House Rules Panel Meets Monday Re: Budget, Infrastructure, Voting Rights
Biden risks being defined by Afghanistan crisis; was warned about a quick Kabul collapse
In Today’s Digital Newspaper
Market Focus:
• Chip shortage having major impact on auto production
• Deere raises outlook on continued strong farm, construction equipment demand
• Number of U.S. family farms filing for bankruptcy declined by nearly a quarter
• What’s a SPARC?
• Dow and S&P on pace for worst weeks since June, Nasdaq since May
• About 61% of households owed no federal income taxes last year
• Index of producer prices for industrial products in Germany increased 10.4% in July
• Kansas City Southern postpones shareholder vote
• Federal scientists: severe drought in American West likely to last into fall or longer
• Ag trade update
• Corrective gains overnight
• Pro Farmer Crop Tour results for Iowa and Minnesota
• Some rains fall in far western Corn Belt
• Chinese soybean imports from Brazil in July just a bit under year-ago
• Japan’s corn use in feed well under year-ago
• French wheat harvest wrapping up
• Survey finds continuing strong U.S. rural economy
• USDA announces $26 million in biofuel infrastructure grants
• Choice beef takes out June highs
• Hog trade uneasy about coming seasonal break in pork prices
Policy Focus:
• Rules panel to meet on budget, infrastructure, voting rights
• House Transportation chair plans on pushing for more funding for high-speed rail
• Biden administration wiping out $5.8 billion in student debt for disabled borrowers
• White House rules out extension of pandemic jobless aid, urges states to use stimulus
• Treasury: Few small business owners will see tax hikes under Biden proposal
Biden Administration Personnel:
• CFTC Commissioner Quintenz to step down: WSJ
China Update:
• Chinese soybean imports from Brazil in July just a bit under year-ago
• Major container terminal at China’s Ningbo-Zhoushan Port remains shut
• Chinese authorities shut down U.S. labor auditor’s local China partner
• China rescues its biggest ‘bad bank’
Trade Policy:
• USTR Tai hails vote by GM workers in Mexico to reject current union
Energy & Climate Change:
• USDA announces $26 million in biofuel infrastructure grants
• Marathon/ADM form joint venture for renewable diesel feedstock
• What those who spread rumors about RFS timeline should know
Coronavirus Update:
• Vaccine progress
• Most and least vaccinated U.S. states
• Three senators test positive for Covid-19
• Australia recorded biggest-ever single day Covid-19 caseload
Politics & Elections:
• Biden will speak in East Room about evacuations from Afghanistan
• Defining image of Biden’s first year could be of Afghans clinging to landing gear
• Amy Walter: ‘Little doubt that the honeymoon is over for Biden’
• Texas House reaches quorum as Democrats return after fleeing state to block voting bill
Congress:
• GOP lawmakers criticize EPA move on chlorpyrifos
Other Items of Note:
• Confidential State Department cable in July warned of Afghanistan’s collapse
• Biden: Taliban in ‘existential crisis’ about their role on the international stage
• Former House Foreign Affairs chair will lobby for Saudi Arabia
• Cotton AWP rises to near 80 cents
• Man surrenders after claiming to have bomb near U.S. Capitol
MARKET FOCUS
Equities today: U.S. stock futures are signaling a slightly higher opening, but the S&P 500 and the Dow are on course to erase most or all of August’s gains. The Dow and S&P are on pace for their worst weeks since June, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq is set for its worst since May. Global stock markets were lower overnight. China’s Shanghai Composite closed down 1.1% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng contracted 1.8%, capping off a tumultuous week for stocks in both markets. Japan’s Nikkei was down 267.92 points, 0.98%, at 27,013.25. European equities are weaker in early trading. The Stoxx 600 is down 0.2% with regional markets seeing losses of 0.1% to 0.6%. The CBOE volatility index has risen to its highest level since May. Traders and investors are looking ahead to the annual Federal Reserve symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, next week. More clarity on U.S. monetary policy is likely to come out of that meeting. Meanwhile, Macy’s, Kohl’s and other clothing retailers had big summers but are starting to see a slowdown as Covid-19 cases surge.
