Federal Judge Strikes Down Trump Administration’s Navigable Waters Protection Rule

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U.S. ends its longest war, but Americans left behind

 


In Today’s Digital Newspaper


Market Focus:
• Growth in China’s factory sector fell in August to lowest level in 18 months
• Eurozone inflation in August rose at fastest pace in almost a decade
• Asking rents for houses rose nearly 13% for year to date through July
• Gold jewelry popular among younger Chinese

• Officials at Port of New Orleans find no major damage
• Hurricane inflicted "significant damage" on a Cargill export
• Hurricane Ida likely to lead to some increase in gasoline prices, but nothing dramatic
• Much of New Orleans remains without electricity
• Ag demand update
• Crop estimates will start coming Thursday

Two-sided trade for grain futures overnight
• CHS says it could be up to a month before power restored at its Louisiana grain terminal |
• Corn CCI rating edges higher, soybean rating slips
• Cordonnier sticks with U.S. yield projections, citing stabilizing rains
• Consultant cuts Brazilian corn crop as safrinha crop continues to disappoint
• Ukraine wrapping up bumper wheat harvest
• Beef movement slows as prices retreat
• Sharp drop in pork prices

Policy Focus:
• Federal judge strikes down Trump administration’s Navigable Waters Protection Rule

Afghanistan:
• Final U.S. military plane left Kabul, but around 100 Americans remain
• Taliban tell Afghans they would be blocked from going to airport
• Pentagon acknowledged civilians died in U.S. drone strike on vehicle
• Biden: Unanimity among U.S. military leaders to end Afghan airlift mission as planned
• Biden will address nation today

China Update:
• China tightens restrictions on video games
• John Kerry to visit China and Japan to discuss climate change
• Covid-19 hits China's service sector
• China’s top leaders to meet in November to discuss achievements

Trade Policy:
• WTO dispute panel to probe China’s compliance with ag TRQ ruling
• Mexico again offers proposal on WTO Appellate Body vacancies

Energy & Climate Change:
• Dems to boost oil, gas fees; boost funding for climate resilience, drought relief, conservation
• USPS would get $2.4 bil. for EVs in oversight plan
• EV charging stations at post offices urged
• Ethanol proponents urge EPA to expand E15 to curb Ida ‘price spikes’
• More wind was installed in 2020 than any other energy source
• FTC to probe 'collusive' practices on gas prices

Coronavirus Update:
• EU recommends halting nonessential travel from U.S. over Covid-19
• Civil rights mask probe in five states
• Pfizer: ‘natural immunity’ against Covid-19 needs to be included in policy discussions

Politics & Elections:
• Trump planning rallies in Iowa, Georgia

Congress:
• House liberals call for reduced military spending in wake of Afghanistan
• A big to-do list when lawmakers return in September

Other Items of Note:
• USDA gets White House clearance to do hemp industry survey
• Hate crimes in the U.S. rose about 6% in 2020
• Heirs' property funding

 


MARKET FOCUS


Equities today: U.S. stock futures are signaling a lower open. Asian equities advanced. Japan’s Nikkei was up 300.25 points, 1.08%, at 28,089.54. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 339.45 points, 1.33%, at 25,878.99. European equities are moving lower. The Stoxx 600 is down 0.3% with most regional markets seeing losses of 0.1% to 0.4%. Italian markets, however, were little changed.

     U.S. equities yesterday: The Dow slipped 55.96 points, 0.2%, to 35,399.84. The S&P 500 rose 19.42 points, 0.4%, to 4,528.79. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite advanced 136.39 points, 0.9%, to 15,265.89, its 32nd record close of the year.

     The S&P 500 is set to close out the historically weak month of August with impressive gains, up 3% since its July 30 close. So far this year, the index has made 52 new all-time highs. Only 1964 and 1995 saw more than 50 new highs before August was over.

     Stocks

On tap today (see detailed list of events and reports below):

     • S&P/Case-Shiller 20-city home-price index for June is expected to increase 18.7% from one year earlier. (9 a.m. ET)
     • Chicago purchasing managers index is expected to fall to 69.4 in August from 73.4 one month earlier. (9:45 a.m. ET)
     • Conference Board's consumer confidence index is expected to fall to 123.1 in August from 129.1 a month earlier. (10 a.m. ET)
     • President Biden will speak about ending the war in Afghanistan from the State Dining Room. 1:30 p.m. ET.
     • China's Caixin manufacturing index for August is out at 9:45 p.m. ET.

