democrats

At a press conference on Capitol Hill last week, House Ag Committee Democrats railed against Republican plans to cut spending on food aid in SNAP.  The Democrats emphasized that funding for SNAP supports hungry families as well as farmers, grocery workers, truckers, and food manufacturers.    ...

Lawmakers are sending signals that a new Farm Bill isn’t certain in 2025.   Reports say Republican lawmakers are considering adding Biden-era conservation programs into their party-line megabill that may have otherwise been in a separate reauthorization of federal farm programs.  Politico...

Washington state Senator Rebecca Saldaña has been elected by fellow Senate Democrats to chair of the Senate Labor and Commerce Committee.  The Democrat from Seattle succeeds Senator Karen Keiser, who is retiring after more than two decades of service in the Legislature.   “It is ...

After a Red Wave that wasn’t in November, Washington D.C. is very partisan and very tight, with no clear advantage for either of the major parties.   What does that mean for farm county, and issues important for at the Ag sector?   J...

Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack said he’s not waiting around for Congress to reform the H-2A farm guest worker program but is starting his department’s own program.  During February's Ag Outlook Forum, the USDA head said while he’s hopeful that Republicans and Democrats in Congress will try to address the systemic challenges that growers and farm workers face, he said he’s committed to doing everything h

A poll of voters commissioned by the International Dairy Foods Association shows strong support for reforming immigration policy as a way to help control food prices.  Almost 90% of Democrat voters, and 79% of Republican voters support the idea of immigration reform.  Wh...

Oregon’s gubernatorial race was historic on several fronts, three former state lawmakers, all women, all making a strong showing in polls prior to election night.  Oregon State University Political Science Professor David Bernell said the outcome is also noteworthy, because it’s such a close vote.   “The third-p...

Top House Ag Republican Glenn ‘GT’ Thompson, recently chatted with the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association about the 2023 Farm Bill, Environment and other farming issues. Thompson said he’s already entertaining the possibility of assuming the Ag chairmanship, eight months ahead of mid-term elections. “If things woul ...

Bipartisan support for farm labor immigration reform ran headlong into a host of Republican complaints that the southern border must first secured during a Senate Judiciary hearing Wednesday. While both Democrats and Republicans agree that the decades-old problem must be addressed and fixed, how and in what order to do that remains a point of contention ...

The state of Washington is in the early phases of the redistricting process, determining how state and congressional districts will be altered following the 2020 census. Washington senate minority leader John Braun said while many see redistricting as an issue for the more populated parts of the state, he said it’s important that the rural community is involved when districts are modified. He .