U.S. equities yesterday: The Dow finished down 66.57 points, 0.19%, at 34,894.12. The Nasdaq rose 15.87 points, 0.11%, at 14,541.79. The S&P 500 moved up 5.53 points, 0.13%, at 4,405.80.
What’s a SPARC? In a SPAC, investors buy shares in a public shell company formed to make an acquisition within a two-year time frame. In a SPARC, investors don’t put in money up front, and instead receive a right (the “R” in SPARC) to buy in once the vehicle announces a merger target, which isn’t subject to any time limits.
On tap today:
• Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan speaks on the economy and monetary policy at 11 a.m. ET.
• Baker Hughes rig count is out at 1 p.m. ET.
• President Biden will speak in the East Room about the evacuations from Afghanistan, with VP Kamala Harris attending, 1 p.m. ET.
• Pro Farmer production and yield estimates (informed by Tour data, but separate) released at 2:30 p.m. ET.
• CFTC Commitments of Traders report, 3:30 p.m. ET.
• Vice President Harris departs today for a weeklong trip to Singapore and Vietnam, part of an effort to boost U.S. engagement in Southeast Asia — and counter China’s influence.
Deere raises outlook on expectations for continued strong farm, construction equipment demand. Deere & Company now expects net income in fiscal 2021 to be from $5.7 billion to $5.9 billion, an increase from the level the company expected in May of $5.3 billion to $5.7 billion. Farm and construction equipment demand has grown even as pandemic-related supply chain disruptions have raised challenges. "Looking ahead, we expect demand for farm and construction equipment to continue benefiting from favorable fundamentals," Deere Chief Executive Officer John May said. The company’s third quarter net income reached $1.67 billion ($5.32 per share), up from $811 million in the year-ago quarter, beating expectations.
Number of U.S. family farms that filed for bankruptcy declined by nearly a quarter over the 12 months ending in June. Federal court data show that 438 farm operations filed for Chapter 12 bankruptcy from July 2020 through June 2021, a 24% drop compared to the prior year, and the lowest number over that 12-month stretch since 2015, according to analysis from the American Farm Bureau Federation (link). While more than half of all filings (235) were in the Midwest, the key crop-growing region recorded a 21 percent decline versus the previous year. Bankruptcies also dropped by more than a third in the Northwest, Southeast and Mid-Atlantic. But bankruptcies climbed higher across the Southwest, where farmers and ranchers have struggled to deal with worsening drought. AFBF Senior Economist Veronica Nigh cautioned against “becoming too confident that the worst is behind us.” She said many farmers had to draw from their savings to stay afloat during the Trump administration’s trade war and the pandemic. “It will take many consecutive good years to rebuild those financial reserves,” Nigh said. “Until then, unfortunately, many farms and ranches are one natural disaster, international trade spat or interest rate hike away from finding themselves on the red side of the ledger.”
About 61% of households owed no federal income taxes last year, an increase from previous years that was driven by the coronavirus pandemic, the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center (TPC) said in an analysis (Link).
Index of producer prices for industrial products in Germany increased 10.4% in July compared with the prior year, the German statistics office Destatis said today. This was the highest year-on-year increase since January 1975, when prices rose strongly during the first oil crisis, Destatis said. “Friday’s figures indicate that the real obstacle to German industrial recovery is no longer the pandemic, but supply chain issues,” Accenture’s global industrial lead Thomas Rinn said.
