Policy Updates and Issue News March 2022

Supreme Court Nominee Moves Forward

Following a series of tumultuous hearings, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is poised to successfully be confirmed as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, replacing retiring Justice Stephen Breyer. Senate Majority Leader has announced his intention to move Jackson’s nomination through the Senate early next week as she is expected to receive narrow bipartisan support with Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) having announced that she will join Senate Democrats in supporting the nomination. Jackson is likely to follow a similar judicial philosophy to Breyer, so the ideological make-up of the court will not shift significantly from this appointment.

Supply Chain Bills Move Forward

In late March, progress was made on two significant bills related to the myriad supply chain issues which have persisted since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. On March 28^th, the Senate, in a bipartisan vote, passed its version of the America COMPETES Act which had passed the House in February of this year. The bill provides $52 billion in funding for the semiconductor industry to incentivize increased domestic manufacturing of microchips as well as advanced research and development of the technology. As well, the bill includes a variety of other provisions intended to increase American cybersecurity and supply chain resiliency in the context of competing with China. With the Senate version having passed, the bill must go through a conference with the House to smooth out differences between the two bills before it is able to make its way to the President’s desk.

Another bill aimed at tackling pandemic supply chain issues that moved in late March was the Ocean Shipping Reform Act (OSRA). OSRA is a bipartisan bill that would seek to reform American port operations and infrastructure in a way that is intended to increase US exports and decrease delays at ports. Specifically, the bill takes aim at ocean shipping companies by authorizing the Federal Maritime Commission to address unfair practices and price gouging at the expense of American exporters. Supporters of the bill have argued that this would be particularly beneficial for American agriculture as the industry would be able to move its goods to foreign markets in a more timely and cost-effective manner. The bill has wide bipartisan support and has been made a priority by both parties in the House and Senate. The House passed its version of the Ocean Shipping Reform Act earlier this month, and the Senate is currently looking to pass its own version on an expedited timeline.

President Biden Releases 2023 Budget

Although it was only in early March that Congress was able to finally pass the federal budget for 2022, in late March President Biden began the budget process for 2023 with the release of a new budget proposal. In broad terms, the budget would be $5.8 trillion, a moderate 7% increase over last year’s budget, with major increases in spending coming with a 4% proposed increase in military spending and significant new funding for law enforcement. Other new spending would come for initiatives on affordable housing, climate change, supply chain issues, and inflation related programs. The US Department of Agriculture would see a spending increase of $2.6 billion with funding spread across nutrition, conservation/climate, and rural development programs.

Notably, the budget would also reduce the federal deficit by $1 trillion over the next decade as new spending is more than compensated for by new tax proposals. Specifically, the budget includes new proposed taxes meant to target corporations and wealthier Americans. These taxes include a proposed minimum tax on billionaires, which would include taxation of unrealized gains on certain assets such as stocks and bonds, an increase in the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28%, an increase in the highest income tax rate from 37% to 39.6%, an increase in the capital gains rate to 30.6% on income over $1 million, and many more technical changes to the treatment of trusts and estates. While the stated intent of these tax changes is to target wealthy Americans, some observers have raised concerns that their effects could also impact small business owners and farmers, depending on the exact details of the proposed changes. However, the President’s budget proposal is not a formal legislative proposal and Congress will certainly make significant changes to whatever package ultimately becomes law in a process that will take many months.

Extend Deadline for Climate-Smart Pilot Projects

The National Grange cosigned a letter with the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture and over 40 other groups to request a 30-day extension by USDA for applications for climate-smart pilot projects.  USDA previously called for applications for pilot projects to find ways farms can profit from low carbon commodities produced through practices that reduce greenhouse gas emissions.  Cosigners felt the turnaround time was too short to produce the highest quality of diverse applications.

