| | | | |  | | By Garrett Downs and Meredith Lee Hill | | | With help from Marcia Brown PROGRAMMING NOTE: We'll be off next week for the holidays but back to our normal schedule on Tuesday, Jan. 3.
| | | — Scoop: There's a last-ditch effort to include Sen. Michael Bennet 's (D-Colo.) Senate companion for the House-passed Farm Workforce Modernization Act in the year-end government funding package. Amid a flurry of weekend talks, Bennet's team added horse racing industry workers to the bill to try to secure the support of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. — FIRST IN MA: House Ag Committee Democrats are once again mulling over what to do about current Chair Rep. David Scott (D-Ga.), who recently secured a key approval to be the panel's ranking member in the new Congress. Concerns over his health and effectiveness are once again bubbling up from inside his caucus, but it's unclear if anyone will mount a challenge. — Top U.S. officials are considering proposals from Mexico to alter the country's upcoming ban on genetically modified corn. It comes as President Joe Biden is likely to visit the country next month. HAPPY MONDAY, DEC. 19. Welcome to Morning Ag. We're your hosts, Garrett Downs and Meredith Lee Hill. Send tips to gdowns@politico.com and meredithlee@politico.com, and follow us at @Morning_Ag.
| | | | A message from The Interrupt: "Just eat less." "Just take the stairs." "Just stop being lazy."
More than 108 million American adults suffer from obesity. But the conversation about obesity is overly simplistic — it can be hurtful and misleading. Healthy diet and exercise are important, but for many people they aren't enough. Obesity is a complex disease and there's no one-size-fits-all solution.
Let's interrupt the conversation and treat obesity like the disease it is. Learn more. | | | Want to receive this newsletter every weekday? Subscribe to POLITICO Pro. You'll also receive daily policy news and other intelligence you need to act on the day's biggest stories.
| | | FARMWORKER BILL RUSH: Bennet and other proponents of the Affordable and Secure Food Act are facing a tight deadline in their quest to get it included in the must-pass omnibus appropriations bill, likely the last legislative vehicle of the 117th Congress. Remember: The bill would establish a pathway for undocumented agricultural workers to receive legal status, establish a year-round H-2A visa program, freeze wages of H-2A workers for one year and modernize the H-2A visa process with E-Verify. Since the House passed the FWMA nearly two years ago, Bennet and Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) had been locked in negotiations. But they reached an impasse on several issues in the bill, at which point Bennet decided he'd make a last-ditch effort alone. The stakes are high, with likely House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) very unlikely to take up an immigration bill next year. The lobbying has been intense, with major agriculture groups lining up behind the effort in hopes that it will alleviate rampant workforce shortages. Robert Guenther, the chief policy officer at the International Fresh Produce Association, and Dave Puglia , the president and CEO of Western Growers, both told MA they're having conversations with Republican offices from farm states who might be receptive. Push for McConnell: And in an effort to coax McConnell into supporting the bill, the latest text obtained by Meredith now includes a provision that would include equine workers in the H2-A program, a big industry in his home state of Kentucky. It's a tough sell for McConnell, amid bipartisan criticism over the Biden administration's immigration plans for the end of the Title 42 border policy this week. In a sign of how things are going, MA spotted Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.), a lead sponsor of the House bill, outside the Senate chamber and McConnell's office trying to whip votes late Thursday. He estimated there might be six or seven Senate Republicans who would support the effort — the bill would need at least 10 to ensure it doesn't bottleneck the omnibus. MA saw Newhouse chase down Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), and while the pair had an amicable exchange, it ended with Cornyn saying he wished he had better news. Asked for a follow-up by MA, Cornyn said "no immigration in the omnibus." The conservative-leaning American Farm Bureau Federation opposes the bill, and is seeking "additional improvements" in the wage section, according to Sam Kieffer, AFBF's vice president of public policy.
