Does not matter: Veep goes rural

Apr 18, 2022

QUICK FIX

— Vice President Kamala Harris has been touring an unconventional group of smaller cities and towns, as the Biden administration hustles to inform rural communities about the funding opportunities and benefits they could see from the new infrastructure law.

— Texas Gov. Greg Abbott called off his additional state inspections of trucks coming across the border, but not before facing even more backlash over the spoilage of fresh produce.

— New York could be on the verge of implementing a 40-hour overtime law for farmworkers, after the state legislature and governor approved a budget that includes tax credits for farm employers, who were worried about the increase in labor costs.

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Driving the Day

VEEP TAKES TO RURAL AMERICA: The White House last week announced its "Rural Infrastructure Tour" initiative, dispatching members of President Joe Biden's Cabinet across rural America to promote infrastructure funding and other support for rural and underserved communities. Now, even the vice president is joining in on the mission to reach rural towns and build political support for Biden's agenda ahead of the November midterms, reports POLITICO's Eugene Daniels.

From Greenville, Miss., and Sunset, La., to Brandywine, Md., Harris has traveled to "far-off, non-traditional locales" compared to her other national Democratic counterparts, Eugene writes.

"Weeks after the bipartisan infrastructure bill was passed into law, Harris convened a briefing with administration officials to go over the part of the bill related to charging stations for electric vehicles — an interest that had animated her dating back to her time in California politics. As staff went from page to page of the briefing document, she peppered them with questions. How would 500,000 charging stations be built and distributed? Who would build them? What would it mean for overlooked communities?"

These questions, according to White House officials, have determined where Harris ends up traveling.

"The electoral benefits of going to remote communities in non-swing states seem decidedly limited for those in the Beltway, especially at a time when the White House is trying to turn around its polling nosedive and gain praise for the state of the jobs market. But administration officials contend that the symbolism of a vice presidential trip matter, and that when it's tied with some larger announcement, it has a clear downstream upside."

"It's not necessarily that we're going to win Mississippi or Louisiana, but it makes a difference in people knowing that they're seen and they're heard," senior adviser to the president Cedric Richmond told POLITICO.

Related: The Agriculture Department on Friday announced more than $238 million in funding from the infrastructure law for the Secure Rural Schools program, which aims to help states and counties fund local services otherwise at risk because of a decline in timber sales revenue, reports your host. Payments will begin to roll out in the coming days.

How it works: The infrastructure law reauthorized the program — which provides funding for projects on rural roads and schools, federal lands and county projects — for fiscal 2021 through 2023.

There's also money for forests: The Forest Service gets a portion of the funds to support projects that improve forest conditions. Resource advisory committees, made up of residents representing varied interests and areas of expertise, review and recommend projects that meet their local needs, according to USDA.

Trade Corner

TEXAS BORDER BOTTLENECK EASES: Republican Gov. Greg Abbott lifted his mandate that state troopers inspect trucks crossing the border from Mexico on Friday, amid mounting pressure from business groups and federal officials who warned that Abbott's move to grind trade to a halt would lead to lost revenue and food shortages.

Abbott imposed the additional inspections after the Biden administration ended a pandemic-era policy that turned away asylum seekers at the border. But U.S. Customs and Border Protection already conducts routine truck inspections, and the move was widely criticized even by other Texas Republicans as a political stunt.

Abbott asserted Friday that he lifted the requirement after Mexican officials agreed to enhance security on their side of the border. That won him some praise from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

But not all in his party were thrilled: Texas Ag Commissioner (and frequent Abbott critic) Sid Miller disapproved of the move early on, arguing that the state inspections wouldn't do anything to curb immigration concerns and would lead to billions of dollars in spoiled produce and increased costs to consumers.

Impact on food and producers: The policy caused supply chain snags for a wide range of food products. Jalapeños were spoiled and discarded, the Texas Tribune reports. Industry representatives estimate that overall losses to fruit and vegetable producers could be more than $240 million, per CNN.

AG COMPANIES STILL OPERATING IN RUSSIA: While many food and agriculture companies have already cut back their presence and investments in Russia, others say it's not that simple. The latter include big agribusinesses like BASF and Syngenta, which supply seeds and chemicals to the country's massive food industry, reports POLITICO Europe's Eddy Wax.

Feeding the world: Some companies that supply Russian farmers with expensive agricultural equipment point to Russia's role as the world's top exporter of staples like barley, wheat and sunflower oil — particularly to swaths of the Middle East and North Africa with high rates of food insecurity. The agribusinesses argue that millions of people in the world's poorest countries could be tipped into famine if they stop doing business there.

But some EU officials are skeptical of such arguments: Agribusinesses still working in Russia "are taking huge risks for their reputation in the long term," Lithuania's farm chief Kęstutis Navickas told POLITICO, Eddy writes. "It's not a game, they should be more responsible."

Related: Over the weekend, Ukraine's state-owned railway restricted transportation of certain ag goods across the Polish and Romanian borders, according to Reuters.

In the States

N.Y. FARMWORKER OVERTIME PAY ON THE HORIZON: New York is preparing to establish tax credits to reimburse farmers for the costs of paying overtime rates to farmworkers — an indication that the state will soon lower the overtime threshold for agricultural labor, report POLITICO New York's Meghan Brink and your host.

Background: The tax credit was included in state budget plans to address the ag industry's concerns that the overtime rules would significantly increase farmers' already rising labor costs. Currently, farmworkers earn overtime after working 60 hours a week, but the Farm Laborers Wage Board in January recommended lowering the threshold to 40 hours.

With a tax credit in place, Wage Board officials told POLITICO that a drop to 40 hours would likely not result in cuts to farmworkers' hours, and it "will help bring good workers to New York."

What's next? The state is currently waiting for the Farm Laborers Wage Board to submit a final report on their recommendation to lower the overtime threshold. The report will be submitted for approval by New York Labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon and ultimately Gov. Kathy Hochul.

But, but, but: According to the state Labor Department, there's no timeline for the Wage Board to complete the report and vote on it, before it's submitted to Reardon for review. At that point, Reardon would have 45 days to either reject the report or refer it to Hochul for final approval.

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Row Crops

— Over the past six months, 55 percent of Feeding America food banks have reported that overall food donations are down, according to a report from the hunger relief organization. Meanwhile, inflated food prices are costing food banks more as they work to feed more customers.

— The FDA is looking into more than 100 reports of consumers becoming ill after eating Lucky Charms cereal. The General Mills product has not been recalled. The Wall Street Journal has the story.

— Bird flu continues to spread, and it's contributing to the rise of egg prices, according to The Washington Post . USDA on Friday announced that bird flu was identified in two new flocks in Idaho.

— The Supreme Court is preparing to hear arguments for a slate of ag-related cases next session, including over the Clean Water Act and California's Prop 12 animal welfare law. Food Safety News has more.

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