Toyota slashes output because of a shortage of computer chips. Toyota is slashing global production in September by 40%, which will affect 14 factories in Japan and overseas plants. The new plans will translate into 540,000 vehicles next month, down from the 900,000 it had originally forecast. While Toyota is keeping its previous annual sales and production targets in place for now, shares of the Japanese carmaker fell 4% on Thursday and are down another 3% premarket. The problem is being compounded by a wave of Covid cases sweeping across southeast Asia, where many of the semiconductors are made. Meanwhile, one of Ford’s plants in Kansas City is pausing production of the popular F-150 pickup truck due to chip-related parts shortages.
Market perspectives:
• Outside markets: The U.S. dollar index is higher as most foreign currencies are weaker against the greenback. The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note is weaker, trading around 1.23%, echoing a weaker trend in global government bond yields. Gold and silver futures are narrowly mixed with gold firmer, trading around $1,786 per troy ounce, and silver weaker around $23.18 per troy ounce.
• Oil prices fell Thursday to their lowest level in about three months after the U.S. dollar strengthened on concern that the global economic recovery might slow and the Federal Reserve’s signals that it will scale back stimulus measures. A stronger dollar tends to put pressure on commodities denominated in the U.S. currency — such as oil and industrial metals like copper — which become more expensive for other currency holders.
• Crude oil futures are lower ahead of the U.S. trading start with U.S. crude trading around $63.25 per barrel and Brent around $65.60 per barrel. Crude was higher in Asian action, with U.S. crude up 27 cents at $63.96 per barrel and Brent was up 23 cents at $66.68 per barrel.
• Pro Farmer Crop Tour results for Iowa and Minnesota. On Day 4 of the Pro Farmer Crop Tour, scouts measured an average corn yield potential of 190.8 bu. per acre for Iowa, which compares to 177.8 bu. per acre last year for the state and 183.0 bu. per acre for the three-year average. Pod counts in a 3’x3’ square came in at 1,218 for Iowa, which compares to 1,146 pods in 2020 and 1,154 pods for the three-year average.
In Minnesota, scouts measured average corn yield potential of 177.4 bu. per acre, which compares to 195.1 bu. per acre last year and 181.4 bu. per acre for the three-year average. Pod counts in a 3’x3’ square came in at 1,027 for Minnesota, which compares to 1,086 pods last year and 1,047 pods for the three-year average.
Pro Farmer’s production and yield estimates (informed by Tour data, but separate) will be released at 2:30 p.m. ET today on its website, in the Pro Farmer newsletter and via email.
• Ag trade: Egypt tendered to buy 10,000 MT of sunflower oil in an international tender. South Korea’s Feed Leaders Committee bought 66,000 MT of animal feed corn, likely from South America or South Africa in a private deal. Jordan’s state grain buyer made no purchase in its international tender to buy 120,000 MT of animal feed barley.
• Kansas City Southern postponed a shareholder vote on its merger agreement with Canadian National until Sept. 3.
• Federal scientists: severe drought in the American West likely to last into fall or longer. The outlook for September through November, prepared by meteorologists with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, suggests that above-average temperatures are likely across almost all of the West, except for Washington and parts of Idaho, Montana and North Dakota. Precipitation is expected to be below normal from the Southwest into the Rockies and the Northern Plains. “For a lot of the western U.S., we are expecting drought to persist,” said Matthew Rosencrans, a NOAA meteorologist, during a teleconference with reporters. According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, currently 47% of the land area of contiguous 48 states is in various degrees of drought, nearly all of it in the High Plains or from the Rocky Mountains westward. Drought affects the entirety of nine states, including California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Oregon and North and South Dakota. In the past month, the drought has become less severe in parts of the Southwest, including Arizona. So-called monsoon rains have helped, Rosencrans said. These occur in summer when atmospheric conditions draw Pacific moisture into the region. But elsewhere in the West, the dry and hot conditions have continued.
• NWS weather: Severe thunderstorms and heavy rain possible from the Northern/Central Plains toward portions of the Upper Midwest today as a potent cold front swings through... ...A Slight Risk of Excessive Rainfall is in effect across parts of the Mid-Atlantic through Saturday morning... ...Tropical Storm Henri is forecast to take a turn toward southern New England today with potential impacts starting as early as Saturday night.
