Legislation that expands the mandatory mitigation for agricultural labor collective bargaining will be heard in the Assembly Labor and Employment Committee on June 12th.SB 25 (President ProTem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento)expands mandatory mediation from labor agreement negotiations where the parties cannot reach agreement to all future negotiations. It imposes unionization on unsuspecting agricultural employees years or even decades after an initial vote certification and could create the situation that the newly unionized employees never voted for the union

A Senate schedule turned upside down this week by the death of Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D, NJ), a frustrated Oklahoma Senator and an angry Louisiana colleague conspired to block most substantive action on the $955-billion Senate Farm Bill, but these unrelated factors may have accelerated the bill's move to a final vote, now set for June 10 at 5:30 p.m.  At that time, the Senate will consider a single amendment by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D, VT) to expand rural broadband service, and will then turn to final passage of the full Farm Bill.  Nearly 200 amendments will not see action.

 

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D, NV), shut the Senate down for a day and a half this week to allow Senators to attend the Lautenberg funeral and pay their respects as Lautenberg's body lay in state in the Senate chamber.  Reid then filed a cloture motion, approved 75-22, cutting off debate on the Farm Bill.  Reid's cloture motion was supported by a letter from over 120 national, regional and state ag and input industry groups. Meanwhile, Senate Agriculture Committee Chair Debbie Stabenow (D, MI) patiently listened to Senators demand their amendments be debated and voted upon, whether related to the underlying USDA program bill or not.   

 

Two amendments were approved earlier in the week. The first by Sen. Jerry Moran (R, KS) would set up a study and pilot program qualifying alfalfa for federal crop insurance, and the second by Sens. Mike Johanns (R, NE) and Chris Coons (D, DE) that would change USDA's international food aid programs by increasing from $40 million to $60 million the amount that can be spent on buying food aid in-country.

 

Reid publicly acknowledged his ongoing desire to see a finite set of amendments to be voted upon, but that list has eluded Stabenow and committee ranking member Sen. Thad Cochran (R, MS).  Stabenow told the Senate she and Cochran continued to build a list of amendments they would accept as a package without lengthy debate, and that list is expected to be offered Monday as the bill moves to final passage. Stabenow and Cochran have held to strict standards for amendments, demanding they not substantially modify the committee-passed bill and that they be germane to the Farm Bill.  Stabenow reminded members 34 amendments accepted as part of the 2012 Farm Bill were part of the 2013 effort, and 16 amendments had received floor action this year.

 

Stabenow withstood Senate procedure lectures from Sen. Tom Coburn (R, OK), who sought to offer several amendments. At one point Coburn was taken aback when Stabenow pointed out the amendment he was demanding is already in the bill.  Coburn was also thwarted each time he brought up one of his amendments by a frustrated Sen. Mary Landrieu (D, LA), who objected to all amendments being offered by the GOP until she received assurance her amendment on expanding the federal flood insurance program would be heard. Sen. Pat Toomey (R, PA) has placed a hold on Landrieu's amendment, and Landrieu finally ended her roadblock. 

 

The political stage seems set for round two in achieving a new five-year Farm Bill, with the Senate teed up to approve its bill early next week and House GOP leadership continuing to promise full chamber action, likely the week of June 17.  House Agriculture Committee Chair Frank Lucas (R, OK) and ranking member Rep. Collin Peterson (D, MN) continue to press leadership to allow the Farm Bill to come to the floor under what's called a "modified open rule," meaning only germane amendments to the underlying Farm Bill would be allowed.   

 

While most observers are expecting a bloody floor fight focusing on cuts to federal food stamp programs, other contentious issues are emerging as well.  House Speaker John Boehner (R, OH), no fan of Farm Bills generally, is waging a personal fight to derail the House bill's reinvention of dairy support programs through creation of a margin insurance program coupled with production controls.  The Boehner move is supported by the dairy processing industry.  In related action this week, the House Judiciary Committee, as part of its pro forma review of the Farm Bill's rulemaking requirements, added language from Chair Bob Goodlatte (R, VA) requiring USDA to conduct studies on the new "dairy stabilization program" as part of its formal rulemaking if the program survives the House floor and the Farm Bill conference committee.

 

A new battle is emerging over tieing crop insurance to conservation compliance.  The House bill currently does not tie one program's benefits to participation in the other, but a bill this week introduced by Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (R, NE) and Rep. Mike Thompson (D, CA) - that will become a floor amendment - would require cross-compliance as the Senate Farm Bill does. 

 

 

USDA's Grain Inspection Packers & Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) Grain Inspection Advisory Committee will hold a public meeting June 18-19 in Kansas City, Missouri.  The agenda includes an overview of the Federal Grain Inspection Service (FGIS) operations-market program, international programs, moisture meter implementation, and an update on the department's biotech proficiency program. The full Federal Register notice, including the agenda and instructions on how to register can be found at www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/fr-2013-06-03/html/2013-13063.htm.

 

In a formal Farm Bill floor exchange this week with Sen. Jeff Merkely (D, OR), Senate Agriculture Committee Chair Debbie Stabenow (D, MI) promised she would not include in the Farm Bill so-called "Monsanto Protection Act" language, and went so far as to say it would be "inappropriate" for the language to appear in the House-Senate conference report.   

 

The language in question, included in the expiring FY2013 continuing spending resolution, is designed to protect farmers who have planted legally approved seed, but that seed approval and testing is challenged in court.  Activists contend it protects biotech seed companies, not farmers.   

 

Merkely said he was going to offer an amendment to the Farm Bill based on his constituents' concerns over recently discovered unapproved GM wheat in one Oregon farmer's field, but agreed to withhold the amendment based on Stabenow's assurance.

 

It was inevitable the acquisition of the U.S.'s biggest pork producer/processor by its Chinese counterpart would draw attention from Capitol Hill, and this week that attention was played out in spades.

 

Senate Agriculture Committee Chair Debbie Stabenow (D, MI) said in a statement released by the committee, she's concerned about the Shuanghui purchase of Smithfield Foods because of "the implications it could have on food safety for American consumers."   

 

"The (federal) agencies responsible for approving this possible merger must take China's and Shuanghui's troubling track record on food safety into account, and do everything in their power to ensure our national security and the health of our families are not jeopardized," Stabenow said.

 

Sen. Charles Grassley (R, IA), who last week warned federal agencies he would watch their review of the proposed merger closely, this week said, "I'm also concerned about the impact on consumer choice and the price of pork products," and was joined by Sen. Tom Harkin (D, IA) who warned Shuanghui and Smithfield. "It must be shown that the deal will protect workers, food safety standards and U.S. national interests," Harkin told Reuters. In the same report, Rep. Frank Wolf (R, VA) said he found the deal "troubling."

 

Smithfield responded: "The combined company will not import any product from China into the U.S.  As a result, the proposed combination does not have any implications for the U.S. food supply."