        — Senate is on recess until September 15. 
        — House is on recess until September 20.
        — Supreme Court is on recess until October 4.

Asking rents for houses rose nearly 13% for the year to date through July, the highest annual increase in the past five years as tracked by real-estate data company Yardi Matrix, which analyzed professionally managed properties.

Eurozone inflation in August rose at the fastest pace in almost a decade. Consumer prices increased 3% from a year earlier, the fastest rate of growth since November 2011, according to Eurostat, the European Union's statistics agency. The core consumer price index — which excludes the more volatile categories such as food, energy and alcohol — rose 1.6%. "We suspect that eurozone inflation will rise even further in the coming months. But this is due to temporary forces that should fade next year, leaving headline and core inflation well below 2% by the end of 2022," said Capital Economics economist Jack Allen-Reynolds.

     Euro inflation

Market perspectives:

     • Outside markets: The U.S. dollar index is weaker. The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note is stronger, trading over 1.29%, with a mixed-to-higher tone in global government bond yields. Gold and silver futures are higher ahead of U.S. trading. Gold is trading above $1815 per troy ounce and silver is trading near $24.11 per troy ounce.

     • Crude oil futures have turned lower ahead of U.S. trading, with U.S. crude trading at around $68.60 per barrel and Brent near $71.65 per barrel. Futures saw choppy trade overnight in Asia.

     • Gold jewelry popular among younger Chinese. Broker SP Angel today reported sales of gold jewelry in China have improved significantly over the past year among younger Chinese consumers — doubling demand in the first half of 2021. China’s overall economic recovery from the pandemic combined with the increasing popularity of e-commerce websites have helped the boom in gold demand.

     • Ag demand: Egypt bought 120,000 MT of wheat from Romania and 60,000 MT of wheat from Ukraine in an international tender. Iran’s state agency is believed to have purchased between 180,000 MT and 240,000 MT of milling wheat the past two weeks.

     • Crop estimates will start coming Thursday from StoneX and “the old Informa group” on Friday. 

     • Officials at the Port of New Orleans said their initial survey showed no major damage to container and bulk transport facilities that were shut down on Monday and that vessel traffic on the Lower Mississippi River remained suspended. Federal truck-safety regulators issued an emergency declaration across Louisiana and five nearby states waving some restrictions to allow drivers to carry in emergency equipment and rescue workers. A utility official said that 207 transmission lines traversing more than 2,000 miles are out of service in Louisiana and Mississippi. The outages and widespread flooding could leave refineries along the banks of the Mississippi River scrambling to restart operations. Ahead of the storm, offshore producers had closed wells that pump more than 1.6 million barrels of oil daily, around 91% of the U.S. Gulf of Mexico’s output.

     • Hurricane Ida inflicted "significant damage" on a Cargill export elevator on the Mississippi River at Reserve, Louisiana, 30 miles northwest of New Orleans. Link to Reuters report.

     • Hurricane Ida (now a tropical storm) is likely to lead to some increase in gasoline prices, but nothing dramatic, analysts say. Average national gasoline prices could rise in the 5-10 cents per gallon range over the next two weeks, according to GasBuddy analyst Patrick De Haan. "Hurricane Ida isn't likely to lead to drastic price increases, but some increases are likely over the next around 2 weeks," he said.

     Facts and figures. Oil prices have not surged despite Ida forcing the shutdown of 96% of oil production and 94% of natural gas output in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. At least nine refineries in Louisiana have reduced production or shut-in operations in response to the storm, together accounting for about 13% of the total U.S. refining capacity, according to the Department of Energy. Several pipelines have also shut down operations as a precautionary measure, including some of the Colonial Pipeline, the key hub for transportation fuels that was hit by a cyberattack in April, which halted deliveries across the Southeast and lead to panic purchases of gas.

     But refinery and oil and gas shutdowns are not anticipated to cause any immediate supply issues, the Energy Department said, because Gulf Coast stocks of gasoline and diesel are above or essentially in line with the five-year average. Colonial Pipeline said it expects to resume full service once it assesses the storm impact. Colonial said fuel supply is available throughout the Southeast from numerous terminals located along its network.

