ADVOCACY REPORT
Current Washington Situation Congress, the Farm Bill, and Government Funding. At the end of last year, Congress adjourned by pushing decisions on federal funding and reauthorization of the Farm Bill to the new Congress. Congress convened on January 3, 2025, with Republicans in charge of both the House and the Senate. When President Trump was sworn in for a second term on January 20, 2025, Republicans were moved to the unique position of controlling both chambers of Congress and the Administration. The House re-elected Representative Mike Johnson (R-LA-04) Speaker of the House and Representative Hakeem Jeffries (R-LA-08) as Minority Leader. In the Senate, Senator John Thune (R-SD), a longtime member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, was elected the new Republican Majority Leader. This is the first change in Senate Republican leadership in over 18 years and follows former Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-KY) announcement that he is stepping down from his leadership post. Senator Schumer (D-NY) was re-elected as the Democrat Leader in the Senate. The first few months of 2025 will be consumed with Senate confirmation of President Trump’s nominations for key administration posts. President Trump has named Brooke Rollins of Texas as Secretary-designee for the Department of Agriculture. Rollins is a former Trump Administration White House aide and most recently served as CEO of the America First Policy Institute. President Trump has also named Jamieson Greer as his designee for U.S. Trade Representative. Greer was former trade representative Robert Lighthizer’s Chief of Staff. Confirmation hearings for these nominations will take place in the first quarter of the year and will define agriculture and trade policy under the Trump Administration.
With single party control of the Congress and the Administration, Republicans will utilize unique procedural rules to pass Republican priorities using a simple majority. This process is commonly referred to as reconciliation and bypasses Senate requirements for a supermajority to pass legislation. Congressional Republicans have announced that they will use reconciliation to reauthorize the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, increase immigration enforcement and invest in American energy. In December, Congress passed a continuing resolution to fund the government through March 14, 2025. This funding measure continued current spending levels for the entire government, including the Department of Agriculture. In an already packed Congressional schedule, a final agreement on government spending will be difficult. As a part of the continuing resolution, Congress extended the Farm Bill through September 30, 2025. This extension unlocks funding for the Market Access Program which had been on hold while Congress was determining how to move forward with farm programs. The MAP program supports Blue Diamond ’s international efforts to expand markets. The Department of Agriculture announced $2.65 billion in economic assistance for specialty crops, including almonds. Modeled after CFAP2, the Marketing Assistance for Specialty Crop (MASC) program will help specialty crop producers expand markets. In the new Congress, the Senate Agriculture Committee will be led by Chairman John Boozman (R-AR) and Ranking Member Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), who takes over the top Democrat position with the retirement of former Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D-MI).
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ALMOND FACTS
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