Does not matter: Booker to introduce climate bill — Biden’s skinny budget increases USDA funding

Apr 12, 2021

Editor's Note: Weekly Agriculture is a weekly version of POLITICO Pro's daily Agriculture policy newsletter, Morning Agriculture. POLITICO Pro is a policy intelligence platform that combines the news you need with tools you can use to take action on the day's biggest stories. Act on the news with POLITICO Pro.

With help from Helena Bottemiller Evich and Ryan McCrimmon

Quick Fix

— Sen. Cory Booker plans to introduce the Climate Stewardship Act today with hopes of getting the bill into President Joe Biden's infrastructure package.

— The Agriculture Department's budget would grow by 16 percent under Biden's first budget request, including extra funds for rural projects and ag research.

— The FDA has issued a warning to the leafy greens industry after years of deadly and costly outbreaks.

HAPPY MONDAY, APRIL 12! Welcome to Morning Ag, where your host is excited to check out this ag-themed park the next time she is in Idaho. Maybe I will finally get that Big Idaho Potato Airbnb and definitely snack on an ice cream potato, too! Have other suggestions? Send ideas and tips to xbustillo@politico.com and @ximena_bustillo, and follow us @Morning_Ag.

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DRIVING THE WEEK

LAWMAKERS AIM TO BOOST CONSERVATION PROGRAMS: Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) exclusively told POLITICO that he will reintroduce his Climate Stewardship Act today to expand voluntary conservation programs. He's hoping to attach the bill to Biden's infrastructure package.

Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.) will introduce a House companion bill, previously sponsored by then-Rep. Deb Haaland in the last session.

In a statement provided to POLITICO, Booker recalled the infrastructure expansion under FDR's New Deal and said tackling climate change will require "the same kinds of bold investments...to seriously engage farmers, ranchers and rural communities as part of the solution to climate change."

What's in the bill? The bill is largely similar to the one proposed in 2019 by increasing funding and expanding USDA programs, including: the Rural Energy for American Program (REAP); the Environmental Quality Incentives Program; the Conservation Stewardship Program; and the Conservation Reserve Program. The bill would also triple conservation technical assistance funding to $2.1 billion.

Changes include the additional practices that can be eligible for funding under qualifying "climate stewardship practices," an increase REAP funding and it creates additional priority and increased level of cost share for solar projects that include pollinator habitats.

The bill would also increase grants to farmers to buy equipment to implement climate stewardship practices and improve soil health.

The measure would also set aside funding for socially disadvantaged and new and beginning farmers and ranchers and aims to plant "billions" of trees by 2030, according to a congressional aide familiar with the legislation.

The bill would satisfy some of the demands of some groups looking for REAP expansion. Last week, dozens of national and regional agricultural groups, along with businesses and cooperatives, sent a letter to Biden, Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack and ag committee leaders asking for an expansion of the program to be included in the President's Build Back Better agenda.

The bill would increase REAP funding to $3 billion per year over the course of 10 years, well above the $300 million the coalition of advocates was looking for.

Let negotiations begin: Booker and Spanberger see this bill as a top priority for inclusion in Biden's infrastructure package, according to a Booker aide. Since the Climate Stewardship Act is largely budgetary, and can be included in a spending package, there is hope the full bill will pass without being split up.

What's next: The bill didn't see much action in either chamber in the last session, nor did it have Republican co-sponsors, but proponents of the bill are looking to pick up more co-sponsors this time around and be active in infrastructure negotiations.

BIDEN'S FIRST AG BUDGET: The White House on Friday rolled out its so-called skinny budget, a fiscal 2022 spending plan that would raise funding for every major wing of the government. The administration wants USDA to get a 16 percent bump, bringing its discretionary budget to $27.8 billion for the year starting in October, reports Pro Ag's Ryan McCrimmon.

The highlights: Biden's budget request mirrors many of the rural priorities included in his infrastructure blueprint, like broadband access, reclaiming abandoned mines and helping rural communities transition to cleaner energy sources. It also would expand funding for USDA research and education programs.

Next up: Congress can now get started writing the annual spending bills for each agency. But the appropriations process will run parallel to Democrats' work on a sprawling infrastructure package, which is likely to dominate the agenda for several months.

Biden's full budget request, including tax changes and more detailed funding plans, is expected later this spring.

USDA REACHES 1 MILLION VACCINES: USDA has administered 1 million shots and counting, with many of its employees becoming part of FEMA teams around the country to administer doses to anyone eligible. More than 1,000 employees have been a part of the vaccine campaign, with about 450 deployed currently. The deployments are time limited so participants can resume their regular jobs at USDA.

"Vaccines are going to the general public eligible to receive the shot wherever we are deployed to administer the vaccines," a USDA spokesperson told your host. "Success is getting shots into the arms of anyone who is eligible to receive the vaccine."

The department began this effort in February as part of the Biden-Harris administration's "whole-of-government strategy" to the pandemic.

