On Wednesday, Rep. Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-Pa.), House Agriculture Committee Ranking Member, introduced a new act that would require the Biden Administration to reverse its regulatory barriers to domestic agriculture production and provide immediate relief to families across the country.
Thompson was joined by more than 20 original cosponsors, including Republican Leader of the Natural Resources Committee, Bruce Westerman, and Chairman of the Western Caucus, Dan Newhouse, in support of H.R. 8069 “Reducing Farm Input Costs and Barriers to Domestic Production Act.”
“The U.S. and world face a disrupted global food system resulting in increased energy prices, fertilizer cost spikes and product shortages, and worsening food scarcities in developing countries,” Thompson said in Wednesday’s press conference. “We’re in a crisis moment and need concrete, immediate policy actions to help mitigate impacts both at home and abroad. American agriculture, if given the right tools and regulatory confidence, can serve a vital role in alleviating global food instability and mitigating costs for consumers.”
Specifically, the bill:
• Provides relief from EPA’s unprecedented actions related to crop protection tools
• Offers clarity related to WOTUS regulations
• Rescinds the SEC’s harmful proposed rule on climate-related disclosures
• Reinstates the 2020 NEPA streamlining
• Requires an economic analysis on the costs and benefits of GIPSA rules
According to DTN Ag Policy Editor Chris Clayton, Thompson and others highlighted skyrocketing inflation, pointing to farmers paying 115% more for diesel fuel than a year and fertilizer prices more than double what they were a year ago. While Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has exacerbated energy, food and fertilizer inflation, Thompson and other Republicans said the inflationary challenges were already on their way before the war began.
“In fact, since the war in Ukraine began, the administration has continued to take nonsensical regulatory and policy actions that have created needless uncertainty for American farmers, ranchers and working families that have further limited our ability to meet the food demand of our nation and, quite frankly, the world,” Thompson said.
H.R. 8069 is written in response to the House voting on H.R. 7606 “Lower Food and Fuel Costs Act,” which House Democrats maintain would help with food, energy and fertilizer costs. H.R. 7606 would ensure E15 continues year-round, but would also install a special investigator at the U.S. Department of Agriculture to investigate competition issues in the meatpacking industry, which many House Republicans staunchly oppose. However, H.R. 7606 did pass in the House yesterday by a vote of 221 to 204, though Congressman Thompson argued it, “does nothing to lower food and fuel costs.”