     • Much of New Orleans remained without electricity after all eight transmission lines that delivered power to the city were knocked out. Some power outages may last weeks. Buildings were razed in some areas, and at least one person died. Some places were cut off from rescue teams because of flooded roads or downed power lines. However, a $14.5 billion system of levees, barriers and pumps that protect New Orleans appeared to have held firm, passing the most severe test since being expanded and hardened after Hurricane Katrina.

        NO electricity

     • Unpredictable danger: Hurricane seasons since 1967. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts an active Atlantic hurricane season for 2021 and expects six to ten hurricanes to occur during the year, with three to five of those likely to become major hurricanes of Category 3 or above on the Saffir-Simpson scale. So far, four hurricanes have formed over the Atlantic basin in 2021. The latest - and strongest - of the ongoing season was Hurricane Ida, which made landfall in Louisiana Sunday night, causing evacuations, flooding and power cuts. The latter were especially devastating as many Covid-19 patients on ventilators are currently filling hospitals in the state. Ida was classified as a category 4 hurricane, the second major hurricane of the season after Hurricane Grace, which hit the Mexican state of Veracruz as a category 3 storm. The 2020 season was already an extremely busy one for hurricanes, as the chart below shows.

        Hurricanes

     • NWS weather: Tropical Depression IDA is forecast to slowly weaken while moving northeastward with a Moderate Risk of excessive rainfall from Southern Appalachians/Tennessee Valley and Ohio Valley/Central Appalachians through Wednesday morning... ...There is a Moderate Risk of excessive rainfall associated with IDA over the Central Appalachians/Mid-Atlantic/Northeast Wednesday into Thursday morning... ...There is a Slight Risk of severe thunderstorms over parts of the Southeast into the Southern Appalachians and over parts of the Mid-Atlantic through Wednesday morning... ...There is a Sight Risk of excessive rainfall over the Southwest into the Central/Southern Rockies as former T. C. NORA’ s moisture moves over the region through Thursday morning.

        NWS
        Wx Today

Items in Pro Farmer's First Thing Today include:

     • Two-sided trade for grain futures overnight
     • CHS: could be up to a month before power restored at its Louisiana grain terminal
     • Corn CCI rating edges higher, soybean rating slips
     • Cordonnier sticks with U.S. yield projections, citing stabilizing rains
     • Consultant cuts Brazilian corn crop as safrinha crop continues to disappoint
     • Ukraine wrapping up bumper wheat harvest
     • Beef movement slows as prices retreat
     • Sharp drop in pork prices

 


POLICY FOCUS


— Here we go again… Federal judge strikes down Trump administration’s Navigable Waters Protection Rule. It was vacated by a federal judge in Arizona who said allowing it risks “serious environmental harm,” particularly in the arid Southwest. The ruling in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona, applies nationwide. With the court ruling, agencies will go back to applying water protection standards from the 1980s, which are more expansive than the Trump-era rule but not as sweeping as President Barack Obama’s.

     Background. In July, a federal judge in South Carolina granted EPA and the Corps’ request to reconsider the rule without eliminating it. The agencies successfully pressed courts in other parts of the country to allow the Biden administration to come up with a new definition of waters of the U.S., or WOTUS, without immediately scrapping the Trump rule. But the plaintiffs this time convinced a judge to get rid of it.

     Now what? "This outcome ensures Clean Water Act (CWA) protections are in effect while the Biden administration works to develop a new rule," said Earthjustice, an environmental law organization that represents the tribes. Opponents of the latest court action say they hope it is appealed. “We are reviewing the ruling,” said EPA spokesman Nick Conger, who declined to comment further. Home builders, oil drillers and farmers — who have long argued that earlier restrictions on developing land made it too difficult to do their work — are likely to appeal. “The fallout for private property owners, especially farmers, is that they’re going to be cast back into a situation where they have a lot more uncertainty,” said Mandy Gunasekara, who served as EPA’s chief of staff during Trump’s last year in office.

     Details. Tribal and environmental groups pressed the court in Arizona to vacate the previous administration’s rule sooner, since some wetlands may be irreparably harmed during the time it would take to replace it. Judge Rosemary Márquez of the Arizona district court said the Trump rule was too flawed to keep in place. "The seriousness of the agencies’ errors in enacting the NWPR, the likelihood that the agencies will alter the NWPR’s definition of ‘waters of the United States,’ and the possibility of serious environmental harm if the NWPR remains in place upon remand, all weigh in favor of remand with vacatur," wrote Márquez, an Obama appointee. Federal agencies identified 333 projects that would have required a review under the Obama rule, she added, but did not merit one under the Trump standards. “We came in and said, ‘No, no, no, no, you can’t leave this in place,’" said Janette Brimmer, a senior attorney for Earthjustice, which represented the Native American and green groups in court. She added, “This is hugely good.” The case is Pasqua Yaqui Tribe et al v. United States Environmental Protection Agency, D. Ariz., No. 4:20-cv-00266, 8/30/21.

