This week, House committee chairs overseeing the breadth of federal government sent a series of letters to numerous agencies demanding they carefully review their regulations. The action was in response to a recent Supreme Court ruling curtailing the executive branch’s authority to issue regulations in the absence of clear Congressional authority. 

In the case, Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, the Court overruled its 40-year-old precedent established in Chevron U.S.A. Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. The Chevron doctrine required courts to defer to administrative agencies’ interpretations of ambiguous statutes. In practice, this had led to executive branch agencies dramatically changing and expanding laws based on which political party held the presidency.

House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-Penn.) joined the group with a letter to USDA and the U.S. Forest Service. This letter was co-authored by Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.), chair of the Education and Workforce Committee, and James Comer (R-Ky.), chair of the Oversight and Accountability Committee.

The letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack asks for a full accounting of regulatory actions that may be impacted by Loper Bright, as well as a list of judicial decisions in cases to which USDA has been a party since Chevron was issued in 1984.  The authors have requested a response by the end of July.

House Ag hearing focuses on alleged EPA overreach

On Wednesday, the House Agriculture Committee held a hearing to investigate perceived overreach by EPA into the agriculture industry.

Committee Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-Penn.) said the Biden administration has added to farmers’ uncertainty by implementing “an unworkable regulatory regime that creates even greater costs and ambiguity for our farmers and ranchers. … Not only is [EPA] targeting specific crop protection tools that are important to production, it is also fundamentally changing the pesticide registration and registration review process.” 

Thompson also pointed out EPA’s proposed rule from early this year that significantly changes the effluent limitation guidelines for meat and poultry processing. This rule has been criticized as overly costly and unrealistic for processors to implement. He additionally expressed concerns over ongoing changes to the definition of “waters of the United States” and potential regulation of livestock air emissions under the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act. 

Witnesses testifying at the hearing were Chris Chinn, director of the Missouri Department of Agriculture; Jeff Kippley, vice president of the National Farmers Union; Gary Cooper, COO of Cooper Farms; and Rebecca Larson, vice president and chief scientist of the Western Sugar Cooperative.

 Chinn, testifying on behalf of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture, raised concerns with several of EPA’s actions related to pesticides. She said, “At a time when general farm input costs are elevated, failure on EPA’s part to fully consider costs and benefits of their proposed actions is likely to result in mandates that are likely to drive many farms out of business.”

Ag spending measures move forward in Congress

This week, both the House and Senate Appropriations Committees approved their Fiscal Year 2025 spending bills for USDA, FDA and related agencies. The two versions have substantial differences that will need to be ironed out before either becomes law.

Comparing similar provisions, the Senate version would provide $1.521 billion more in funding than the House version, or about 6% higher. The Senate spending levels represent a 3% increase over the current fiscal year. The Senate Appropriations Committee approved the bill unanimously with a 27-0 vote.

The House bill raised significant controversy due to a major cut to the Food for Peace program. Were it to become law, the program would be cut almost 40%, from $1.619 billion to an even $1 billion. Due to this and other disagreements, the House Appropriations Committee only voted to advance the measure by a 29-26 count. 

Current-year funding expires on September 30. House Republicans have vowed to pass all 12 annual appropriations bills before leaving for August recess, but only four have passed so far with only two weeks remaining to the deadline. In a setback for the plan, the bill funding the legislative branch failed a House floor vote Thursday by eight votes. Most observers expect Congress to pass a continuing resolution in September extending funding past the November Presidential election.