Farmers Willing but Conservation Programs Can’t Pay

Despite billion-dollar budgets, conservation programs are not equipped to deal with the demand, forcing USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service to turn away the majority of applicants.  Authorized under the conservation title of the farm bill, the Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQUIP) was able to accept only 27% of applicants and the Conservation Security Program (CSP) only awarded contracts to 25% of applicants in 2020.  EQUIP and CSP are popular working lands conservation programs.  Leading into the new farm bill debate in 2023, producers are beginning to suggest these programs be scrutinized to determine which covered practices actually have big impacts on carbon sequestration, carbon emissions reduction and lowering greenhouse gas emissions.

Bring CRP Land into Production?

The European Union (EU) will allow farmers to bring up to 9.9 million fallow conservation acres back into food production to compensate for the Russian war-torn hole in international markets. The Ukraine is a major world supplier of wheat, other small grains and corn.  Members of Congress and several ag groups are suggesting the administration open some of America’s Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) idle acres for food production this year as well.  USDA has the authority to do open these acres for emergency use.

Rule to Lower Prescription Drug Costs

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) should finalize a rule to help lower the cost for prescription drugs for Medicare Part D beneficiaries through pharmacy direct and indirect remuneration (DIR) fee reform.  This is according to the National Grange and 231 other signatories on a letter to CMS. A similar letter was cosigned by 30 bipartisan members of the Senate.  DIR fees grew more than 107,400 percent between 2010 and 2020.  These fees are rebates and discounts that were not passed along to patients at the pharmacy counter but instead were used by insurance companies and middlemen known as pharmacy benefit managers.  It is important that the CMS rule reduce beneficiary drug costs and protect patient access to any drug store.

Keep Critical Pharmacist Services

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government gave emergency preparedness authorization for pharmacists and pharmacies to provide COVID testing, vaccination and treatment.  These services should be continued and expanded for additional diseases, according to the National Grange, 25 patient and senior groups, and 81 organizations representing pharmacists and pharmacies in letters to the committees of jurisdiction on Capitol Hill.  Subsequently H.R. 7213, The Equitable Community Access to Pharmacist Services Act was introduced by Kind (D-WI), McKinley (R-WVA), Diaz-Barragan (D-CA) and Carter (R-GA).  The Act would ensure future access to pharmacist services to include:

• Testing for COVID-19, influenza, respiratory syncytial virus, and strep throat
• Treatment for COVID-19, influenza, and strep throat
• Vaccination for COVID-19 and influenza

This expansion is important to rural and small-town residents who tend to be much closer and more accessible to a pharmacist than a doctor.

Postal reform is now a reality!

The Senate passed the Postal Service Reform Act March 8 on a bipartisan vote of 79-19.  This action followed an earlier bipartisan vote in the House of 342-92.  The National Grange worked with the Coalition for 21^st Century Postal Service and was responsible for securing several votes for the bill’s passage.  Key provisions of the legislation are:

• Eliminates the requirement to prefund retiree health benefits
• Requires six-day integrated (mail and packages) delivery
• Expands special rates for local newspaper distribution
• Requires congressional reporting on postal service operations and performance

The new law will address most of the National Grange policy priorities for postal reform.

Grange Meets with Postmaster General

National Grange’s Betsy Huber and Burton Eller were invited to meet with Postmaster General Louis DeJoy on March 2 to discuss his vision to achieve financial stability and service excellence at the U.S. Postal Service.  DeJoy’s private sector career has been in logistics and business operations, and he wants to use that experience to modernize the Postal Service.

A person’s right to repair vehicles, tractors and machinery has been a long-standing Grange priority.  Repairs have become more difficult as technologies have become prevalent and manufacturers have exerted more control.  Right-to-repair has traditionally been an issue confined to state legislatures but, with increased pressure from agriculture producers, it’s now an issue in Washington.  Senator John Tester (D-MT) has introduced a bill that would legally require agricultural equipment manufacturers to make their software, parts and tools information available to those looking to repair their own machines.  Class-action lawsuits have been filed against John Deere in Alabama, Illinois, Oklahoma and Tennessee accusing Deere of monopolizing a market for repair and maintenance services.