USDA EXPANDS FOOD ASSISTANCE TO YOUNG ADULTS: The department announced on Friday it will be expanding the Child and Adult Care Food Program to allow homeless young adults under the age of 25 to receive meals at emergency shelters participating in the program.

The program previously limited reimbursements to shelters for meals served to children under 18 but the American Rescue Plan allowed for an expansion of the program, according to USDA, by providing $12 billion to a variety of programs to tackle food security.

Eye on FDA

FDA's 'WARNING SHOT' ON LEAFY GREENS: The FDA last week put the multibillion-dollar leafy greens industry on notice as it released the results of the agency's investigation into an E. coli O157:H7 outbreak last year.

The move didn't get much media attention, probably because the announcement was heavy on regulatory speak. But it could have potentially far-reaching consequences for the industry and for consumers.

Lest you forget: There were at least 30 E. coli O157:H7 outbreaks in the U.S. and Canada linked to leafy greens between 2009 to 2018.

In 2019 alone, there were three outbreaks tied to leafy greens that sickened at least 188 people, including 92 hospitalizations and 16 cases of kidney failure. In October, Canada essentially banned leafy greens from the Salinas Valley after food safety officials there became fed up with the repeated outbreaks.

A call to action: Michael Taylor, former FDA deputy commissioner for foods and veterinary medicine and "godfather" of Food Safety Modernization Act, called FDA's latest statement an "unmistakable warning shot," in an opinion piece published in Food Safety News.

"I hope it will serve as a call to urgent action that gets to the root of the problem of the persistent presence of dangerous E. coli in the growing environment for leafy greens and other fresh produce," Taylor wrote.

A regulatory threat: In the investigation report, FDA cites regulatory language from its produce safety rule (part of FSMA) and points to the recurring problem of pathogenic E. coli as a hazard in the Salinas and Santa Maria growing areas. It attributes the problems to the presence of cattle on land near where greens are grown.

What's surprising, Taylor noted, "is that FDA used regulatory language to express its finding and spelled out the implications: farms covered by the FSMA produce safety rule 'are required to implement science and risk-based preventive measures" to minimize the risk of serious illness or death from the E. coli hazard.'"

The bottom line: The industry is being put on notice.

Looking beyond the greens fields: Leafy greens producers contend they are constantly improving food safety and welcome FDA's call to work on better solutions. There's also a growing recognition that the industry has to look beyond its own operations (remember: FDA keeps pointing to proximity to livestock).

"It's clear that we can't limit our focus to leafy greens farms, but we must take a more holistic approach that considers the environment outside of our farms," said said Tim York, CEO of the California Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement, a voluntary industry program that submits members to food safety audits by state inspectors. LGMA said it is working with landowners with vineyards and cattle operations near growing operations.

The beef industry perspective: MA asked the National Cattlemen's Beef Association to weigh in on all this, too.

"Previously, FDA has worked primarily with the leafy greens industry to resolve safety concerns – we strongly urge the agency to make livestock producers an equal partner in food safety conversations, as we all share the goal of providing safe, high-quality food to consumers," said NCBA CEO Colin Woodall, noting the group's members can "provide valuable contributions" to FDA's research into minimizing dangerous strains of E. coli.

Movers and Shakers

— The International Foodservice Distributors Association is bringing on Mala Parker as vice president of government relations. She was most recently deputy administrator at the Federal Highway Administration (hat tip: POLITICO Influence).

— Biden will nominate California's workplace safety chief, Doug Parker, to lead the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, POLITICO's Rebecca Rainey and Eleanor Mueller first reported. Parker heads California's Division of Occupational Safety and Health and previously worked at the Mine Safety and Health Administration during the Obama administration. He also started his legal career as an attorney at the United Mine Workers of America.

YOUR GUIDE TO THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION: As the Biden administration closes in on three months in office, what are the big takeaways? Will polls that show support for infrastructure initiatives and other agenda items translate into Republican votes or are they a mirage? What's the plan to deal with Sen. Joe Manchin? Add Transition Playbook to your daily reads for details you won't find anywhere else that reveal what's really happening inside the West Wing and across the executive branch. Track the people, policies and power centers of the Biden administration. Subscribe today.

Row Crops

— An increase in storm intensity is reflected in the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration's new baseline. Better observational technology, including satellites, and human-driven climate change played a role. POLITICO Pro Energy's Zack Colman has more.

— POLITICO Pro has a Q&A with Radhika Fox, who is leading the Biden administration's work to incorporate environmental justice into EPA's water work.

— Biden proposes a $2.4 billion increase to the Interior Department's budget to boost funding for environmental and Native American programs. POLITICO Pro Energy's Ben Lefebvre reports.

— Food pantries became mass distributors of food during the pandemic resulting in overwhelming capacity. The New York Times has more.

— There is an expected increase in the demand for feedstocks from renewable fuel producers as companies scramble to expand output. Reuters has the report.

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