Policy Updates and Issue News January 2022

Democracy Reform Comes to a Head

With President Biden’s Build Back Better bill stalled following Senator Joe Manchin’s (D-WV) December statement that he would not support the bill as written, Democrats in Congress spent January moving onto other topics (though negotiations on how to resurrect Build Back Better are ongoing). In early January, Congressional Democrats and President Biden made a move to pass a large elections reform bill which would have restored Justice Department review of changes to state election law in states with a history of discrimination (as had been the case until reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act failed in recent years), expanded and created a federal standard for vote by mail and drop boxes, increased early voting options, curbed large and anonymous political donations, and allowed for same-day voter registration. This bill was able to pass the House of Representatives on party lines, but failed in the Senate as Democrats were not able to overcome the 60-vote filibuster threshold and, though they supported the underlying legislation, Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) did not join their Democratic colleagues in voting to eliminate the filibuster for voting rights legislation which would have allowed the bill to pass with a simple majority.

Bipartisan Competitiveness Bill on the Move

In 2021, a bipartisan group of Senators introduced and passed the United States Innovation and Competition Act (USICA), a bill which would increase funding for domestic manufacturing and research into key technologies such as semiconductors, along with a number of other provisions intended to strengthen American supply chains. In late January 2022, the House of Representatives finally offered its response to the Senate passed USICA which includes a number of significant changes to the bill. Following the release of the House bill, Democratic leadership in the House and Senate made it clear that they intend to reconcile both versions of the bill and pass them quickly this Spring. Some Republicans have expressed concerns about the House version of the bill, and it is likely that significant changes will have to be made to ensure that the final bill is able to overcome the 60-vote filibuster threshold in the Senate and become law.

Justice Breyer Announces Retirement

Associate Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer announced that he intended to retire in 2022, leaving vacant the seat on the court he was appointed to by President Bill Clinton in 1994. Breyer’s retirement provides an opportunity for President Biden to fulfill his campaign promise to appoint the first black female Justice to the court and to fill a supreme court seat with a younger liberal Justice. Senate Democrats have made clear that they intend to fill Justice Breyer’s seat expeditiously, but the appointment will still take time out of an already busy legislative calendar.

War Looms in Ukraine

In recent weeks, the Russian military has amassed a significant contingent of troops and weapons on its lengthy border with Ukraine and Russian leaders have made bellicose remarks suggesting a potential invasion. The US and European allies along with the Ukrainian government have responded with serious negotiations with Russian leadership along with weapons shipments and the threat of sanctions to deter Russian military action. In Congress, legislative leaders of both parties are rapidly drafting legislation that would provide more military and economic support to Ukraine to make a potential Russian invasion more difficult and to levy serious sanctions should Ukraine be invaded.

Price Inflation Hits Producers and Consumers

The COVID virus has proven to be a major negative impact on both food producers and food consumers.  Economists say virus-related labor and supply disruptions will continue to have a major impact on the overall economy for the foreseeable future and perhaps longer. Ag commodity prices rose about 28% in 2021 and are 40% above pre-pandemic levels.  These increases have been exacerbated by the astronomical rise in fuel prices, labor scarcity, rising land rents, and rapid price increases of inputs like supplies, fertilizer, crop protection products, transportation, machinery and other inputs.

Some Good News for Dairymen

The U.S. has won its first dispute under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement.  A USMCA panel ruled that Canada breached dairy quota pledges under the trade pact.  Canada had worked to prevent imports of higher-priced dairy products like cheese, butter and ice cream in order to protect Canadian dairy producers from foreign competition.  The U.S. dairy industry also scored a judicial victory after a federal judge in Virginia ruled that French and Swiss producers don’t have an exclusive right to the name Gruyere cheese.  This case will likely set a precedent for ongoing U.S.-EU battles over other food and wine names such as Asiago, parmesan, bologna and chateau.

Bioengineered Replaces GMO

USDA will now require foods previously labeled as containing genetically engineered ingredients (GMOs) to be labeled as bioengineered.  Bioengineered foods are defined as those that contain detectable genetic material that has been modified through certain lab techniques and cannot be created through conventional breeding or be found in nature.

Stigma Around Rural Mental Health Down Slightly

Research by Morning Consult in late 2021 indicates the stigma around seeking help for mental distress has decreased but is still a major concern in the agriculture community.  Other key research findings indicate:

• Rural adults say embarrassment, stigma and availability of treatment are barriers to seeking help
• Rural adults, farmers and farm workers say they would be comfortable talking about solutions with friends or family members who are dealing with stress or mental health
• Rural adults think financial issues, fear of losing the farm, uncertain future and the state of the economy impact the mental health of farmers
• Younger rural adults are more likely than older rural adults to say they are experiencing stress and mental health challenges compared to a year ago
• Rural adults say they have seen more stress and mental health information the past year from social media and government agencies

Supreme Court to Review Clean Water Act

In late January, the U.S. Supreme Court announced it would review the scope of the Clean Water Act.  The court granted a petition to determine whether the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit set forth the proper test for determining whether wetlands are “waters of the United States” under the CWA.  The petition involves a long-running dispute between Idaho landowners, the Sacketts, and the EPA over an area of their property deemed wetlands by the agency.  Attorneys for the Sacketts, the Pacific Legal Foundation, say Sacketts’ land clearly lacks a surface water connection to any stream, creek, lake or other waterbody and should not be subject to federal regulation.

