This week on Wednesday, April 18, the full House Agriculture Committee met and successfully voted to report its version of a 2018 Farm Bill, based on a draft released last week by Committee Chairman Mike Conaway (R-Texas) and backed by Committee Repu…
Read More
Tags: Agriculture, Conaway, Congress, Conservation, Crop Insurance, Farm Bill, Food, House Agriculture Committee, Kenneth D. Ackerman, Legislation, Molly S. O'Connor, Nutrition, Peterson, SNAP, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Trade
By former USDA Secretary John R. Block
Here is what I read in the Wall Street Journal: “Deficit financing has become the mother’s milk of politics. Each party is giving the other its wish list with all the bells and whistles included and asking…
Read More
The Food Labeling Modernization Act of 2018 (H.R. 5425) was introduced on April 4, 2018, by Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), the ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. A joint press statement announcing the bill was released by R…
Read More
Tags: Allergen, Blumenthal, Bruce A. Silverglade, Caffeine, Compliance Date, Congress, DeLauro, Food, Food Labeling Modernization Act, Front-of-Pack, Health Claim, Ingredient Declaration, Label, Legislation, Natural, Nutrition, Nutrition Facts, Pallone, Sesame, Trans Fat, Whole Grain
In a highly unusual decision, a Federal District Court judge in Maryland granted summary judgment in a food stamp licensing appeal brought by a Baltimore convenience store without permitting the retailer to conduct any discovery whatsoever.  In Nega…
Read More
Tags: ALERT System, Attorney, Congress, Discovery, EBT, FNS, Food, Food and Nutrition Act, Food Stamps, Judicial Review, Law Firm, Lawyer, Litigation, Maryland, Negash, Nutrition, OFW Law, Retailer, SNAP, Stewart D. Fried, Sunoco Food Mart, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Trafficking
By Marshall Matz, as published in Agri-Pulse
The drafting of the 2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) has started….and it’s a good start. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)Â…
Read More
Tags: Agriculture, Breast Feeding, Congress, Dietary Goals, Dietary Guidelines, Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, Enviornment, Food, HHS, Marshall L. Matz, Nutrition, WIC
Congress Bars FNS from Enforcing Portions of its Enhancing Retailer Standards in SNAP Final Rule
Federal agencies are viewed by many as possessing immense power over regulated businesses. This is especially true at the Food and Nutrition Service (â…
Read More
By former USDA Secretary John R. Block
Today, my subject is Senator Bob Dole (Kansas). Two weeks ago, he received the Congressional Gold Medal – the highest award bestowed by the U.S. Congress. Very few individuals have been so honored. The Senato…
Read More
Of all the issues surrounding a new Farm Bill in 2018, perhaps none unifies American agricultural producers more than Federal Crop Insurance, provided by USDA’s Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC). Be it North or South, big or small, row cr…
Read More
Tags: Agriculture, Congress, Crop Insurance, Farm Bill, Farmer, FCIC, Federal Crop Insurance Corporation, Government Relations, Kenneth D. Ackerman, Law Firm, Lawyer
By former USDA Secretary John R. Block
I want to look back at 2017. In some respects, President Trump had a pretty rough year with his critics, including much of the mainstream media attacking him without relief.
However, I think the case can be mad…
Read More
By former USDA Secretary John R. Block
The Holiday season is here. Amazing – Tax reform legislation has passed, and President Trump has said he will sign it. That is a big Christmas present.Â
President Trump and Republicans in Congress got it…
Read More
