HOUSE COMMITTEE ADVANCES FARM AND FOOD SPENDING: The House Appropriations Agriculture-FDA Subcommittee on Friday advanced its $26.5 billion spending bill for farm, food and rural programs, reports our Ryan McCrimmon. Key details: The brief markup didn't include any debate on amendments. That's expected when the full committee marks up the fiscal 2022 Agriculture-FDA bill on Wednesday. While both parties approved the bill, some Republicans took issue with the $350 million price tag on climate science as well as the overall cost of the bill. The draft legislation would provide more than a 10 percent increase over current funding levels. By the numbers: The bill includes $4.43 billion for rural development projects, including $907 million for broadband deployment; and $3.32 billion for agricultural research. Some $3.47 billion in discretionary funding is allocated for the FDA, including an additional $65 million to address foodborne illness outbreaks and heavy metals in baby food. The overall total includes $26.55 billion in discretionary spending, an increase of $2.85 billion compared with current levels, according to a summary of the legislation. What's next: Congress is not expected to pass a final appropriations bill before the Sept. 30 deadline. Lawmakers instead are likely to pass a continuing resolution that would maintain fiscal 2021 spending levels for most agencies. USDA, FCC AND COMMERCE COORDINATE BROADBAND SPENDING: The three executive branch agencies on Friday announced an agreement to coordinate spending of broadband subsidy funds, Pro Technology's John Hendel reports, just as Congress considers spending billions more to build out internet infrastructure. It's not all self-motivated. The agreement was required by Congress as a part of the December pandemic relief bill. Government officials and lawmakers have been worried about a lack of coordination. Under the terms of the agreement, the agencies promise to share information about how they're giving out funding and to consider basing the distribution "on standardized data regarding broadband coverage." What's next: The interagency agreement could help streamline some of the infrastructure spending now under consideration on Capitol Hill. The bipartisan framework between Biden and a group of centrist senators contemplates spending $65 billion on broadband efforts, although it doesn't specify where these dollars might go. It's still not a done deal, as Democrats must achieve total Senate unity while walking a political tightrope in the House, as POLITICO reports. SCOTUS RULES ON ETHANOL BLENDING EXEMPTION LIMITS: The Supreme Court sided with oil refiners on Friday in a decision to overturn an appellate court decision that limited the Environmental Protection Agency's ability to exempt small, struggling gasoline makers from ethanol blending requirements, reports Pro Energy's Kelsey Tamborrino. The 6-3 decision puts the future of the small refinery exemptions in the hands of the Biden administration. It also revives the political conflict between the oil refiners and agricultural interests that had vexed the Trump administration for years. The administration has received requests for new waivers but had put those on hold pending the court's decision. On the Hill: Leaders of the House Biofuels Caucus were not thrilled with the ruling. In a statement, the members expressed concern that the Renewable Fuel Standard — the federal requirement for minimum volumes of renewable fuels like ethanol sold — was weakened, to the detriment of family farmers and biofuel producers. HOUSE REPUBLICANS RAISE ISSUE WITH BIDEN'S WOTUS REVERSAL: Dozens of House Republicans, including House Ag ranking member G.T. Thompson, sent a letter to Environmental Protection Agency Michael Regan and Acting Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works Jaime Pinkham raising concerns after officials said the Trump administration's Navigable Waters Protection Rule would be reversed. The lawmakers call the previous Obama-era regulations "overreaching" that "had a disastrous effect on farmers, businesses, and families." Environmentalists not happy, either: Environmentalists oppose the rule, saying the Biden EPA is not moving fast enough to remove it. That would allow hundreds, potentially thousands, more projects to proceed without federal water permitting requirements — including mines, oil and gas pipelines, suburban housing developments, reports Pro Energy's Annie Snider. STABENOW, CRAPO ADDRESS VETERINARIAN SHORTAGE: Senate Agriculture Chair Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich) and Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) introduced late last week a bill that would address the shortage of veterinarians in rural areas. The bill, dubbed the Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program Enhancement Act, would eliminate the taxes on programs that encourage vets to practice in underserved areas. "Qualified veterinarians in agricultural communities across the nation are a key part of maintaining animal health and welfare, and ensuring ranchers and farmers have access to care for their livestock," Crapo said in a statement. "Overly burdensome federal taxes on the Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program limit the reach of the program's benefits, and addressing those limitations would allow more veterinarians to have the opportunity to practice in small, rural communities where their services are in critical need." Throwback: In 2003 Congress established the program to help food animal and public health veterinarians with student loan repayment in exchange for a three-year commitment to practice in areas of the country facing a veterinarian shortage. But, but, but: According to the lawmakers, the program is subject to a significant federal withholding tax on the assistance provided to qualifying veterinarians. That limits the resources available for the program, and in turn, the reach of its benefits. The proposed bill would address this by providing an exemption from the federal income withholding tax for payments received under this and similar state programs. | 
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