Items in Pro Farmer's First Thing Today include:
• Corrective gains overnight
• Pro Farmer Crop Tour results for Iowa and Minnesota
• Some rains fall in far western Corn Belt
• Chinese soybean imports from Brazil in July just a bit under year-ago
• Japan’s corn use in feed well under year-ago
• French wheat harvest wrapping up
• Survey finds continuing strong U.S. rural economy
• USDA announces $26 million in biofuel infrastructure grants
• Choice beef takes out June highs
• Hog trade uneasy about coming seasonal break in pork prices
POLICY FOCUS
— Rules panel to meet on budget, infrastructure, voting rights. The House Rules Committee is scheduled to meet Monday to consider several pieces of legislation, including the vehicles carrying the Senate-passed bipartisan infrastructure bill (HR 3684), the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act (HR 4), and the budget resolution (SConRes. 14) setting up a reconciliation process that would allow Democrats to pass a $3.5 trillion spending and tax package without Republican support. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has said that she plans votes next week on the budget measure and voting rights legislation, while a group of moderate Democrats have pushed her to vote on the infrastructure package.
House Transportation Chair Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.), who has been critical of the Senate bill, told the Washington Post on Wednesday during a Washington Post Live event that he plans on pushing for more funding for high-speed rail during the markup of the reconciliation package. DeFazio also called out transit-related items “left on the cutting room floor” in the Senate bipartisan bill, including funding for “green infrastructure in wastewater,” carbon reduction, and reduced funding for electric vehicle charging.
— Biden administration is wiping out $5.8 billion in student debt for disabled borrowers. The Education Department said it would automatically discharge loans for borrowers with total and permanent disabilities by matching borrower files with Social Security Administration records. The move covers more than 323,000 borrowers and is the latest step in the government’s piecemeal effort to provide debt relief to millions.
— White House rules out extension of pandemic jobless aid, urges states to use stimulus funds. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Labor Secretary Marty Walsh said Thursday that the Biden administration will not seek an extension of pandemic jobless aid programs but encouraged states to use funding from the $1.9 trillion stimulus package to support unemployed workers. In a Thursday letter to congressional leaders, Yellen and Walsh said it is “appropriate” for a $300 weekly boost to unemployment insurance and other expanded benefits programs to expire as scheduled on Sept. 6. “The temporary $300 boost in benefits will expire on September 6th, as planned. As President Biden has said, the boost was always intended to be temporary and it is appropriate for that benefit boost to expire,” Yellen and Walsh wrote to Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal (D-Mass.). “In addition, President Biden believes that the conditions exist in many states such that the other emergency UI [unemployment insurance] programs ... can end on the date set in the American Rescue Plan.”
Background: The March stimulus bill extended the $300 weekly supplement, the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program for gig workers and contractors and Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation — which provides up to 53 weeks of additional aid — through Labor Day. Around 7.5 million jobless workers will lose all of their unemployment aid after when those programs expire and millions more will receive substantially less without the $300 federal supplement.
— Treasury: Few small business owners will see tax hikes under Biden proposal. The Biden administration on Thursday said few small-business owners would see their taxes increase under the president’s proposal to raise the top income tax rate for high earners, a conclusion not likely shared by some others.
The White House issued a fact sheet highlighting a new Treasury Department analysis that found that less than 3% of small-business owners would be affected by Biden’s proposal to increase the top federal income tax rate from 37% to 39.6%. The analysis focused on small businesses filing as S-corporations and partnerships and on certain parts of individual income tax returns.
The administration also said that 3.9 million small-business owners would receive tax cuts under Biden’s proposals to extend the expansions of the child tax credit and Affordable Care Act subsidies that were included in the president's coronavirus relief law.