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Rep. Dan Newhouse and Sen. Mike Crapo discuss farmworker-focused immigration legislation outside of the Senate chamber. | Garrett Downs/POLITICO | SCOTT'S RAUCOUS CAUCUS: On the other end of the Capitol, it's unlikely at this point that anyone in the House Democratic caucus will openly challenge current Chair David Scott for the top Democratic spot on the panel next year. But that doesn't mean lawmakers aren't talking about it. Some members have been weighing their options in recent weeks to replace him, citing concerns behind the scenes about his ability to lead Democrats through high-stakes farm bill talks in the upcoming Republican-majority House, according to 8 people familiar with the discussions. One Democratic House member, asked by MA recently if they had concerns about Scott's leadership on the committee, smiled and quietly replied: "That's a question that doesn't have to be asked." Details: As we've reported, Scott was approved by the House Democratic steering committee last week to serve as the ranking member on House Ag as members of his own party have recently escalated their quiet discussions about a possible replacement. The full House Democratic caucus is set to vote on committee posts in just a few weeks. A House Ag Committee spokesperson did not return multiple requests for comment on the matter involving Scott. Taking temperatures: House Ag member Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), asked about Scott's role, said he hadn't heard of any other member willing to challenge the Georgia Democrat at this point. "But let's be honest," McGovern added. "All of us have to operate in a way that we are confronting them when they try to roll back progress," he said, referring to Republicans' eagerness to reform nutrition programs in the upcoming farm bill talks. "And I've had this conversation with him — we have to be prepared — the Republicans are going to try to go after the food nutrition programs," McGovern said. "And if they do that, there cannot be a farm bill." McGovern is among a group of Democratic lawmakers who'd rather have Biden veto a farm bill that restricts access to food assistance programs, and have Congress pass extensions, if it comes to it. As we've reported, it's increasingly likely that lawmakers will miss the December 2023 deadline and will need to pass some sort of an extension. Who's out: Reps. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.) and Chellie Pingree (D-Maine), who've been floated as possible replacements, told MA they're not seeking the top spot. Spanberger said her "plate is full." (She was recently tapped for a new battleground representative role in Democratic leadership). Pingree said she isn't interested and even if she was, she can't run for the ranking member role under current House rules. MA asked Rep. Jim Costa (D-Calif.) if he would consider a challenge to Scott for the ranking member position, but he didn't answer the question. Costa launched an unsuccessful challenge to Scott two years ago, and was one of the members who Meredith previously reported raised concerns about Scott with other lawmakers last year. He's unlikely to mount another challenge to Scott amid the fallout, according to people familiar with the discussions.
| | | | A message from The Interrupt:   | | | A REAL CORN SOLUTION?: Top Biden administration officials said Friday that they are reviewing a set of proposals from Mexican officials aimed at resolving a growing dispute over a decree issued by Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador in 2020 that threatens to cut off U.S. corn exports to that country, our Doug Palmer writes. "The Mexican delegation presented some potential amendments to the decree in an effort to address our concerns," U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a joint statement. "We agreed to review their proposal closely and follow up with questions or concerns in short order. There is a joint recognition that time is of the essence and we must determine a path forward soon." Remember: López Obrador's decree plans to phase out all genetically modified corn imports for human consumption by 2024. It also plans to phase out glyphosate, a commonly used weedkiller in crop production. Mexico has also failed to approve authorizations and import permits for biotech goods since 2018, furthering concern. Vilsack recently traveled to Mexico City and told López Obrador "in no uncertain terms" that the U.S. will take steps to formally challenge the country's biotech corn import ban if a resolution can't be reached. Details: The issue is critical to U.S. corn producers, since Mexico is the second largest export market for their crop. However, it would force López Obrador to back track on a high-profile pledge to phase out all imports of genetically-modified corn for human consumption by 2024. Most corn grown in the U.S. is genetically modified. The Mexican delegation that met with U.S. officials last Friday at the U.S. Agriculture Department included Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard, Agriculture Secretary Victor Manuel Villalobos, Economy Secretary Raquel Buenrostro, Environment and Natural Resources Secretary María Luisa Albores González and other officials. "There was candid conversation about our deep concerns around the restrictions of the importation of biotech corn and other biotechnology products stemming from President López Obrador's 2020 decree," Tai and Vilsack said in the statement, which did not include details on Mexico's proposal.
| | | | POLITICO AT CES 2023 : We are bringing a special edition of our Digital Future Daily newsletter to Las Vegas to cover CES 2023. The newsletter will take you inside the largest and most influential technology event on the planet, featuring every major and emerging industry in the technology ecosystem gathered in one place. The newsletter runs from Jan. 5-7 and will focus on the public policy related aspects of the event. Sign up today to receive exclusive coverage of CES 2023. | | | | | | | | — Abbott picked Ohio for a new $536 million manufacturing facility 10 months after its major recall led to widespread formula shortages across the U.S, Meredith reports. — New York City's ban on the sale of foie gras, the fattened livers of ducks and geese prized as an ingredient in many French dishes, may not go into effect if a new ruling by New York's Department of Agriculture and Markets goes unchallenged by the city, The New York Times reports. — Agriculture boards across the country are lacking in diversity, The Gazette reports. — Some climate groups are calling on House leaders to oppose the addition of the Growing Climate Solutions Act and SUSTAINS Act in the forthcoming omnibus legislation. The bills both have bipartisan appeal, with the former passing the Senate by a large margin and receiving endorsements from some major climate groups. THAT'S ALL FOR MA. Drop us a line: gdowns@politico.com, meredithlee@politico.com, marciabrown@politico.com, abehsudi@politico.com and ecadei@politico.com.
| | | | A message from The Interrupt: Obesity is not a "willpower thing." Obesity is not your fault. Obesity is a disease.
Americans lose $1.7 trillion fighting it annually. And it kills 2.8 million people around the world every year.
We have to stop blaming people with obesity and start exploring a spectrum of solutions that actually work. It's time to work across sectors and industries to meet this challenge.
It's time to focus on what individuals need to secure better health. It's time to interrupt the conversation and confront obesity together. Learn more. | | | | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |
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