Does not matter: What’s next in the debt relief battles — Restaurants lobby for more pandemic aid — White House map spotlights rural broadband shortages

Jun 21, 2021

With help from Tatyana Monnay

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Quick fix

— The Justice Department defends the government against a conservative lawsuit challenging the debt relief program for farmers of color. A judge in Wisconsin will rule by Wednesday on a request for a preliminary injunction.

— Restaurants and food sector lobbyists continue to push for more recovery funds. Some lawmakers are trying to introduce their own measures to provide aid.

— A new White House map shows where broadband is and is not present, highlighting the need for expansion into rural areas as lawmakers continue negotiating the infrastructure package.

HAPPY MONDAY, JUNE 21! Welcome to Morning Ag, where your host will be thinking about this New York Times report as she eats her lunch tuna salad. Send tips to xbustillo@politico.com and @ximena_bustillo , and follow us @Morning_Ag.

DRIVING THE WEEK

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT IN THE WISCONSIN SUIT: The Justice Department Friday evening responded to a conservative group's suit seeking a preliminary injunction against a Congress-mandated program to provide debt relief to farmers of color. MA readers may remember that the federal judge placed a temporary restraining order on June 10 that's blocking the payments.

The DOJ — which is fighting this and other lawsuits filed around the country on behalf of USDA — argue that the farmer plaintiffs behind the Wisconsin lawsuit have failed to show irreparable harm and the government is well within its constitutional rights to provide the debt relief.

"The evidence of prior discrimination against minority farmers in USDA loan programs is vast," the DOJ writes. It also notes that the white farmers can obtain any monetary relief from the program if they are entitled to it.

In addition, the DOJ argues the provision of debt relief is already narrowly tailored enough to further the goals and interests of the government.

Next steps: The judge has until July 23 to make a final decision to grant or deny the plaintiff's motion for a preliminary injunction. But in the initial restraining order , the judge seemed sympathetic to the white farmers' arguments. At least four other lawsuits are still pending across the country.

Related: The Sierra Club is advocating for the United States to provide reparations for Black and African Americans, Pro Energy's Zack Colman reports.

The news: The environmental group said Congress should "address the harms caused by anti-Black policies and practices through reparations." It did not specify what form those reparations should take beyond promoting targeted investment in Black communities to return "some of that wealth to the people it was stolen from."

"As the climate crisis continues to disproportionately harm Black communities, it is up to us to build an intersectional climate justice movement that ensures a habitable planet for all people," Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune said in a statement ahead of the Juneteenth holiday weekend.

RESTAURANTS MAKE THE CALL FOR MORE AID: Although states are continuing to loosen restrictions and the economy continues its rebound from the pandemic, restaurants, food service and other hospitality sectors are still struggling to keep up. As a result, industry leaders are asking Congress for more funds to stay afloat, Pro Financial Services' Zachary Warmbrodt writes.

Lobbying effort gets attention: Last week, a bipartisan group of lawmakers in the House and Senate introduced a bill that would devote $60 billion to a new round of grants for restaurants. The lead sponsors are Sens. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) with Reps. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.).

Falling short on dollars: While the last Covid relief package helped to grant $28.6 billion to the Small Business Administration, it has since received $75 billion in applications, leaving tens of thousands of restaurants on the sidelines.

The National Restaurant Association says the industry lost $290 billion in revenue during the pandemic and notes some areas still have limits of capacity. Many restaurant owners are in debt and will soon owe back rent, advocates say.

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BROADBAND EXPANSION MAP HIGHLIGHTS SHORTFALLS: Last week the Biden administration unveiled an interactive mapping tool to show where broadband service is available, Pro Technology's John Hendel reports. Where it lacks? Rural areas.

One catch: The Biden administration isn't calling any of this data authoritative, suggesting the map is meant to let users compare existing coverage estimates. It also highlights other factors like poverty.

The FCC is trying to pull together more authoritative broadband mapping data to help guide broadband subsidy spending. Contractor bids for building parts of this new proposed map are due July 1.

