Editor’s note: This information was published on Monday, January 7, 2019, by the office of Illinois Representative Cheri Bustos.
In addition to 800,000 workers who are either furloughed or working without pay–including folks at airports and the Peoria[, IL,] Agriculture Lab–our farmers are feeling the consequences from President Trump’s reckless Government shutdown. Not only do farmers face enough uncertainty from Mother Nature, but the shutdown has now caused potential delays in Farm Bill implementation, year-round E-15, and aid for farmers impacted by the President’s short-sighted trade war.
Last week, Congresswoman Bustos and the House took immediate action to end the shutdown and re-open the Government. They passed Government funding legislation, that had previously been voted on, with overwhelming bipartisan support in the Senate. There are additional votes this week to fund the Department of Agriculture and other impacted agencies.
Read more key points below from three sources.
Agri-Pulse: “Shutdown Slows Farm Bill Implementation”
The Government shutdown that is now in its second week has short-circuited the USDA’s implementation of the 2018 farm bill, just as it was getting launched.
In an interview with Agri-Pulse, Deputy Agriculture Secretary Steve Censky said the personnel needed to begin developing guidelines and rules for implementing the bill’s required changes are barred by law from continuing such work, when the Department’s funding is expired.
House Democrats will force a vote Thursday[, January 10,] on an omnibus spending bill that would fund USDA, Interior and other departments that are currently shut down, because they don’t have FY19 spending bills enacted. The Democratic legislation is based on the FY19 spending bills that passed the Senate in 2018, but Senate Republicans will likely oppose the measure, since it won’t meet Trump’s demands for border wall funding. That means the budget dispute and USDA shutdown could continue into next week.
Bloomberg: “Farmers Fear Another Hit as Trump Shutdown Threatens Ethanol Vow”
Bruce Buchanan was so elated with Donald Trump’s October vow–to allow higher sales of corn-based ethanol–that he carved a 60-acre thank you note in his Indiana cornfield. Now, though, the President’s actions have him worried. The Government shutdown that Trump says could last “a long time” without funding for a border wall may hurt farmers, by delaying the Administration’s ability to steer through the approval for year-round sales of a 15 percent ethanol blend for gasoline, before the summer begins. That’s up from 10 percent allowed now.
The increased sales would certainly be helpful. Farm income has dropped in five-out-of-the-last-six years. And this season, growers have been been hamstrung in selling their crops, by an ongoing trade war with China.
The schedule for getting approval of the higher ethanol blend was already ambitious, prior to the shutdown. The Environmental Protection Agency had promised to present a final rule in May, just four weeks before existing restrictions on 15 percent ethanol become binding. Now, though, the agency is largely inoperative.
Ethanol could use a boost. Like soybeans and pork, it’s faced steep tariffs from Beijing in the tit-for-tat trade war between the U. S. and China.
Farmers are having a hard time catching a break. The partial U. S. Government shutdown is also raising questions about delays for the second-round of payments under the market facilitation program, that the Trump Administration initiated to help farmers hurt by the trade war.
Associated Press: “Farmers Risk Loss of Federal Payments, Loans, from Shutdown”
The USDA in a statement issued last week assured farmers that checks would continue to go out during the first week of the shutdown. But direct payments for farmers who haven’t certified production, as well as farm loans and disaster assistance programs, will be put on hold, beginning next week, and won’t start up again until the Government reopens.
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or food stamps, helps feed roughly 40 million Americans. According to the USDA, eligible recipients are guaranteed benefits through January. Other feeding programs, including WIC, which provides food aid and nutrition counseling for pregnant women, new mothers and children, and food distribution programs on Indian reservations, will continue on a local level, but additional Federal funding won’t be provided. School lunch programs will continue through February.