTUSBlog.

Read on: The Washington Post has more on the legal battle.

HOUSE VOTES TO STAVE OFF FARM SPENDING CUTS: The $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package Congress passed earlier this month could lead to painful budget cuts for a wide range of food and agricultural programs. The automatic spending reductions are required by "pay as you go" rules — unless lawmakers vote to waive them first. The House passed legislation to avert those cuts on Friday, but its fate is uncertain in the Senate, where Democrats need 10 Republicans to join them in the effort, writes Pro Budget's Caitlin Emma.

On the chopping block: The across-the-board cuts would hit funding for certain ag inspections, forestry programs, the Commodity Credit Corporation (the primary source of pandemic relief for farmers and ranchers), Medicare and many other accounts.

Routine procedure: Sequestration triggered by the "PAYGO" rule has never actually occurred, because Congress has always stepped in first — typically in bipartisan fashion. If the House-passed bill doesn't gain traction in the Senate, a provision to avert the spending cuts could instead be tucked into must-pass legislation later this year.

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Row Crops

— Bolthouse Farms is giving vaccines directly to workers at its plant in Bakersfield, Calif., and paying employees $500 to get their shots, joining many other major food makers that are offering incentives to workers. The Wall Street Journal has more.

— Idaho potato producers are also grappling with how to immunize their workforce, which includes many migrant workers. But some of the state's largest farms have been able to vaccinate hundreds of employees in recent weeks, the Idaho Statesman reports.

— Kansas City Southern and Canadian Pacific Railway Limited announced a merger agreement on Sunday, forming a combined railroad network connecting 342 grain elevators in Canada and the U.S. to major export hubs in the South and Mexico. Here's the announcement.

— The White House tapped former NOAA chief Jane Lubchenco to coordinate climate and environmental issues within the Office of Science and Technology Policy, the latest addition to Biden's large climate policy team, the Washington Post reports.

— Meatpacking giants JBS USA and Pilgrim's Pride are launching a two-year college tuition program open to some 66,000 workers and their children, claiming it will be the largest free-of-charge tuition assistance effort for rural students in the U.S. Details here.

— Brandon Lipps, former deputy under secretary at USDA's Food and Nutrition Service, and his wife, Hannah Lipps, have launched a new firm called Caprock Strategies, LLC, with the goal of delivering "strategies to solve big problems in the food, agriculture and anti-poverty sectors."

THAT'S ALL FOR MA! Drop us a line: akambhampaty@politico.com ; rmccrimmon@politico.com; hbottemiller@politico.com; lcrampton@politico.com; jyearwood@politico.com and pjoshi@politico.com.