R.J. Karney

When approved by Congress, the Paycheck Protection Program was designed to help struggling small businesses keep employees on their payrolls as they recover from coronavirus pandemic. R.J. Karney, Director of Congressional Relations with the American Farm Bureau Federation said this program is incredibly important for farmers nationwide ...

Congress is considering changes in the next round of the Paycheck Protection Program, and the American Farm Bureau seeks “corrections” allowing farmers to better participate. “We expect the House to take up a bill this week," said AFBF Congressional Relations Director R.J. Karney. "The ...

Congress recently appropriated $310 billon of additional funding to the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program and an additional $60 billion for the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program. The American Farm Bureau Federation’s Congressional Relations Director R.J. Karney s ...

In December, the Federal Aviation Administration submitted a proposal requiring remote identification of drones in flight. The American Farm Bureau Federation recently submitted comments to the FAA regarding the rule. "Remote identification is the ability of an unmanned aircraft or drone in flight to provide identification and location information so that people on the ground," noted t

Agriculture is getting a triple boost this week on the trade, spending and tax fronts, as Congress wraps up business for the year this week.  The House Ways and Means Committee kicked things off this week by sending to the full-House, the long-awaited USMCA, worth an estimated $2 billion in new U.S. f...

While this week’s White House budget deal with Congressional leaders makes it easier to pass USDA and other spending bills in September, it’s not a guarantee.  The two-year budget debt ceiling deal must still be sold to lawmakers of both parties and there are both Republicans and Democrats that are not happy.  There's a 'no'...

As quickly as the House passed on party-line votes, its versions of the Fiscal Year 2020 spending bills for federal agencies, including USDA, the White House said ‘no.’  The bills, lumped together in so-called ‘minibusses’ that include a $ 24 billion USDA spending bill, are laden with policy riders the White House says the President can’t accept.  Among them, spending bans for US...

On Monday the House passed a $19 billion disaster aid package, sending the legislation to President Trump for his signature.  RJ Karney, American Farm Bureau Federation congressional relations director, said this assistance is sorely needed by farmers and ranchers across the country.  ...

The American Farm Bureau says new legislation in D.C. would enhance the accuracy of broadband coverage maps, a good first step to improving rural broadband coverage.   “What the Broadband Data Improvement Act will do will correct current methods of gathering data, and it’ll do this by requiring broadband providers to report data to create an improved national broadband map," said AFBF’s R.J.

Farm groups, Ag lenders and the American Farm Bureau continue to press Congress to put aside politics and pass “urgently needed” disaster relief for the Midwest and other regions.   A $13 billion disaster packages, which includes $5 billion for Ag assistance has already stalled in the Senate.  Now, 135 farm ...