Congress Raises The Debt Limit

On June 3, President Biden signed H.R. 3746, the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 into law to raise the debt limit until January 2025. Earlier in the week, the bill passed in the House on a 314-117 while the Senate passed the bill on a 63-36 vote, with both votes showing a decent display of bipartisan support. The bill’s passage followed weeks of conversations between President Biden and Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) where they negotiated a deal to raise the debt limit and to cut spending, which Republicans had demanded as a condition for increasing the nation’s borrowing limit. The deal rescinds a total of $28 billion in unspent pandemic funding and includes some reforms to speed the energy project permitting process. More specific to the food and agriculture sectors, the law rescinds $3.2 billion in pandemic funding provided to the Department of Agriculture. Regarding the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), it expands work requirements for able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWDs) to individuals aged 18-54. Current work requirements for ABAWDs only apply to those aged 18-49. The deal also eases the SNAP application process for veterans and the homeless by making both groups automatically eligible. It also prevents states from carrying over ABAWD work requirement exemptions between years and decreases the number of exemptions a state can implement. The bill also makes changes to the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program to tighten eligibility restrictions.

Army Corps Pauses Wetland Permitting Process

On June 1, the Army Corps of Engineers suspended issuing wetland Approved Jurisdictional Determinations after the recent Supreme Court (SCOTUS) decision in Sackett v. EPA, where the SCOTUS ruled to curtail the Army Corps and EPA's jurisdiction over wetland regulation under the Clean Water Act. The Biden Administration is working to implement the SCOTUS decision on its narrowed grounds of protection but does not yet have a date for when the determinations will resume. Preliminary Jurisdictional Determinations, which identify a property’s potentially federally regulated waters, will still be processed in the interim.

Agriculture Hearings This Week

On Wednesday, the House Agriculture Committee held a hearing on the nutrition title of the farm bill. A recording of the hearing can be found here.

On Wednesday, the Senate Budget Committee held a hearing on the changing agricultural landscape. A recording of the hearing can be found here.

On Wednesday, the Senate Agriculture Committee held a hearing on the horticulture title of the farm bill. A recording of the hearing can be found here.