     Reaction: American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) President Zippy Duvall commented on the court ruling: “AFBF is extremely disappointed in the ruling to vacate the Navigable Waters Protection Rule. Farmers finally had environmentally responsible regulations that brought clarity to clean water efforts. This ruling casts uncertainty over farmers and ranchers across the country and threatens the progress they’ve made to responsibly manage water and natural resources. Three courts have previously refused to dismantle the NWPR, including last month when a federal court in South Carolina refused a similar request from plaintiff groups. Unfortunately, this Arizona court simply accepted the plaintiffs’ assertions as true and did something that no other court has done in vacating the NWPR. We are reviewing the ruling to determine our next course of action. Farmers and ranchers deserve consistency and a rule that is fair and doesn’t require a team of attorneys to interpret.”

     Bottom line: The decision shows the extent to which legal fights are shaping environmental policy. Earlier this month, the Interior Department said it would resume auctioning off new oil and gas leases to comply with an order by a Louisiana federal judge. Meanwhile, another federal judge blocked a controversial oil project planned for Alaska’s North Slope.
 


AFGHANISTAN


— Final U.S. military plane left Kabul. The last C-17 left the airport at 3:29 p.m. ET and cleared Afghanistan's airspace, ending the United States' 20-year conflict in the country, U.S. Central Command head Marine Corps Gen. Frank McKenzie said at the Pentagon. Evacuation flights ended a day ahead of schedule, and the military then packed equipment and personnel onto transport planes. The last flight out left at 3:29 p.m. ET, or 11:59 p.m. on Monday night in Kabul, ahead of President Biden's Aug. 31 deadline. Ahead of the last flight leaving Kabul, military commanders were sharing some drawdown logistics with Taliban commanders to “deconflict and prevent miscalculations and misunderstandings”, said John Kirby, the Pentagon spokesman. He added: “So far that communication has been effective.”

—  "There's a lot of heartbreak associated with this departure. We did not get everybody out that we wanted to get out," McKenzie said. He added that not everyone would have gotten out even if the deadline was extended. Initial reports said that up to 250 Americans and thousands of Afghan allies are still attempting to flee the country. However, Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday evening said the number was likely under 200 and "closer to 100." here were no Americans on the "joint tactical ex-filtration," the final five flights, though they were prepared to if anyone arrived at the airport before they took off, McKenzie said. "We maintained the ability to bring them in up until immediately before departure, but we were not able to bring any Americans out. That activity ended probably about 12 hours before our exit," he explained. "Although we continued the outreach and would have been prepared to bring them on until the very last minute. None of them made it to the airport and were able to be accommodated."

— U.S. said its military on Monday evacuated approximately 1,200 people over the previous 24 hours, compared with 6,800 on Friday and almost 13,000 a-day at the peak of the operation last week. Every single U.S. service member is now out of Afghanistan," McKenzie said, adding that the efforts to evacuate the remaining Americans had now moved to the "diplomatic realm."

— Taliban told Afghans they would be blocked from going to the airport even if they had visas and documents. The Taliban’s chief negotiator, Sher Mohammed Abas Stanekzai, said Friday that the group would not stop people from departing, no matter their nationality or whether they had worked for the U.S. during the 20-year war. That leaves behind at least 100,000 people, by one estimate, and possibly many more who might be eligible for an expedited U.S. visa but now find themselves in an Afghanistan under the complete control of the Taliban. McKenzie said the Taliban had been “pragmatic and businesslike” in the final hours of the U.S. operation. The militant group will now take control of the airport.

— Pentagon acknowledged that civilians died in a U.S. drone strike on a vehicle carrying explosives in Kabul Sunday. “Make no mistake, no military on the face of the earth works harder to avoid civilian casualties than the U.S. military, and nobody wants to see innocent life taken,” a statement said.