Congress gearing up: The administration's new mapping tool comes at a key moment, in the middle of negotiating among lawmakers and Biden over how big to make an infrastructure package and what provisions should guide it. Biden has proposed $100 billion, and has negotiated down to $65 billion, toward his goal of connecting 100 percent of the U.S.

Fun fact: Per the White House's new map, the areas in greatest need of broadband are also the areas that largely lean Republican and even correlate with votes for Donald Trump, according to the Washington Post, largely due to the rural demographic overlap.

VILSACK TALKS ORGANICS: Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack previewed his goals for organic agriculture during the annual membership meeting of the Organic Trade Association last week.

Vilsack laid out a forward-looking agenda for the organic sector, including a vow to resolve the ongoing issue over USDA's failure to implement a critical and fully vetted organic animal welfare regulation, according to a news release from the OTA.

The following day: Vilsack announced the department's plan to reconsider the prior administration's interpretation that the Organic Foods Production Act does not authorize USDA to regulate certain practices.

What's next: Vilsack said officials anticipate sending the proposed rule to OMB in roughly six to nine months and will invite public comments before publishing a final rule.

In the States

NIKKI FRIED FLIPS HER SCRIPT: Florida's agricultural commissioner is challenging Gov. Ron DeSantis for the 2022 governor's race. But environmentalists and progressives, who were expected to rally behind her, are instead speaking out against her, reports Pro Florida's Bruce Ritchie.

The activists were furious that Fried initially wouldn't support a minimum wage increase. Additional criticism stems in part from her perceived failure to live up to her potential — or her own rhetoric — to tackle the state's environmental concerns and mobilize the state's energy office.

But the other option also does not stack up that well either for the coalition. The Sierra Club in March gave Fried a C-minus in its first report card over her positions on climate change, while giving DeSantis a D-minus.

Movers and Shakers

— The White House announced several new nominees including: former Rep. Xochitl Torres Small (D-N.M.) as undersecretary of Agriculture for rural development; Laura Daniel-Davis as assistant Interior secretary for land and minerals management; and M. Camille Calimlim Touton as commissioner of Interior's Bureau of Reclamation. (h/t POLITICO Influence)

Senate Agriculture Committee Chair Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich) came out in support of Torres Small's nomination.

"She was a champion for rural development, particularly expanding high-speed internet, during her time in Congress, and I look forward to her nomination," said Stabenow.

— Eliana Goldsher will be a senior policy associate on Cargill's government relations team. She was previously an associate manager at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's China Center.

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Row Crops

— Democratic lawmakers last week wrote to the Environmental Protection Agency and National Economic Council over concerns that the administration may roll back oil refiners' obligations under the Renewable Fuel Standard. Read the letter here.

— Polls in Iowa are showing a drop in support for Sen. Chuck Grassley, who has been the longest-serving senator in the state's history. POLITICO's David Cohen has more.

— The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday reversed a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit that allowed six men to sue Nestle USA and Cargill under the Alien Tort Statute, Bloomberg reports. The plaintiffs claim they were trafficked as child slaves to farms in Ivory Coast that supply Nestle and Cargill. MA readers may recall that Neal Katyal, one of Biden's prospective picks for solicitor general, was criticized for representing Nestle during oral arguments in this case in December 2020.

— Related: Norway's sovereign wealth fund, which owns shares valued at more than $16 billion in some of the world's largest chocolate makers and confectioners, is choosing to stay invested in hopes of pushing for positive change, Bloomberg writes.

— Food and drink exports from Britain to the EU fell in the first quarter of 2021, largely blamed on Brexit checks, stockpiling and the pandemic. The Guardian has the story.

— Cattle ranchers and investors are building new beef plants after the shutdown of slaughterhouses during the pandemic and increasing consolidation in the meat sector that has weakening supply chains, Reuters writes.

— The Iowa Supreme Court in a 4-3 decision on Friday stopped a lawsuit aimed at reducing the flow of fertilizer and hog farm waste into the state's river and streams, saying that limiting pollution from farms was a political matter and not one for the courts, according to the Associated Press.

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