BIDEN ADMINISTRATION PERSONNEL
— CFTC Commissioner Quintenz to step down. Democrats are set to gain control over the nation’s derivatives-market regulator after one of the two Republicans on the Commodity Futures Trading Commission *CFTC) departs at the end of this month, the Wall Street Journal first reported. CFTC Commissioner Brian Quintenz, who was nominated in 2017 by then-President Donald Trump at the recommendation of Sen. Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.), said in an interview he plans to leave the agency Aug. 31. Though his five-year term expired in April 2020, he is legally eligible to remain at the regulator until the end of this year.
Democrats to soon have a majority. The departure will leave the CFTC’s five-member panel — which already had one vacancy following the exit of former Chairman Heath Tarbert in January — with two empty seats. It also could allow acting Chairman Rostin Behnam more leeway over policy by giving Democrats a majority on the commission. Bloomberg reported last week that President Biden plans to nominate Behnam to lead the CFTC on a permanent basis.
CHINA UPDATE
— Chinese soybean imports from Brazil in July just a bit under year-ago. China imported 7.88 MMT of beans from Brazil in July, which was a 3.7% dip from year-ago, according to data from China’s General Administration of Customs. China’s soybean imports from all origins total 8.67 MMT during July, a 14.1% drop from last year at this time. China’s imports from the U.S. totaled just shy of 42,300 MT from the U.S., a marginal improvement from year-ago. China typically focuses its purchases on Brazil over the northern hemisphere summer with focus shifting to the U.S. in the fall.
— Major container terminal at China’s Ningbo-Zhoushan Port remained shut a week after operations were suspended from a single Covid-19 case, with dozens of ships lining up to load cargo for western markets ahead of the year-end shopping season. The congestion at Meishan terminal, which isn’t expected to resume full operations before the end of the month, is spreading to other ports like Shanghai and Hong Kong as big operators divert ships away from Ningbo. The cascading effect will lead to crowding at ports along the Asia-to-Europe and trans-Pacific routes that could further slow the flow of goods, the Wall Street Journal reports (link). Some 10% of all containers are stacked on ships waiting at ports around the world.
— Chinese authorities have shut down a U.S. labor auditor’s local China partner, escalating Beijing’s campaign to counter forced-labor allegations in its northwest Xinjiang region and potentially complicating efforts by multinationals to certify supply chains in the country.
— China rescued its biggest “bad bank,” indicating Beijing was worried about letting a company so enmeshed in its financial system fail. Link to details via the New York Times.
TRADE POLICY
— Tai hails vote by GM workers in Mexico to reject current union. U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai welcomed a vote by workers at a General Motors plant in Silao, Mexico, to cancel their existing union contract which will allow them to choose a new union. The vote came about under the Rapid Response Labor Mechanism contained in the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). The vote showed the USMCA provision is successful in “getting prompt and meaningful results for workers,” Tai said in a statement. “We congratulate the Mexican government, in particular the Labor Ministry (STPS), for overseeing this vote.” She also pledged the U.S. will “continue to work with our Mexican counterparts — including through the use of the rapid response mechanism — to protect the rights of North American workers,” Tai said. A previous vote at the plant in April was thrown out after Mexico found irregularities in the election that was conducted by Mexico’s largest labor union CTM. That prompted the US to tap provisions of the USMCA on labor to facilitate a new vote.
ENERGY & CLIMATE CHANGE
— USDA announces $26 million in biofuel infrastructure grants. USDA announced $26 million in new investments under the Higher Blends Infrastructure Incentive Program (HBIIP) to help retailers and fuel distributors upgrade equipment to support higher biofuel blends and boost biofuel sales volumes by approximately 822 million gallons per year.
This pushes total HBIIP funding distributed to $66.4 million, with USDA estimating it will bring 1.2 billion gallons per year of additional biofuel sales. HBIIP was the successor to the 2015 Biofuels Infrastructure Program (BIP), which invested $210 million through its conclusion in 2018, nearly doubling the number of fuel pumps offering higher biofuel blends nationwide.
