Two current big ticket legislative bills – the infrastructure bill and Build Back Better – contain numerous provisions funding conservation and climate-related initiatives that would impact programs within the farm bill. These programs include forest management programs, climate adaptation initiatives, and Natural Resources Conservation Service’s (NRCS) working lands programs. While the infrastructure bill’s overlap with the farm bill’s environmental programs…
Clara Geffroy is a law student at NYU School of Law and guest contributor on this blog. Congress recently passed a continuing resolution (CR) extending about $1.4 trillion in government funding until December 11, 2020. This comes after a period of conflicting political interests regarding a full replenishment of the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC), which provides funding to the United…
Originally published at the Harvard Law School Center for Health Law & Policy, Food Law & Policy Blog. As the response to coronavirus continues and states increase or extend stay-at-home orders or advisories, the local food system is in a precarious position. The CARES Act stimulus explicitly includes the local food system in a new $9.5 billion disaster relief program. But…
For now I ask no more / than the justice of eating.”—from the poem “The Great Tablecloth” by Pablo Neruda The United States plays a key role in the fight against global hunger with its many international food assistance programs under the Farm Bill. The Food for Peace Act, which Congress reauthorizes in the Farm Bill, directs the most prominent…
Ms. Gaesser is currently pursuing a master’s degree in agriculture, food, and environment at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University. About every five years, Congress passes an omnibus Farm Bill governing an array of agricultural and food programs. The historically bipartisan process has become more contentious in recent cycles, however, due to an increasingly polarized…
The 2018 Farm Bill just passed the House (368-47), after passing the Senate yesterday (87-13). The Bill now goes to the President’s desk. Here is the 10,000 foot view of the 2018 Farm Bill as it relates to FBLE priorities: Food Waste FBLE is thrilled to see that all of the provisions in the House and Senate drafts of the…
Cross-posted from the Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation Blog. 40 percent of food in the U.S. goes to waste each year, costing billions of dollars, preventing wholesome food from getting to people in need, and causing tremendous ecological harm. The 2018 Farm Bill represents a crucial opportunity to address food waste in a way that benefits farmers, consumers,…
Corrected 10/10/2018: An earlier version of this blog post misstated that the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR) does not have funding for FY19, thereby indicating FDPIR as an orphan program. This was incorrect. FDPIR is funded though the SNAP budget and, like SNAP, will continue to operate. The program within FDPIR that loses baseline funding is a $1…
This is a two part blog post. Part One covers the background of the legislative process and Part Two covers the specifics about the scenarios for farm bill programs if the 2018 Farm Bill were to simply expire. The Conference Committee convenes next week on September 4, 2018. Conferees from both Houses will work to reconcile their versions of the…
This is a two part blog post. Part One covers the background of the legislative process and Part Two covers the specifics about the scenarios for farm bill programs if the 2018 Farm Bill were to simply expire. The Conference Committee convenes next week on September 4, 2018. Conferees from both Houses will work to reconcile their versions of the…