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This past week at the 156th annual session of the National Grange in Sparks, Nevada, Delegates from across the country came together to set the legislative policies of the Order for another year.

The six legislative policy committees of the National Grange considered and debated 81 different resolutions submitted by many different State Granges, ultimately adopting 23 of them.

From the Agriculture committee, resolutions were adopted supporting agricultural education, increased domestic fertilizer production, increased funding for food bank distribution centers, and addressing changing terms for bioengineered/genetically modified organisms.

Meanwhile, the Citizenship & Taxation committee had resolutions concerning prioritizing housing for veterans, supporting a ban on stock trading among members of Congress, addressing concerns around eligibility requirements for national cemeteries, removing medical debt from credit reports, adjusting social security benefits for the terminally ill, opposing personalized pricing, and adjusting the oath given prior to testifying before Congress adopted.

The Conservation committee saw three of its resolutions adopted by the National Grange Delegate body, including resolutions opposed to changes to climate reporting for agricultural producers, incentivizing the siting of alternative energy projects away from productive agricultural land, and supporting a reevaluation of the nation’s energy sources.

The Education and Health committee had a productive National Grange session this year, with the delegates adopting resolutions to support raising awareness of mental health issues in rural America and the risk of ‘Q’ Fever, expanding coverage of multi-cancer early detection and essential immunizations, supporting increased transparency in health care pricing and allowing foreign-made baby formula into US markets, and opposing the use of Pharmacy Benefit Managers and price controls on drugs.

Lastly, the Labor, Judiciary, and Transportation committee had no resolutions adopted by the delegates to the 156th National Grange Session.

The adoption of these resolutions at the 156th Annual Session of the National Grange has sent a clear message to the National Grange’s advocates in Washington, D.C. about what policies are top of mind in rural America and has made a definitive statement of where the National Grange stands on the issues of the day.

Hopefully, when the National Grange meets once again for its 157th annual session next year, great progress will have been made on each of these causes.

BY SEAN O’NEIL
National Grange Legislative Assistant