The third round of HBIIP investments is being distributed via grants for projects spread across 23 states. Funded projects include installation of new pumps, tanks and related equipment.
USDA detailed a few of the grants awarded, along with their expected impact on biofuel sales:
— AltAir Paramount in California was awarded a $1.5 million grant to install a pump, safety infrastructure and piping at its fuel distribution facility. Grant funds will also be used by the company to upgrade a biodiesel storage tank. Together, the upgrades are expected to increase biodiesel sales by 135 million gallons per year.
— United Dairy Farmers was awarded $634,000 to replace 21 dispensers and four storage tanks at four fueling stations in Ohio and install 13 dispensers at two more fueling stations in Ohio and Kentucky. The project is seen boosting ethanol sales by four million gallons per year.
— Zenith Energy Terminals Holdings received a $614,930 grant to install a truck rack biodiesel blending system at a fuel distribution facility in North Carolina. Biodiesel sales are expected to increase by 24 million gallons annually from the effort.
RFA welcomes announcement. The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) welcomed the new round of HBIIP grants. “The grants announced by USDA today will help facilitate the continued expansion of lower-carbon, lower-cost fuel blends like E15 and E85. RFA is proud to have assisted many of these retailers and marketers in identifying their equipment needs and preparing their grant applications,” said RFA President and CEO Geoff Cooper. “We look forward to continuing to work with these innovative retailers as their projects enter the next phase. RFA thanks USDA and Secretary Vilsack for continuing to prioritize this important program.”
— Marathon/ADM form joint venture for renewable diesel feedstock. ADM and Marathon Petroleum Thursday announced a joint venture to produce about 600 million pounds of refined soyoil annually which will be sold exclusively to Marathon to produce renewable diesel. The soyoil production level would be enough to produce around 75 million gallons of renewable diesel annually and would be about 40% of the feedstock needed for Marathon’s Dickinson, North Dakota, plant that can produce 180 million gallons of renewable diesel annually. The soy processing complex is planned for Spiritwood, North Dakota, and is aimed to be completed in 2023. ADM will hold a 75% share in the facility and Marathon will own the rest.
— Those who spread rumors that EPA “is about to announce RFS mandate details” should know this: Unless something changes significantly, the proposed RFS rule must first go to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), who then needs a few weeks to review the EPA proposal. OMB eventually consults with interested stakeholders, which usually leads to industry conjecture and eventual leaks to the press. But the rumor mill was out in force yesterday, but as expected by veteran observers, no announcement was made.
CORONAVIRUS UPDATE
— Summary: Global cases of Covid-19 are at 210,057,252 with 4,404,511 deaths, according to data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. The U.S. case count is at 37,294,389 with 625,166 deaths. The Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center said that there have been 359,623,380 doses administered, 169,592,873 have been fully vaccinated, or 51.7% of the U.S. population.
— Vaccine progress: The U.S. administered more than one million coronavirus vaccine doses in 24 hours for the first time in almost seven weeks.
— Most and least vaccinated U.S. states:
(% of population fully vaccinated)
Top Ranked
Vermont (67.2%)
Massachusetts (65%)
Maine (64.9%)
Connecticut (64.8%)
Rhode Island (63.4%)
Bottom Ranked
Alabama (35.9%)
Mississippi (36.2%)
Wyoming (37.7%)
Idaho (38.3%)
Louisiana (39.1%)
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
— Three senators test positive for Covid-19. Sens. Angus King of Maine, Roger Wicker of Mississippi, and John Hickenlooper of Colorado each announced separately Thursday they have tested positive for the virus. All three senators are fully vaccinated.
— Australia recorded its biggest-ever single day Covid-19 caseload, with 758 new cases on Thursday — a drop in the bucket in the U.S., but a significant number in a country that has kept its national borders closed throughout the coronavirus pandemic, stranding its own citizens. The delta variant outbreak has surged in Sydney, where officials expect to ramp up vaccinations among those under 40 in the coming weeks.