No Surprises Act Now in Effect

January 1 brought new protections for patients with private health insurance; they will no longer be blindsided by “surprise “medical bills when they unknowingly receive out-of-network care.  Patients now pay only what they would have if their care had all been performed in network.  Any balance must then be settled between insurers and out-of-network providers.  The Grange has long advocated for a solution to surprise medical bills.

Drug Makers Receiving Less on Brand Names

More than half of total spending on brand medicines go to the supply chain, middlemen, providers, insurers and government programs according to the Berkeley Research Group.  Drug price share going to others than drug makers has risen from 33% in 2013 to 50% in 2020.  Rebates, discounts and other payments by biopharmaceutical companies are not being passed to patients at the pharmacy counter.  As Congress attempts to address drug pricing, the National Grange is advocating a thorough investigation of the supply chain and middleman portion of the patient price for drugs.

New Rural Health Care Funding

The Department of Health and Human Services will grant $48 million to community-based organizations for health care job development, training and placement.  HHS will also make $13 million available to increase access to behavioral health care services in rural America.

States are Lynchpin to Broadband Expansion

The new $42.5 billion pot for broadband deployment in the Infrastructure and Investment Jobs Act will go to new players in the broadband arena…the states.  Traditionally, federal broadband funding has been distributed by the Federal Communications Commission and the USDA directly to internet providers.  Now, each state will receive $100 million and be required to generate a five-year action plan to govern the use of funds and establish a process to prioritize locations classified as unserved and underserved.  However, all states are not equally prepared to handle the broadband challenge.  Some have existing broadband offices and some even have experience running their own broadband grant programs.  In other states, multiple agencies may have jurisdiction over broadband.  The remainder of the $42.5 billion will be allocated across states based on their percentage of unserved locations.  States must include cooperatives, local governments, nonprofits and public utilities as eligible entities for broadband funds. Highest priority for the National Grange is and has been to establish connectivity for the unserved first, the underserved second and then other connectivity needs.

National Telecommunications and Information Administration Will Coordinate

The NTIA’s new Office of Internet Connectivity and Growth (OICG) will have primary responsibility to coordinate government spending to close the digital divide.  OICG’s core mission will be to fund broadband infrastructure, leverage data for decision-making and coordinate among states, tribes and the private sector.  The National Grange will work with its state Grange chapters to develop partnerships with individual state broadband agencies to assure local broadband needs are met.

Affordability Should Not be a Roadblock

Even after broadband becomes available, some people may not be able to afford it.  Congress has created a $14 billion long term Affordable Connectivity Program which replaces the temporary Emergency Broadband Benefit program created during the COVID pandemic.   Households qualify for ACP low-cost broadband if they receive USDA’s WIC or SNAP benefits or have an income at or below 200% of the federal poverty guidelines.  The Federal Communications Commission will administer the new ACP.

National Grange Submits Comments to NTIA

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration is seeking public input on its new mission as America’s lead agency for broadband deployment.  In a letter to the NTIA administrator, the National Grange raised several issues which need to be addressed in order to reach the last mile of rural America with high-speed broadband, such as:

• Connect the unserved first as mandated by Congress
• Administer broadband expansion projects in line with the mixed-technology approach outlined by Congress
• Build on the agency’s commitment to better broadband mapping data
• As states and territories come to NTIA seeking broadband funding, require those states and territories to ensure timely access, fair cost-sharing, and expedited resolution of pole attachment disputes in return.
• Establish effective, efficient and transparent oversight of the state agencies and broadband providers who receive these funds

“I think dogs are the most amazing creatures; they give unconditional love.  For me, they are the role model for being alive.”  ~  Gilda Radner

“I have found that when you are deeply troubled, there are things you can get from the silent devoted companionship of a dog that you can get from no other source.”  ~  Doris Day

“I want to work like a dog, doing what I was born to do with joy and purpose.  I want to play like a dog, with total, jolly abandon.”  ~  Oprah Winfrey

“No matter how little money and how few possessions you own, having a dog makes you rich.”  ~  Louis Sabin

“When your children are teenagers, it’s important to have a dog so that someone in the house is happy to see you.”  ~  Nora Ephron