— Biden: Unanimity among U.S. military leaders to end Afghan airlift mission as planned, will address nation today. In a statement, President Biden praised U.S. forces for evacuating more than 120,000 Americans and allies. The president said he will address the nation on Tuesday on his decision not to extend operations beyond Aug. 31, but as of today, he said the Joint Chiefs of Staff and all commanders on the ground agreed that ending the military mission was “the best way to protect the lives of our troops and secure the prospects of civilian departures for those who want to leave Afghanistan in the weeks and months ahead.”

— How the Associated Press summed up the war: “The United States completed its withdrawal from Afghanistan late Monday, ending America’s longest war and closing a chapter in military history likely to be remembered for colossal failures, unfulfilled promises and a frantic final exit that cost the lives of more than 180 Afghans and 13 U.S. service members, some barely older than the war.”

— Longest U.S. war: According to an analysis by Brown University, “America’s longest war” — which lasted five months longer than Vietnam, 11 years longer than the Revolutionary War, and 16 years longer than World War II — cost the U.S. more than $2.3 trillion.

— Afghanistan war toll: 2,461 U.S. service members killed ... 20,000 injured ... 3,846 U.S. contractors killed ... 66,000 Afghan military and police killed ... 47,245 Afghan civilians killed ... 51,191 Taliban and opposition fighters killed.
 


CHINA UPDATE


— China tightens restrictions on video games. China has a new rule for the country’s hundreds of millions of young gamers: No videogames during the school week, and one hour a day on Fridays, weekends and public holidays. The new regulation, announced by the National Press and Publication Administration, will ban minors from playing videogames entirely between Monday and Thursday. On the other three days of the week, and on public holidays, they will be only permitted to play between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. The announcement didn’t offer a specific age for minors, but previous regulations targeting younger videogamers have drawn the line at 18 years old.

— John Kerry to visit China and Japan to discuss climate change. John Kerry, the U.S. special presidential envoy for climate, today will begin a tour that will take him to Japan and China to discuss commitments as the international summit in Scotland later this year draws nearer, the State Department said. The trip, which begins in Japan, is intended to involve the two Asian powers in the international campaign to combat global warming, the department said in a statement last night. China confirmed Kerry would visit from toay to Friday and hold meetings with counterpart Xie Zhenhua.

— Covid-19 hits China's service sector. China’s official nonmanufacturing purchasing managers index, which tracks activity in the construction and services sectors, plummeted to 47.5 in August, from 53.3 the prior month, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. That was the first time the gauge has fallen below the 50-mark separating expansion from contraction since February 2020. Largely responsible for the drop in the nonmanufacturing measure was a significant fall in the services subindex, which slid as the highly infectious Delta variant dampened demand for activities requiring close person-to-person contact, the statistics bureau said. Ground and air transport, accommodations, catering, sports and entertainment all stumbled into contractionary territory in August.

     China stumbles

— China’s top leaders to meet in November to discuss achievements. China’s top leaders will meet in November to discuss party history and achievements, just as President Xi Jinping takes aim at the nation’s yawning wealth gap and crackdowns on the tech sector.
 


TRADE POLICY


— WTO dispute panel to probe China’s compliance with ag TRQ ruling. The World Trade Organization (WTO) Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) greenlighted China’s second request for a dispute panel to probe its compliance with a 2019 ruling faulting its administration of tariff-rate quotas (TRQs) for wheat, rice and corn, during the body’s monthly meeting Monday (Aug. 30).

     China made a second request for the dispute panel after the U.S. — which originally brought the challenge of China’s ag TRQs — blocked a first request during last month’s DSB session. Members are not allowed to block second requests for dispute panels and the DSB agreed to establish one to probe the matter. The U.S. rejects China’s claim that it has complied with the 2019 ruling on TRQs and sought permission from a WTO arbitrator to levy trade sanctions over the alleged non-compliance. However, the US noted during the meeting that it has since paused the arbitration request.

     China and the U.S. also remain at odds over the dispute settlement process, with China arguing that the U.S. is obligated to wait for a compliance panel decision before moving forward with any request to impose retaliation. Meanwhile, the U.S. has faulted China for failing to be transparent about its administration of the TRQs, saying it compromises other members’ ability to assess compliance with the 2019 ruling.

     During the session, China reiterated concerns about the systemic implications of the US arbitration move, and again asserted that the burden of proving China’s non-compliance is on with the U.S. — before the U.S. can seek permission for retaliation. The U.S. maintained that China has not complied with the ruling, and said it is willing to work with China to reach a resolution, a Geneva trade official reported.

