The Senate’s $1.7 trillion spending bill to finish this fiscal year boosts agricultural research, rural development, and nutrition, but doesn’t include long-fought cattle market reforms.  The more than 4,000-page bill leaves out controversial legislation sought by Senator Chuck Grassley to force some cattle price negotiating by major packers, known as the Cattle Price Discovery and Transparency Act.  Despite that, a second Grassley bid to reign in corporate power is included in the spending package.

 

“It does include a merger filing fee for antitrust, but it raises the figures on big mergers of certain sizes and reduces the fees on smaller mergers.”

 

The Senate bill that still faces some GOP opposition in both chambers and must pass by midnight Friday to keep the government open, also boosts Ag and other spending.

 

“$40 billion storm and disaster, storm and wildfire, we haven’t figured out how much of that goes to agriculture.”
  

The bill has almost $13.5 billion more for SNAP, at least $175 million more for agricultural research, historic increases for rural broadband, housing, water and wastewater systems, and 41 million more for FDA food safety plus help for the infant formula crisis.

 

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