Policy Updates and Issue News March 2017
March 2017
A Bit of Perspective
Three months into the new 115th Congress and the new Trump Administration, the political climate in Washington is uncertain to state the obvious. The failure of the Affordable Care Act /Obamacare replacement legislation to pass the House of Representatives signaled a time-out for President Trump and the Republican majority in Congress. It wasn’t the Democrats who forced the healthcare bill’s demise but the conservative Freedom Caucus of Republicans in the House. So, it’s back to the drawing board for healthcare reform. How does this affect the other major legislative priorities on the Administration and congressional wish list? Will tax reform, infrastructure, trade and immigration see the political day and, if so, when? Congress will still have to revisit healthcare reform sooner or later even if it is just to patch up and revise the Affordable Care Act.
The House appears ready to move next to tax reform. This makes good logical sense in reality. Rebuilding infrastructure, reforming immigration, and revising healthcare will cost lots of money. Where to get the necessary revenue seems basic to a logical decision-making process. Perhaps tax reform is where Congress should have started in the first place.
The Federal Budget
The loud noise Grangers heard around the country a couple weeks ago was not a sonic boom. It was the collective response to the President’s proposed federal budget. Budget reduction proposals cut into most agencies of the federal government except defense. It’s good to remember, however, that several past budget proposals from both President Bush and President Obama were figuratively stamped “Dead on Arrival” when those budgets reached Capitol Hill. The president proposes federal budgets but Congress writes and passes federal budgets and sends adopted budgets to the White House to sign or veto. Congress will go through the budget for each individual agency and ultimately decide where cuts will be made or funds restored. The budget is just one side of a larger debate. The other side is how to pay for budget expenditures and reduce the federal deficit at the same time.
Noting that agriculture has taken more than its share of budget cuts in recent years, National Grange president Betsy Huber issued a statement urging Congress to remember that net farm income is down about 50 percent over the last four years. Huber said, “I am most proud that the Grange has always lobbied with perspective. We understand the need for deficit reduction and accountability in government spending of taxpayer dollars. We have faith that Congress can work for the good of all people. We will continue to work with those in the administration and Congress to assure our food system’s security and affordability”.
Tax Reform
Tax reform is one of those issues everyone agrees needs to be done but can’t agree what and how much to reform. Failure of the Affordable Care Act replacement bill to garner sufficient House votes to pass put a spotlight on the speed and procedures for tax reform. Many on the Hill pushed back against the speed with which the healthcare package came to the House floor. There was little opportunity to compromise on portions of the bill with growing opposition such as restricting state Medicaid expansion and new health taxes on the elderly. The Senate strategy was to take the House-passed bill directly to the Senate floor and bypass the committees of jurisdiction. Senators pushed back not only on the onerous parts of the bill but on the proposed Senate procedures as well. Look for cool heads and experienced hands to prevail as the tax reform agenda emerges between the Senate, House, Democrats, Republicans, and the White House. There won’t always be agreement on what to reform or how to accomplish reform but the process may garner enough compromise to eventually get a tax reform package. Without tax reform, most of the additional big ticket items (infrastructure, healthcare, and immigration) may become just a wish list.
Congress last overhauled the tax code in 1986 with a bipartisan effort. Unfortunately, times have changed and cooperation across the political aisle this time around appears less likely. The goal of broadening the tax base and closing loopholes is popular but difficult to accomplish and becomes a political minefield. The more tax breaks policymakers target to raise revenue to allow lower individual and corporate rates, the greater the number of interest groups that will fight to keep their loopholes out of tax reform.
Farm Bill
Similar to tax and healthcare reform, farm bills are not easy to write or fast to adopt. In fact, the last farm bill failed on the House floor in 2013 before sufficient compromise finally mustered enough votes. This time around, Congress is starting the process early. House agriculture subcommittees have completed several hearings and more are scheduled to cover all titles in farm bill legislation. A key element of upcoming farm bill deliberations will be a strong and cohesive farm-food coalition committed to keeping agriculture and food assistance programs linked to together in one legislative package. If this alliance breaks apart, passage of a 2018 farm bill could be in jeopardy. The National Grange has strong policy supporting the food assistance-agriculture linkage to provide long term food security to all American citizens.
Non-traditional agriculture programs face reauthorization in a new farm bill. These programs include beginning farmer and rancher development, organic agriculture research, fruit and vegetable incentives for SNAP (food stamp) recipients, value added producer grants, rural micro-entrepreneur grants, farmers market and local food promotion, and organic certification cost share.
Where does the farm bill money go? According to the Congressional Budget Office, projected cost estimate allocations for the five year Agriculture Act of 2014 (2014-2018) are 80% food assistance/nutrition, 8% crop insurance, 6% conservation, 5% commodities, and 1% all other.
Healthcare
Limbo could describe much of the healthcare community after the failure to pass replacement legislation for the Affordable Care Act. But for now, the ACA remains in place as current law and will continue to function. Unfortunately, uncertainty has been created about how well ACA will meet patient needs going forward. Will the individual coverage mandate be enforced? Will more states have just one ACA insurance carrier? Will rates go through the roof? About the only counsel we can give on future comprehensive healthcare reform or revisions to the ACA is to stay tuned. Whatever the scenario, sooner or later Congress will have to tackle those provisions of the law that are not working well while trying to preserve those that are beneficial.
In the meantime, the National Grange will continue efforts to preserve Medicare Part D, restore Medicaid cuts to rural hospitals, monitor Medicaid expansion options to states under the ACA, and advocate for the expansion of telemedicine into rural areas.
Telecommunications
Rural broadband seems to be enjoying a renaissance of sorts in Washington. The Trump Administration has endorsed rural broadband expansion. The new chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (Ajit Pai) has made mobile broadband for rural America one of his digital empowerment agenda corner posts. The National Rebuild Rural Coalition has made expanding broadband to connect rural communities one of its priorities for rebuilding infrastructure in rural America. The National Grange considers broadband deployment a major rural infrastructure challenge of the 21st century.
Infrastructure
The National Grange is a member of the Rural Infrastructure Coalition that recently asked President Trump to include rebuilding rural infrastructure as part of his administration’s comprehensive infrastructure renewal efforts. The coalition noted that past infrastructure initiatives often focused on urban and suburban infrastructure while not adequately addressing the unique needs of rural communities. Highways, bridges, locks and dams, railways, harbors and port facilities all need major investment if we are to get our agricultural products to market efficiently. In addition, the coalition also stressed critical needs in providing clean water for rural families, expanding broadband to connect rural families and communities to the outside world, and enhance the ability to supply affordable, reliable and secure power for the rural economy.
Immigration
For agriculture, it’s really all about workforce, not immigration. Instability in the agricultural labor force has reached critical mass. Growing season is coming as farmers and ranchers face a new shortage of legally authorized and experienced workers. The cumbersome H-2A visa program is not adequate to serve as a safety net to meet agriculture’s workforce demands. Legislation is needed to provide farmers and ranchers, across all of agriculture, access to a legal and stable workforce. The National Grange is part of the Agriculture Workforce Coalition in Washington that is asking President Trump to include necessary reforms to address the agriculture labor shortage in his immigration reform initiatives and pledging to work with the President to restore respect for and enforcement of our nation’s laws.
Finally
The nomination of former Georgia governor Sonny Perdue to become Secretary of Agriculture is finally moving through the system. The Senate Agriculture Committee has completed it hearings and is expected to confirm Perdue by a large bipartisan majority. The full Senate may vote on the new Secretary before going home for Easter recess that begins April 7.
