and McConnell on Farm Bill Deadline
From the Ag Information Network, I’m Bob Larson with your Agribusiness Update.
**An amendment to The Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Appropriations Act of 2024 would prevent checkoff programs from being administered by the USDA.
That’s according to the Georgia Farm Bureau that is encouraging its members to voice opposition to the amendment introduced by Indiana Rep. Victoria Spartz.
GFB maintains these programs are vital to the success and longevity of U.S. agriculture, and that this amendment is simply an attempt to disrupt agricultural prosperity.
www.gfb.org/media-and-publications/news.cms/2023/1566/measure-in-appropriations-bill-would-threaten-checkoff-programs
**The Economic Policy Institute claims employers routinely underpay farm workers, but federal investigations into this problem have dropped to an all-time low thanks to funding and staffing constraints.
Since 2000, the Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division, with only 810 investigators to protect 165 million workers, has seen investigations drop by more than 60%.
The EPI wants Congress to provide the DOL more resources for strong investment in farm worker protections.
**Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell tells Roll Call that Congress is running out of legislative working days before the current Farm Bill expires on September 30.
McConnell is the latest member of Congress to admit the timeline for a new farm bill is shifting past September, pushing to a new December 31 deadline.
If the farm bill does get pushed to 2024, a one-year extension becomes likely in the presidential election year.
