glenn thompson

The U.S. House voted last week to repeal, on a largely symbolic 227-198 vote, the EPA’s controversial WOTUS rule.  The Senate could follow suit as soon as this week.  Democrats argued clean water is a human right that will suffer with the GOP’s move.  However nine Democrats, inclu...

On Monday, Western Caucus Chairman Dan Newhouse as well as Representative Austin Scott, of Georgia, led a letter to United States Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack with Chair of House Agriculture Committee “GT” Thompson urging immediate action to improve outdated and inefficient FSA program operations.    “...

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Cattle Industry Convention took place earlier this month down in New Orleans.  NCBA CEO Colin Woodall said it was an opportunity to do the business of NCBA.   “We have our policy committees that are meeting this week. They are producers who ar...

The push to get a farm bill across the finish line this year could run headlong into the partisan fight over budget cuts versus raising the government’s borrowing limit.  On Thursday, new House Ag Chair, Republican Glenn Thompson stressed that lawmakers have a deadline in front of them, since the current Farm Bill expires on September 30th of this year.  While that de...

With debate over the 2023 Farm Bill set to pick up in the coming months, commodity groups have been building their wish lists and letting lawmakers know what they would like to see in this year’s legislation.   Representative Dan Newhouse, a central Washington farmer, said for him, he wants a Farm Bill that encourages and promotes research and development.  He said ...

The top Republican on the House Ag Committee wants a stronger safety net for U.S. farmers.  Pennsylvania Republican Glenn Thompson wants Congress to strengthen crop insurance and farm subsidy programs so producers don’t have to rely on stop-gap federal aid to survive challenges like trade wars, natural disasters, and COVID-19.   “The n...

Rural broadband deployment won’t succeed in closing the “digital divide” unless the agencies handling billions of dollars in funding coordinate better.  That’s the collective sentiment of House Ag members.  Ag Chair David Scott said “effective communication” is the key to 100% rural broadband deployment using the historic Infrastructure and Jobs Act funding.   “And this is why we established proce

Over the objections of most Republicans, the House approved a USDA special investigator to monitor meat industry competition.  During last week’s 221-204 seven Republicans backed and four Democrats opposed a USDA special investigator to enforce the Packers and Stockyards Act, the anchor for a package of Ag bills. “Crack...

Russia’s war against Ukraine is hitting Americans in the pocketbook and many overseas in the stomach.  Ukrainian grain exports have collapsed, and Western sanctions limit Russian oil and fertilizer exports.  All of this makes U.S. and European...

House Ag Committee Ranking Member Pennsylvania's Glenn Thompson, introduced a bill this week that Fox News said would “strike back” at several of the administration’s agricultural policies. The legislation would also strike down a recently-proposed rule from the Securities and Exchange Commission that many in the ag community warn could harm small farms. Thompson is int ...