On November 30th, President Joe Biden nominated Neera Tanden to lead the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the largest office within the Executive Office of the President tasked with producing the President’s Budget Request, reviewing rules and regulations, and coordinating policy initiatives across multiple agencies. Ms. Tanden currently leads the Center for American Progress […]
What’s Next for Neera Tanden? Read More »
The UN Food System Summit (FSS), to be hosted by Secretary-General António Guterres as a part of the UN General Assembly this September, is generating increased attention for several reasons: It’s fast approaching. Hunger is on the rise. The new Biden/Harris Administration is committed to international engagement and hunger reduction. US agriculture has much
The UN FOOD SYSTEM SUMMIT: Upside and Downside for US Agriculture Read More »
House Energy & Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone (D-NJ) announced that the committee will hold a markup on Thursday at 11:00 AM ET to consider legislative recommendations for its budget reconciliation instructions. Section 3004 of the bill provides $500 million to the Food and Drug Administration to combat the COVID-19 pandemic by: Supporting the review
FDA Funding in the Energy & Commerce Reconciliation Bill Read More »
President Biden recently issued an Executive Order (EO) to harness the federal government’s purchasing power to bolster domestic manufacturing. The “Strengthening Buy American Provisions, Ensuring Future of America is Made in America by All of America’s Workers” intends to support American industry and American workers. Overall, this EO looks to close loopholes in existing “Buy American” policies
How Does Buying American Benefit U.S. Food, Agriculture, and Medical Products? Read More »
For decades, USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) has attempted to combat fraud by retailers and beneficiaries in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) with varying success. Fraud levels were dramatically reduced after FNS rolled out the Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) system and discontinued the use of paper food stamps more than fifteen years ago.
Oh, SNAP! SNAP Retailers Need to Watch Out for New FNS Entrapment Techniques Read More »
You may recall that back in October we told you about Executive Order 13957, “Creating Schedule F in the Excepted Service” which would have removed certain civil service protections for thousands of federal employees involved in decision and policy making roles. Today, as part of multiple Executive Orders, President Biden eliminates Schedule F. Read more about this
UPDATE: ATTACK ON FEDERAL EMPLOYEES HALTED Read More »
A few hours after Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th President of the United States, the U.S. Department of Agriculture issued a press release with the names of several individuals who will hold senior staff positions at the agency: Katherine Ferguson – Chief of Staff in the Office of the Secretary Robert Bonnie
New Biden-Harris Staff Appointments at the USDA Read More »
The National Institute of Animal Agriculture invited Chelsea Good, Vice President of Government & Industry Affairs at Livestock Marketing Association and John Dillard, Principal Attorney in the USDA Practice Group at OFW Law to provide insight on the incoming Biden Administration and what it will mean for the animal agriculture industry. From the Barn to
NIAA: What to Expect for Animal Agriculture in a Biden Administration Read More »
The Biden-Harris transition team is announcing the names of individuals being appointed to White House and other Executive Branch positions multiple times each week. We are maintaining a list of all announcements based upon the formal notice actually issued as opposed to news reports suggesting who may be appointed. We will update the list on
Biden-Harris Political Appointments Read More »
After Congress certified the 2020 election, the Trump administration asked all of its political appointees to submit resignation letters by Inauguration Day. That same day, Agriculture Secretary Perdue issued a memo designating the following individuals as acting officers in their respective positions: Jason Hafemeister, Acting Deputy Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs
Acting Officers at the USDA Read More »
It appears that Reverend Warnock (D) has unseated Senator Loeffler (R) in Georgia and John Ossoff (D) is currently leading Senator Perdue (R). While we await the final results in Georgia, we thought it would be of interest to look at who is likely to chair the various Senate Committees should Democrats take the Senate majority.