— Mexico again offered a proposal to begin the selection process to fill vacancies on WTO Appellate Body, which handles appeals of DSB rulings. The plan has the backing of 121 members but was again blocked by the U.S. — the 45th time the U.S. has stopped the proposal from advancing. The U.S. reiterated that it is unwilling to move forward with selecting new Appellate Body judges until its long-running concerns with the panel are addressed. The U.S. again emphasized that systemic issues with the Appellate Body require fundamental reform to maintain the viability and credibility of WTO dispute settlement.

     Mexico responded that while the U.S. may have concerns with the Appellate Body, those issues cannot serve as a pretext to impair the work of WTO’s dispute settlement system. It again stressed that there is no legal justification for the U.S. block on appointments and said the issue is negatively impacting the rights of other members. Some 20 delegates also took to the floor to urge an end to the impasse, the trade official said.

     DSB Chair Didier Chambovey of Switzerland said that finding a resolution to the Appellate Body impasse is a topic of high interest to all WTO members, and said he plans to raise the issue again with the WTO General Council chair in the days ahead.

     The next meeting of the DSB is scheduled for Sept. 27, 2021.
 


ENERGY & CLIMATE CHANGE


— Democrats aim to boost oil, gas fees; boost funding for climate resilience, drought relief, conservation. Oil and gas drillers would see leasing and other fees on federal lands and waters increase, while the government would invest billions more in climate resilience, drought relief, and conservation programs under a draft reconciliation bill the House Natural Resources Committee released last night.

     The panel had a topline number of $25.6 billion to work with from the budget resolution (SConRes. 14), but included several revenue raisers in the legislative text related to fossil fuel activities, which would boost that amount to approximately $31 billion, a committee spokesman said.

     The committee is scheduled to consider the legislation on Thursday, as House Democrats work to draft the $3.5 trillion tax and spending bill by Sept. 15. Democrats plan to pass the eventual measure using budget reconciliation to bypass Republican opposition in Senate.

     Details: The Democratic bill takes aim at the fossil fuel industry and would repeal oil and gas leasing and drilling in the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge allowed in the 2017 tax reform law. The measure would also create a “conservation of resources” fee on fossil fuel companies. It would shorten fossil fuel lease lengths from 20 years to 10 years and raise minimum oil and gas bids from $2 to $10 per acre.

     The measure would also:

  • Withdraw roughly 1 million acres of federal land around the Grand Canyon from future mineral extraction; 
  • Provide $500 million in emergency drought relief to the Bureau of Reclamation through fiscal 2026;
  • Invest $150 million in the National Environmental Policy Act process for more personnel and assessments;
  • Assess an annual fee on owners of offshore oil and gas pipelines;
  • Spend $9.5 billion over the next 10 years for coastal and Great Lakes Restoration and technical assistance;
  • Provide $900 million over the next decade to the Bureau of Land Management to protect communities and ecosystems from wildfire; and
  • Create a tribal Civilian Climate Corps as well as a corps at the National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and Fish and Wildlife Service.

— USPS would get $2.4 billion for EVs in oversight plan. The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) would get $1.2 billion to buy electric vehicles and $1.2 billion for infrastructure to support the fleet under a proposal being drafted in the House as part of the tax and spending bill. The Democrat-only legislation would provide an additional $5 billion to the General Services Administration to electrify its fleets and build charging infrastructure, according to a memo released yesterday from the House Oversight and Reform Committee. The panel is set to mark up its portion of the bill with those provisions on Thursday.

— EV charging stations at post offices urged. Finding a place to charge your electric vehicle on a road trip could be as easy as locating the nearest post office under a plan Democrats are pitching, according to Bloomberg News. The idea aims to address concerns about establishing an equitable and efficient way to dole out billions of dollars toward a network of charging stations, lawmakers say. “If we make every post office a charging station, it’s a place where people know it’s located,” Rep. Brenda Lawrence (D-Mich.), who has been promoting the idea, said in an interview with Bloomberg. Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio), co-chair of the House Auto Caucus, said she supports Lawrence’s idea. Members of Congress, the administration, and the U.S. Postal Service have all had discussions about the idea.

