With Democrats retaking control of the U.S. House of Representatives, the political climate in Washington will be much different during the 2019 and 2020 congressional sessions.
John Stewart, manager of governmental relations for the American Feed Industry Association (AFIA) told attendees at the International Production & Processing Expo (IPPE) on February 12 about some of the biggest congressional issues the organization is watching.
“Congress might have a little bit different focus on 2019 and 2020 and part of that is the change in leadership. I don’t think that’s any secret, that there will be some new priorities for Congress, especially in the House of Representatives as they saw a pretty dramatic change,” Stewart said.
1. Climate change
One of the top priorities in the newly elected House of Representatives will be climate change. He said House Democrats have put out a number of different ways they hope to address that issue, specifically mentioning the “Green New Deal.”
2. Immigration reform
Speaking on the subject of immigration reform, Stewart said: “It’s not going anywhere. It’s been an issue for a long time. The issue is only mounting in pressure for lawmakers to get something done.”
3. Infrastructure
Stewart said infrastructure is an “important and necessary thing, especially for agriculture, when we start thinking about how we move our services and products.”
Improvements to waterways, roads, bridges, railways and ports should all enter the conversation, he said. Stewart added that he expects discussions about an infrastructure package to really ramp up later in 2019.
4. International trade agreements
A lot of discussion has taken place regarding the United States, Mexico & Canada Agreement (USMCA), but trade deals with China, Japan, the European Union and the United Kingdom can also expected to be heavily discussed.
“There’s quite a bit of conversation on those fronts,” he said. “So the administration is working to expand American presence in those markets. It’s something definitely to watch.
5. Appropriations packages
Stewart said it has been a long time since the U.S. Congress has done a full appropriations cycle, but he indicated it is a priority for the House and Senate during this session.
“Hopefully we will see not only the things we want in an appropriations package, but Congress will focus on getting those things done,” he said.
6. Administrative oversight
“With a change in power in the House, I think you’ll see a lot more administrative regulation, and I think the House especially looking at what the Trump administration is doing,” said Stewart. “I think you’ll see an uptick in congressional oversight over what the administration is doing.”
7. Filling appointed vacancies
Both the Republican president and the Congressional delegations from both political parties have a desire to fill more than 250 vacancies for appointed government positions and more than 140 judicial vacancies, said Stewart.
“They’re both working actively on both fences to fill those positions. That has not been made secret by anybody,” he said.