Who Might Chair Senate Committees With A Democratic Majority Read More »
There have been several recent events of note that will impact meat and poultry producers and processors. The recent election of President-elect Biden means there will be new leadership at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). President-elect Biden will also have the opportunity to appoint new leadership for the USDA Office of Food Safety. In
Earlier this month, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published a proposed rule that would require sunset dates for its regulations, including regulations under its agencies like the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The proposed rule, “Securing Updated and Necessary Statutory Evaluations Timely,” flew
HHS’s Last Ditch Policy Moves – What is the End Game? Read More »
It’s official!! At this writing, GSA Administrator Emily Murphy has now notified President-Elect Biden that she is making available to him the resources available under the Presidential Transition Act of 1963, including funding, office space, access to agency officials, and so on, so that the transition to a new administration can proceed in earnest. In
Transition Update: “Ascertainment” Read More »
Senator John Boozman (R-AR) is in line to become the next Chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry if the Republicans remain in majority-control of the US Senate for the upcoming 117th Congress. Senator Boozman is a veteran politician from Arkansas—a state that has provided extraordinary agriculture leadership to the Nation
Profile of Senator John Boozman Read More »
At this writing, the administrator of the General Services Administration still has not issued the “ascertainment” finding needed to trigger the resources available to incoming President-Elect Joe Biden and his team under the Presidential Transition Act of 1963. As a result, formal Transition activities – initial contacts between Biden-Harris agency review teams and career staff,
Transition Update: Moving Forward Read More »
While so many are paying attention to the transition from the Trump to Biden Administrations, keep in mind that there is another transition going on in Washington – the movement on Capitol Hill from the 116th to the 117th Congress. Majorities will be tighter in both the House and Senate. House leadership is not expected
Transitioning to the 117th Congress Read More »
As anticipated in our most recent Transition “Next Steps” post from Monday, the Biden-Harris Transition team on Tuesday this week announced its Agency Review teams. These are the groups assigned to interact with each Federal agency, take inventory of pending issues, such personnel and agency management, budget, and policy, and report back an assessment that
Transition Update: Biden announces agency Review Teams Read More »
The decision desks have spoken and awarded Democrat Joe Biden enough states to claim 270 Electoral College votes and the right to become the next President of the United States. The remaining arguments will drone on, the lawsuits, recounts, and the rest. But regardless, for now, finally, this means we are officially off to the
The Biden-Harris Transition: What’s Next Read More »
Late last week, in the final days of a presidential election, President Donald Trump issued an innocuous-sounding Executive Order (EO) that immediately raised eyebrows. While described as a step to increase accountability for top policymakers, many experts see it as a threat to long standing Civil Service principles. The EO, unless overturned, could put at
A Midnight Attack on Federal Employees? Read More »
The World Food Program USA (WFP USA) announced it is naming its boardroom the Marshall Matz Boardroom. Marshall founded the organization twenty-five years ago and it has since grown into a significant NGO supporting the work of the United Nations World Food Programme, which is the largest feeding program in the world. Earlier this month,
World Food Program USA Honors Marshall Matz Read More »
With fewer than three weeks till Election Day, neither campaign wants to take its eye off the ball. All focus is on the effort to win 270 electoral votes and, with it, the presidency, be it for Democratic Nominee and former Vice President Joe Biden or for the incumbent, President Donald J. Trump. So far,
Transition Update 2020 Read More »
On Wednesday, June 16, 2020, the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC) hosted a public meeting to review their draft scientific report. A new edition of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans is published every 5-years and developed in three stages: (I) Reviewing the science; (II) developing the guidelines; (III) implementation. The most recent meeting marks the
2020 Dietary Guidelines Near the End of Stage One Read More »
OFW and The Food Institute will be holding their annual Food Labeling Seminar on October 7, 8, and 9. The virtual training course will cover everything you need to know about food labeling in today’s marketplace. This seminar will review the basics of FDA’s and USDA’s food labeling requirements, including recent updates. It will review
2020 Food Labeling Seminar Hosted by OFW and The Food Institute Read More »
The coronavirus has dominated the news cycle over the last five months and has disrupted nearly every industry, particularly agriculture and forestry. Leaders, innovators, and policymakers in these fields are looking for solutions that will mitigate future supply chain disruptions like the ones experienced due to the coronavirus. Therefore, it is not surprising that climate
Policy Solutions to Climate Change through Agriculture and Forestry Read More »
At the request of the U.S. Trade Representative, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) has initiated an investigation to determine whether increased imports of fresh, chilled, or frozen blueberries are causing or threatening to cause serious injury to domestic blueberry producers. If the ITC determines that they are, the President is authorized to take action
ITC To Investigate the Impact of Blueberry Imports on US Domestic Producers Read More »
The Beginning The National School Lunch Program operates in 100,000 schools and is available to approximately 50 million children. We have all grown up with lunch in school, and perhaps breakfast too. But it was not always this way. School meal programs have been developing in the United States since the 19th century. As states began
The History and Value of School Lunches Read More »
“So today, with COVID-19, I want to stress that we are not only facing a global health pandemic but also a global humanitarian catastrophe. Millions of civilians living in conflict-scarred nations, including many women and children, face being pushed to the brink of starvation, with the specter of famine a very real and dangerous possibility.” David
COVID-19 and the Need for International Food Aid – A Growing Body of Evidence Read More »
It is almost easy to forget, in this strange, tumultuous spring of 2020, that we still have a national presidential election, perhaps one of the most important in our lifetimes, just around the corner, five months from now. As a cascade of crises dominates national attention — the covid-19 pandemic and its economic fallout, nationwide
The 2020 Presidential Transition Has Already Begun, Quietly Read More »
Jimmy Carter (above) and his Attorney General, Benjamin Civiletti (right), authors of the modern government shutdown. In all the drama and commotion over the government shutdown, now in its third week, with 800,000 federal employees going without paychecks and services disappearing by the day, all prompted by President Trump’s insistence on funding his proposed Mexican
Government shutdowns – Who dreamed up this crazy idea? Read More »
By former USDA Secretary John R. Block. The passing of President George H. W. Bush has brought the whole nation to focus on his life and the contributions that he made to our country. President Reagan brought the Soviet Union down, but President Bush managed the clean-up of the Cold War. Eastern Europe emerged from the
John Block Reports: Saying Goodbye to President George H.W. Bush Read More »
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