— Ethanol proponents urge EPA to expand E15 to curb Ida ‘price spikes.’ The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) is calling on the EPA to allow fuel-terminal operators, blenders and marketers to increase use of ethanol to “fill the void in gasoline supplies created by refinery shutdowns in the Gulf Coast.”  EPA action would allow many retailers who don’t sell E15 blend to start offering it, RFS said in a letter (link) to EPA Administrator Michael Regan. The agency also should enable existing E15 retailers to keep selling the fuel through rest of summer season, RFA said. Almost 12% of U.S. refining capacity has been affected in the wake Ida who was downgraded to a tropical storm.

— More wind was installed in 2020 than any other energy source, accounting for 42% of new U.S. capacity, the Department of Energy said in a new report (link). The report, prepared by DOE’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, detailed a record 16,836 megawatts of new utility-scale onshore wind power capacity last year — representing $24.6 billion of new investment. 

     Texas installed the most capacity with 4,137 MW. Other leading states include Iowa, Oklahoma, Wyoming, Illinois, and Missouri — all of which added more than 1,000 MW of capacity in 2020.

     Wind turbines are growing in size and power, leading to more energy produced at lower costs. Turbine prices have steeply declined from levels seen a decade ago, from $1,800 per kilowatt in 2008 to $770–$850/kw now.

— FTC to probe 'collusive' practices on gas prices. Federal antitrust regulators will look into whether there are any “collusive” or otherwise illegal practices impacting gas prices following a request from the White House. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairwoman Lina Khan said in a letter to Brian Deese, who leads the National Economic Council, that she’ll direct staff to take actions on mergers and franchising. Specifically, Khan said in the that she’ll ask staff to investigate “abuses” in the franchise market. “Many retail fuel stations are franchised, but most franchisees have no control over prices at the pump. We will need to determine whether the power imbalance favoring large national chains allows them to force their franchisees to sell gasoline at higher prices, benefitting the chain at the expense of the franchisee’s convenience store operations,“ Khan said.

     “I am especially interested in ways that large national chains may ‘restore’ higher prices through collusive practices, and I will direct our staff to investigate any signs of this type of conduct,” Khan wrote.
 


CORONAVIRUS UPDATE


Summary: Global cases of Covid-19 are at 217,161,713 with 4,511,238 deaths, according to data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. The U.S. case count is at 39,057,665 with 638,715 deaths. The Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center said that there have been 368,419,107 doses administered, 173,832,202 have been fully vaccinated, or 52.96% of the U.S. population.

— As anticipated, EU recommends halting nonessential travel from U.S. over Covid-19. The European Union recommended halting nonessential travel from the U.S. because of the rise of Covid-19 cases, diplomats said, ending a summer vacation reprieve for American tourists. The decision comes amid the growing spread of the Delta variant in the U.S., where vaccination rates have also now fallen behind the average rates of shots in EU countries. The EU travel list, reviewed every two weeks, isn’t binding on member states, but it has generally set the pattern for who can visit the bloc. The EU decided in June to add the U.S. to its safe list.

     Besides the U.S., the EU also singled out Israel, Lebanon, Kosovo, North Macedonia and Montenegro, leaving only 18 countries on its list of “safe countries.” That includes China — when and if Beijing permits EU citizens to visit.

— Civil rights mask probe. Iowa, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Utah received letters warning that their laws banning schools from mandating masks could be a civil rights violation.

— Pfizer board member: ‘natural immunity’ against Covid-19 needs to be included in policy discussions. Former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, who is also a Pfizer board member, noted that “natural immunity” gained from a prior Covid-19 infection needs to be included in discussions about virus-related policies and mandates. “The balance of the evidence demonstrates that natural immunity confers a durable protection,” Gottlieb said during an Aug. 30 interview, referring to a landmark new preprint Israeli study that found that prior Covid-19 infection confers more protection against the virus than any of the vaccines. “It’s fair to conclude that.” Although Gottlieb said he would “be careful” about concluding whether natural immunity provides better protection against transmitting the virus, officials “should start assimilating that into our policy discussions.” “Natural infection confers robust and durable immunity,” he said, citing the Israeli study and others. However, whether natural immunity or vaccines are better than one another “isn’t that material” when it comes to policy discussions, Gottlieb said.
 


POLITICS & ELECTIONS


— Trump planning rallies in Iowa, Georgia. The Hill reports former President Donald Trump is planning to hold rallies in Iowa and Georgia “as he seeks to exert his influence over the GOP and toys with a 2024 presidential bid.” While details “are still being arranged for the two events,” a “source familiar with the matter confirmed to The Hill that the two states will host Trump for rallies.”
 


