Does not matter: Biden’s missing USDA appointees

Dec 06, 2021

Presented by Feeding America Action

With help from Helena Bottemiller Evich, Meredith Lee and Natalie Fertig

Quick Fix

— First in MA: The Biden administration has only appointed 22 state directors for the Agriculture Department's Farm Service Agency and Rural Development branch, out of more than 100 open spots — a major delay compared to the Trump administration's first year.

— The Biden administration is facing bipartisan pressure from farm-state lawmakers to ban Brazilian beef imports because of food safety concerns.

— Farmers in the U.K. will be able to export lamb to the U.S. starting in January, when a decades-old ban will be lifted.

HAPPY MONDAY, DEC. 6! Welcome to Weekly Ag, where your host is one year older coming into this week! Send tips to xbustillo@politico.com and @ximena_bustillo, and follow us @Morning_Ag.

A message from Feeding America Action:

The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) is rural America's hunger lifeline. Rural counties make up 87 percent of counties with the highest rates of food insecurity. Last year, USDA commodities like TEFAP provided 465 million pounds of food to rural communities. TEFAP is delivering for rural America but charities can't end hunger alone. Congress should support additional investments in TEFAP food purchases to help food banks meet the need in their communities. Learn more.

DRIVING THE WEEK

WHERE ARE USDA'S STATE DIRECTORS? Out of more than 100 state directors for USDA's Farm Service Agency and Rural Development branch that President Joe Biden is supposed to appoint, he has only filled 22 slots so far, reports your host.

A large majority of the roles are currently filled by acting directors. Only nine states have both roles filled. And some of the country's most rural states, like West Virginia, and some of the top agricultural states in the West and Midwest are still operating with acting officials in the top FSA and Rural Development roles. (See FSA and RD.)

By contrast, at this point in the Trump administration, nearly every state position was announced.

A missed opportunity for rural America: Some rural advocates consider the lack of appointees as a missed opportunity for the Biden administration to get people on the ground in each state, communicating changes and taking credit for Biden's agenda.

The political appointees, which don't need Senate confirmation, play key leadership roles in making sure funds for programs such as rural broadband and other infrastructure projects get into local hands.

That means the absence of state directors could hamper Democrats' ability to claim credit in rural areas for their biggest policy achievements, like the $1.2 trillion infrastructure package Biden signed last month.

White House officials say they're working on filling the positions: "These positions are critically important as we continue our work to support rural America, and we have strong acting leadership in place in most of these roles," a White House spokesperson said. "We look forward to continuing to share appointees with the requisite expertise and leadership for these jobs, so that USDA can continue its important work serving rural communities."

USDA's larger staffing issues: The slow pace of the political appointments comes amid wider staffing woes for USDA. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack started his current term with 6,853 fewer employees in 2021 than when he left the Obama administration in 2016, according to department data.

"Under Secretary Vilsack's leadership, it is a top priority of the department to not only fill outstanding political appointments, but also to rebuild our federal civil service workforce so we can continue to carry out this critical work," USDA spokesperson Kate Waters said.

Regular MA readers may recall that Vilsack has previously attributed the overall lower staffing levels to the Trump administration's decisions to reduce headcount at the department through hiring freezes and funding cuts.

"Under the Trump administration we saw four years of active efforts to reduce and in places eliminate USDA's federal civilian workforce, crippling USDA's ability to serve rural communities," Waters said.

On the road: Vilsack was in Pennsylvania on Friday to announce climate-related ag infrastructure investments, including a $633 million investment aimed at "reducing the impacts of climate change" in rural communities, with $1 million specifically for rural communities in Pennsylvania. Next up, the secretary is scheduled to visit Ohio this week.

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Trade Corner

EXCLUSIVE: LAWMAKERS ARE LIVID ABOUT BRAZILIAN BEEF: Lawmakers in both parties are calling on the Biden administration to immediately halt all Brazilian beef from entering the U.S. after the South American nation dragged its feet on reporting incidents of mad cow disease, our Meredith Lee reports.

But the administration isn't planning to do so, Biden's USDA chief told POLITICO: "At this point in time, there isn't a scientific reason or basis" to order the suspension, Vilsack said. He added that there's "a misunderstanding about the extent of issues in Brazil."

"There's the belief that there is something a bit more serious than in fact is," Vilsack said, when asked about lawmakers' calls for him to act.

Brazil waited months before notifying the U.S. and other trade partners that it had detected two cases of "atypical" Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, known as mad cow disease. U.S. cattle producers — who have long argued for bans on Brazilian meat due to food safety concerns — quickly accused Brazil of a cover-up and pressed lawmakers to act.

While the reporting delays raise their own concerns, USDA says it doesn't consider the "atypical" type of cases most recently found in Brazil to be a risk to U.S. consumers right now. Vilsack argued that a suspension was unwarranted at this point according to USDA standards, and that it would end up harming the U.S. beef industry.

"If we were to do that, then we would expose our own beef industry to significant restrictions worldwide under similar circumstances," Vilsack said.

Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) said he plans to "keep aggressively pushing USDA to act" and will keep advocating for a bill he introduced that would trigger the suspension.

"He's really dug in," a senior USDA official said of Tester, claiming the issue "is more about politics" than food safety at this point. Cattle production is Montana's top ag sector by sales, per USDA data.

In response, a Tester aide said, "This has nothing to do with politics and everything to do with protecting America's food safety, something Senator Tester knows a thing or two about as the Senate's only working farmer."

Beyond Tester, the political pressure on the Biden administration is intensifying: The No. 2 Republican in the Senate, John Thune of North Dakota, is planning to lead a letter from a bipartisan group of lawmakers later this week calling for Vilsack to carry out the suspension on Brazilian beef.

U.K. LAMB BAN TO END IN JANUARY: U.K. government officials announced British farmers will be able to begin exporting their lamb to the U.S. next month, reports POLITICO Europe's Emilio Casalicchio.

The U.K. government estimates the change could be worth some £37 million in the first five years of trade. (That's about $49 million.)

How we got here: The U.S. has banned British lamb since 1989 over concerns about scrapie, a livestock disease. A U.S.-U.K. deal to lift the ban was first announced in September when Prime Minister Boris Johnson visited Biden at the White House.

A message from Feeding America Action:

In the States

NYC LAUNCHES FIRST-EVER FOOD TRANSITION TEAM: Mayor-elect Eric Adams has put together a special transition team to handle food policy issues for his administration — a first for New York City (and possibly for any city).

The lineup: The food transition team is co-led by Alexina Cather, deputy director of the Hunter College New York City Food Policy Center; Tony Hillery, founder and director of Harlem Grown; and Greg Silverman, CEO of West Side Campaign Against Hunger.

The full food policy transition list is here. It's pretty long. Here are some other names that jumped out: Marion Nestle, prolific author, blogger and New York University professor; Karen Washington, a prominent food and social justice activist; Tom Colicchio, advocate and celebrity chef best known for Top Chef; Urvashi Rangan, co-chair at Funders for Regenerative Agriculture; and Angela Davis , a popular food blogger and chef.

The transition team will handle a host of issues, among them: Improving communication and city databases to get food assistance to families in need; a renewed focus on urban agriculture; and overhauling school meal menus and standards to focus on "whole, fresh foods," and "encouraging consumption that leads to children's improved health and school performance."

Calling our city readers: Are you in city government? Do you work on food issues? Drop Helena a line: hbottemiller@politico.com

FLORIDA GRANTS BLACK FARMER MARIJUANA LICENSE: Florida will begin accepting applications for one Black farmer to acquire a medical marijuana license next year — a process that had been delayed for over five years.

"The way that the state of Florida has handled the medical marijuana licensure process for Black farmers is completely unacceptable and discriminatory on its face," Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried said in a statement.

The background: There are 22 medical marijuana license holders in Florida, but according to Fried , none of them are minority-owned. Florida's 2017 medical marijuana law set aside a medical marijuana license to a Black farmer belonging to the Pigford class — a group of Black farmers across the U.S. who filed a class-action lawsuit against the USDA over racial discrimination.

A Black farmer in Florida who is not part of the Pigford class sued the state over the provision, which was repealed by the state legislature in 2018. Then, this October, the state more than doubled the application fee for medical marijuana licenses — including for Black farmers — which Fried asked the state to reconsider.

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Row Crops

— Kelly O'Donnell is joining the National Confectioners Association as director of its "CandyPAC" political action committee. She previously was PAC director for the National Association of REALTORS, TriNet and the Farm Credit Council.

— The Supreme Court denied the Maine Lobstering Union's request to reverse the closure of nearly 1,000 square miles of water in the Gulf of Maine in order to protect the endangered right whale, POLITICO's Hannah Farrow reports.

— The EPA's long-stalled biofuel blending proposals could be released by the Biden administration in the coming days, more than a year late for the agency to set 2021 blending requirements for oil refiners. Pro Energy's Kelsey Tamborrino has more.

— California wine grapes tainted by wildfire smoke are being repurposed to make a different type of alcohol: vodka. Reuters has the story.

— Potato growers in Prince Edwards Island are pushing for potato exports to Puerto Rico to resume, despite the current ban on sales to the U.S. over potato wart concerns. CBC has the details.

A message from Feeding America Action:

The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) is rural America's hunger lifeline.

TEFAP is delivering for our rural neighbors in need.

The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) is a federal nutrition program that helps charities like Feeding America, the largest hunger relief organization in the U.S., deliver nutritious foods from farmers to food banks to communities every day. Rural counties make up 87 percent of the counties with the highest rates of food insecurity. Last year, 96 percent of rural counties received TEFAP food items distributed by a food bank within the Feeding America network. Congress should support strong additional investments in TEFAP food purchases to help food banks meet the need in their neighborhoods. Learn more about TEFAP and how it provides a lifeline for rural communities facing hunger.

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