POLITICS & ELECTIONS
— Defining image of the first year of Joe Biden's presidency could be of Afghans clinging to the landing gear of a departing U.S. military plane as his administration wound down the country’s 20-year war without a clear plan to safely evacuate tens of thousands of citizens. Among Biden’s most damaging critics this week: fellow Democrats. Democratic-led congressional committees are vowing to press President Biden’s administration on what went wrong as the Taliban swept to power in Afghanistan and the U.S. left scores of Americans and thousands who helped them over the years in grave danger. The House Intelligence Committee is to receive a classified briefing on Afghanistan on Monday from representatives of several intelligence agencies.
“You could not imagine a more stunning rebuke for the U.S. nation-building project. We were building a failed state, not fixing a failed state,” said Benjamin Friedman, policy director with Defense Priorities, a Washington group that supports U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
— “There’s little doubt that the honeymoon is over for Biden,” says Amy Walter of the Cook Political Report with Amy Walter. “ The question now is if voters are still going to be happy in the marriage come next year,” she writes. Charlie Cook adds, “The images of what we have seen on the news in recent days are obviously depressing for many Americans. But they should not diminish the honor and the sacrifices of the brave Americans who served in Afghanistan and Iraq.”
— Texas House reaches quorum as Democrats return after fleeing state to block voting bill. The Texas House reached a quorum Thursday for the first time since July, clearing the way for new voting restrictions to pass after a record-breaking Democratic boycott had stalled the bill for weeks, creating a standoff with Republicans who sought the arrest of absent members.
CONGRESS
— GOP lawmakers criticize EPA move on chlorpyrifos. Sen. John Boozman (R-Ark.) and Rep. G.T. Thompson (R-Pa.), ranking members on the House and Senate Ag committees, criticized EPA’s decision to ban nearly all uses of chlorpyrifos, saying the move hurts farmers who rely on the pesticide. Boozman said the agency action “undermines the scientifically rigorous work of the agency” and “inserts a great deal of uncertainty for growers.”
OTHER ITEMS OF NOTE
— Confidential State Department cable in July warned of Afghanistan’s collapse. About two dozen officials serving at the embassy in Kabul sent an internal memo to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and another top official last month, using the department’s channel for voicing dissenting views, saying the Afghan capital could fall soon after the Aug. 31 troop withdrawal deadline, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing a U.S. official and a person familiar with the cable.
— President Joe Biden said the Taliban are in the midst of an “existential crisis” about their role on the international stage but that he didn’t believe the group had fundamentally changed course. The U.S. has 5,200 troops at Kabul's airport, Pentagon officials said, and has evacuated 7,000 people — a mix of Americans, Afghan allies and others — since Aug. 14.
— Former House Foreign Affairs chair will lobby for Saudi Arabia. Former Rep. Ed Royce (R-Calif.) has added another foreign government to his lobbying resume, his third foreign client in less than two months, according to Politico. Royce, once the chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee who now lobbies for Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, will join the firm’s team representing Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, according to a new filing with the Justice Department, to “facilitate meetings with federal government officials either via phone or email on behalf of” the ministry.
— Cotton AWP rises to near 80 cents. The Adjusted World Price for cotton rose to 79.30 cents per pound, effective today (Aug. 20), from 76.74 cents per pound the prior week. This is the highest mark for the AWP since it was at 79.67 cents per pound the week of Aug. 10, 2018. Meanwhile, USDA announced that Special Import Quota #18 will be established Aug. 26 for 55,262 bales of Upland cotton, applying to supplies purchased not later than Nov. 23 and entered into the U.S. not later than Feb. 21.
— Man surrenders after claiming to have bomb near U.S. Capitol. A North Carolina man who claimed to have a bomb in a pickup truck near the US Capitol surrendered to law enforcement after an hourslong standoff Thursday that prompted a massive police response and the evacuations of government buildings in the area.
