Does not matter: More money to SNAP recipients — Biden sending mixed messages on biofuels — Senators call for JBS meatpacking investigation

Aug 16, 2021

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Quick Fix

— The Biden administration today will announce a historic permanent increase to SNAP benefits. The boost is expected to help recipients better afford groceries.

— Environmental groups are frustrated by what they say are moves by President Joe Biden that undermine his efforts to cut back on fossil fuels. The mixed messaging is rattling climate activists, an essential voting bloc for Democrat's success in the 2022 midterm elections.

— Members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee are urging Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to open a thorough investigation of Brazilian meatpacking giant JBS. The letter follows JBS plans for more acquisitions.

HAPPY MONDAY, AUG. 16! Welcome to Morning Ag, where we have a guest host! My name is Tatyana Monnay and I am taking over as your author this week. It's a quiet week in Washington and the perfect week to try to find some Zen. Anybody know of a good yoga studio in D.C.? Send recommendations and tips to tmonnay@politico.com and @tatyanamonnay and follow us @Morning_Ag.

DRIVING THE WEEK

THRIFTY FOOD PLAN: The Biden administration is expected today to unveil a permanent boost to SNAP benefits — a move that will increase the average monthly benefit by about 27 percent, reports our Helena Bottemiller Evich.

It would be a historic increase for one of the country's biggest safety net programs. About 42 million people in the U.S. currently receive this aid.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack will announce an update of what's called the Thrifty Food Plan used in quantifying Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits. The plan calculates how much a nutritious diet costs with minimal resources.

What's changing: The update will now take food preparation time, and geographical price differences into account, as well as factoring in some "convenience" staples like frozen vegetables. The program faced criticism that it was still falling short of filling American families' hunger needs, The New York Times reports. Previously, the model assumed families would buy dried beans and soak them for hours before serving because they were cheaper than canned beans, for example.

The pandemic boost stays: A previous boost of 15 percent, which was put in place in response to the pandemic, had been set to expire Sept. 30. The new permanent increase is set to begin Oct. 1.

GOP uneasy: Top Republicans on the House and Senate Agriculture Committee, Rep. G.T. Thompson (R-Pa.) and Sen. John Boozman (R-Ark.), called for a review of the planned increase by the Government Accountability Office, Helena reported on Friday.

"While we expect this process will elicit an increase to the cost of the Thrifty Food Plan — and subsequently monthly SNAP allotments — questions remain as to how the department has gone about this review and update, including their methodologies, administrative practices, and legal authorities," the Republicans wrote in a letter to Comptroller General Gene Dodaro.

BIDEN'S BACKPEDAL ON FOSSIL FUEL: Biden is making it cheaper and more convenient for Americans to use fossil fuels even as his administration has been calling for Americans to use less gasoline in an effort to combat climate change, report POLITICO Pro's Ben Lefebvre, Catherine Boudreau and Tanya Snyder.

MA readers may remember Rep. Cindy Axne (D-Iowa) pushing for more biofuel language in infrastructure negotiations — even threatening she wouldn't support a package that did not include biofuels investments.

Wake-up call: The sobering United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report released last week called for action on climate change from global leaders. International scientists warned that there must be a drastic decrease in burning fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas to keep the earth from tipping past the point of no return in climate change.

JBS MONOPOLY WORRIES ON THE HILL: Sens. Bob Menedez (D-N.J.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) in a letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen urged a review of all U.S. acquisitions by JBS, a Brazilian meatpacking giant.

Context: It may seem like the letter was addressed to the wrong Cabinet member, as usually the FTC or Justice Department would handle antitrust issues. But the Treasury Secretary is ultimately responsible for the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, which is responsible for reviewing foreign mergers or purchases of stakes in U.S. companies.

"When foreign companies benefit from corrupt practices and spread them to U.S. markets, they jeopardize our economic security, present direct risks to our businesses, and undermine our efforts to fight corruption abroad," the letter reads. "With JBS S.A. planning further U.S. acquisitions in the near future, the need for a thorough investigation is urgent."

JBS has been increasingly in the market for acquisitions lately. The meatpacking conglomerate is looking to buy the remaining shares of Pilgrim's Pride, a major chicken supplier, according to Food Dive. JBS already owns nearly an 80 percent stake in Pilgrim's Pride.

TYSON ORDERED TO PAY UP: Tyson Foods was fined by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission on Friday following allegations that it exceeded the CFTC's limit on soybean meal contracts. Tyson was ordered to pay a $1.5 million civil monetary penalty.

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Trade Corner

CORPORATE AMERICA URGES ACTION ON CHINA: Some of America's largest corporations are pushing Biden to reverse Trump-era China tariffs, reports Pro Trade's Gavin Bade.

Biden's "worker-centered" trade policy is starting to resemble — at least in practice — former President Donald Trump's "America First" policy, according to industry representatives in Washington who are still waiting for Biden to roll back duties on $350 billion worth of Chinese imports.

But farmers, at least, may be getting some face time on trade issues. On Friday, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai and Vilsack met with officials from the food and farming sectors pledging to help the industry expand agriculture exports, Gavin reports.

No new trade deals: The Biden administration has repeatedly said it's not inking free trade agreements until the domestic economy is in a better place. Instead, Tai told industry reps that the administration would work within existing agreements.

ICYMI

LOOKING AHEAD TO 2022: Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) endorsed Iowan financial planner Nicole Hasso, who is looking to challenge Axne for a House seat, POLITICO's Alex Isenstadt reports.

Row Crops

— Senate Republicans on the Ag Committee wrote a letter to Chair Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) requesting hearings with witnesses from the ag industry to inform a $135 billion spending increase in the reconciliation process.

— Sen. Mike Rounds said he opposes the National Cattlemen's Beef Association petition to replace the "Product of USA" label with "Processed in USA" label to maintain transparency for consumers so they know where their beef came from.

— The Wall Street Journal profiles younger Americans, especially former office workers, who are joining the agriculture sector, particularly in small-scale farming and venture-capital backed start-ups.

— The loss of populations in rural America spells trouble for the continuing worker shortage for ag, USA Today writes. As a result, farmer groups are urging politicians to increase immigration and tone down the harsh rhetoric.

— Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune is resigning at the end of the year, in what's being regarded as a major blow to the U.S. environmental movement and the Democratic Party's green base, POLITICO's Zack Colman reports.

— Drought is hurting California's rice farmers and warmer ocean temperatures are driving the salmon population down, according to Bloomberg.

— The CEO of the ag conglomerate Cargill outlines labor struggles, child labor and the future of sustainable food in an interview with Time.

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