Angie Craig

The Trump reconciliation budget the House passed by one vote along party lines this week did nothing to reconcile the stark policy differences between the two parties over the importance of SNAP versus farmers.  Nothing could have made it clearer about the parties’ divergent priorities than an exchange in the Rules Committee between Rules and Ag Republican Austin Scott and top Ag Democrat Angie Cr

The historically bipartisan Farm Bill turned political this week as majority Ag Republicans turned back every Democratic amendment and sent their Farm Bill budget to the House on a party-line vote.  It wasn’t just SNAP spending reforms Democrats went after, but Trump actions like tariffs, staff cuts, and USDA grant freezes.   “From ...

Top House Ag Democrat Angie Craig said her farmers claim Farm Service Agency offices are way understaffed, despite USDA Secretary Rollins’ vow to keep all FSA offices open.  Craig was asked if Secretary Rollins could keep all FSA offices open when 11-hundred FSA staffers have taken deferred resignation buyouts.   “I had...

USDA layoffs and office consolidations are raising bipartisan concern in Congress.  Staffing levels could be pared by nearly 10% starting by early May, with the remaining staff relocated to three hubs around the country.  That’s according to briefed USDA officials, who are cited in a report by Government Executive, a government business news daily.   The layoffs and ...

House Ag Chair G.T. Thompson renewed his calls this week for Farm Bill SNAP reforms that scuttled last year’s Farm Bill effort.  That came during a debate on a narrowly-passed House budget that the Senate must still consider.   Thomps...

The Ranking Members of the Senate and House Agriculture Committees are pressing the Trump administration for answers on international food aid disruptions.   Senator Amy Klobuchar and Representative Angie Craig, both Minnesota Democrats, asked for an explanation following a stop-work order that halted the delivery and distribution of hundreds of millions of metric tons of American-grown food aid,

As Congress returns to D.C. the American people will notice some new faces are taking over leadership on the House and Senate Ag Committees.  Sam Kieffer, Vice President of Public Policy for the American Farm Bureau Federation, said the four leaders of the committees have a wealth of experience.   “...

House Democrats voted Tuesday to make Minnesota Representative Angie Craig the new Ranking Member on the Republican-controlled House Ag Committee.  The Hill points out that Democrats chose a younger member of the House over long-time veteran legislator Jim Costa of California, who was also vying for the seat.  Co...

Legislation introduced this week in the Senate would provide farmers and ranchers with additional flexibility to alleviate feed shortages in years with widespread excessive moisture, flooding or drought. The Feed Emergency Enhancement During Disasters with Cover Crops Act would create an emergency waiver authority for the Secretary of Agriculture to allow for haying, grazing or chopping of a cove

Rural Broadband remains a top priority for farm-state lawmakers in any new pandemic relief package. House Ag lawmakers say expanding rural broadband is a must for business development, telemedicine, education, and agriculture. “Rural communities with particularly, Ag economies, could really start to expand their areas of focus and investment if this country would invest in high-speed internet,” s