CONGRESS  


— House liberals call for reduced military spending in wake of Afghanistan withdrawal/evacuation. More than two dozen House Democrats demanded Congress reduce military spending following the U.S. withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan. In a letter to House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith (D-Wash.) on Monday, 27 Democrats asked that fiscal year 2022 not exceed President Joe Biden’s request of $715 billion for the Department of Defense. The group, headed by Reps. Mark Pocan of Wisconsin and Barbara Lee of California, pointed to U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and the increased domestic social welfare needs, arguing lawmakers should cut military spending “now more than ever” and dedicate funding to fighting poverty and climate change instead. The letter is signed by 25 additional Democrats, more than enough to defeat a bill they believe spends too much if no Republicans support it.

— When lawmakers return in September, they will have to deal with:

     • Fiscal 2022 funding for government agencies as FY 2021 ends Sept. 30|
     • Congressional Budget Office estimates the debt ceiling could be reached in October or November
     • Several programs responding to the Covid-19 pandemic expire
     • Additional unemployment benefits, paid leave credits, and a prior SNAP/food stamp  increase expire in September
     • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention eviction moratorium extended through Oct. 3, but that the topic of a recent Supreme Court ruling
     • Senate passed bipartisan infrastructure package (HR 3684) Aug. 10; House will take up by Sept. 27
     • House teed up $3.5 trillion reconciliation process, to bypass a GOP filibuster, with Aug. 24 adoption of Senate-approved budget resolution (SConRes. 14) on a fully party-line vote

 


OTHER ITEMS OF NOTE     


— USDA gets White House clearance to do hemp industry survey. USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) has been cleared by the White House Office of Management and Budget to move ahead with a hemp industry survey that aims to gather information about planted acreage, yield, production techniques, processing and crop value. NASS says it will mail out the survey in October and also provide growers with a code to access an online version. Industry analysis firm Hemp Benchmarks last month reported that acreage registered for outdoor production in 2021 across 27 states is down 55% compared to last year, falling from 236,732 acres to 107,702 acres.

— Hate crimes in the U.S. rose about 6% in 2020, fueled by an increase in anti-Black, anti-white and anti-Asian incidents, according to FBI statistics released on Monday, reaching levels not seen in more than a decade. Attacks against Jewish and Muslim victims based on bias declined. State and local police reported 7,759 criminal incidents in 2020 motivated by bias, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said. The number of such episodes last year matched levels last seen in 2008.

— Heirs' property funding. Intermediary lenders, such as cooperatives and credit unions, can apply until Oct. 22 through the new Heirs' Property Relending Program for funding to resolve property title issues. Link for details.

 


EVENTS AND REPORTS


Tuesday, Aug. 31

· CODEX meeting preparation. USDA U.S. Codex office teleconference to provide information and receive public comments on agenda items and draft U.S. positions to be discussed at the 35th Session of the Codex Committee on Fish and Fishery Products of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, which will meet by correspondence Sept. 20-Oct. 20.
· Afghanistan war. Washington Post Live virtual book discussion on "The Afghanistan Papers: A Secret History of the War."
· Cybersecurity. Government Executive Media Group virtual discussion on "Cyber Defenders: Cyber Policies and Priorities," focusing on the status of cyber defense across federal agencies.
· Covid vaccines. Final day of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices to discuss Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine, and additional discussions on mRNA booster doses.
· Fusion energy. Final day of the Energy Department meeting by teleconference of the Fusion Energy Sciences Advisory Committee.
· Covid impacts on retail. Washington Post Live virtual "Path Forward" discussion on "Rebuilding Retail" with Jodie McLean, CEO of EDENS, examining "how staffing and supply chain issues, as well as continued health safety concerns, are changing the retail experience post-Covid."
· Defense and small businesses. National Defense Industrial Association virtual discussion with Farooq Mitha, director of the Defense Department's Office of Small Business Programs.

· Economic reports. S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller HPI | FHFA House Price Index | Chicago PMI | Consumer Confidence  

· USDA reports. NASS: Agricultural Prices | Egg Products | Mushrooms ERS: Dairy Data: Fluid beverage milk sales; Selected soft dairy products; Number and average size of U.S. fluid milk product plants


 

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