Vilsack Seeks to Hire Thousands of Workers; FSA Nixes Worker Exemption Request
Will Congress meet today’s framework agreement ‘deadline’?
In Today’s Digital Newspaper
Market Focus:
• Fed Chairman Powell’s reappointment on shakier ground following Fed trading disclosures
• Fed announces new rules
• Shortages of dishwashers and refrigerators are likely to stretch well into next year
• Railroad execs: lack of truck drivers, equipment & warehouse workers causing congestion
• Biden would consider deploying National Guard to assist with supply-chain bottlenecks
• Southwest to adjust December schedule to get handle on staffing shortfall
• Natural-gas prices have shed 19% since hitting a 13-year high
• Biden admits 'I don't have a near-term answer' for high gas prices
• Gold and silver markets finally awaken to fact global inflation is rising
• Wheat leads overnight price strength
• China encouraging coal production but cracking down on price gouging, speculation
• China makes rare diesel purchase
• U.S. intelligence report warns about the geopolitical costs of climate change
• ADM to sell Peoria, Illinois ethanol plant
• Larger placements expected again for September
• Cold Storage Report also out this afternoon
• Slow developing cash cattle market
• December hogs extend discount to cash
Policy Focus:
• House Ways & Means chairman meets with Sinema on tax and revenue proposals
• Sinema willing to support tax increases targeting rich Americans and large companies
• Biden: not enough Democratic votes to raise tax rates
• Biden: Biden: Dems plan on $150 billion for Clean Electricity Performance Program
• White House presses to get House vote next week on both BIF and BBB
Biden Administration Personnel:
• Add USDA Sec. Vilsack to list of those seeking workers… thousands of them
China Update:
• Evergrande averts default
• Biden: U.S. would defend Taiwan from attack by China; White House clarifies
• U.S. aiming for video conference between Biden and Xi Jinping in November
• 43 countries denounce China’s human rights record
• China encouraging coal production but cracking down on price gouging, speculation
• China makes rare diesel purchase
Energy & Climate Change:
• U.S. intelligence report warns about the geopolitical costs of climate change
• ADM to sell Peoria, Illinois ethanol plant
• FERC clears increases in LNG production
• Reuters: FTC extending approval process for oil and gas mergers
• USDA’s Vilsack will meet with European officials ahead of COP26 meeting
Livestock, Food & Beverage Industry Update:
• Tomatoes from Mexican farm latest to be impacted by CBP order on forced labor
• House Agriculture panel clears legislation to set up cattle contract library at USDA
Coronavirus Update:
• CDC vaccine advisers vote to recommend booster doses of Moderna and J&J
• Covid-19 may have killed up to 180,000 health workers globally: WHO
Politics & Elections:
• Biden open to ending filibuster for debt limit, voting rights
Congress:
• House clears resolution to hold Steve Bannon in criminal contempt of Congress
• Dems discussing another short-term Highway Trust Fund extension until Dec. 3
Other Items of Note:
• Republicans press EPA official on WOTUS
• Increase in Social Security benefits published in Federal Register
• Rocket failure in Alaska thwarted America’s latest effort to test a hypersonic weapon
• Judge limits strikers at Deere
MARKET FOCUS
Equities today: Global stock markets were mixed to firmer in overnight trading. The U.S. stock indexes are pointed to mixed openings. Asian equities ended mixed with advances linked to Evergrande making an overdue bond payment. The Nikkei rose 96.27 points, 0.34%, at 28,804.85. The Hang Seng Index was up 109.40 points, 0.42%, at 26,126.93. The Shanghai Composite, however, was down 12.18 points, 0.34%, at 3,582.60. European equities are registering solid advances in early trading, with the Stoxx 600 up 0.8% and regional markets rising 0.1% to more than 1%.
U.S. equities yesterday: The Dow ended down 6.26 points, 0.02%, at 35,603.08, despite a late push higher. The Nasdaq rose 94.02 points, 0.62%, at 15,215.70. The S&P 500 was up 13.59 points, 0.30%, at 4,549.78.
On tap today:
• IHS Markit's preliminary U.S. manufacturing index for October is expected to tick down to 60.5 from 60.7 in September. The services index is forecast to rise to 55.5 from 54.9. (9:45 a.m. ET)
• Federal Reserve: San Francisco’s Mary Daly speaks on climate change risk at 10 a.m. ET, and Chairman Jerome Powell appears on a panel at a virtual Bank for International Settlements-South African Reserve Bank conference at 11 a.m. ET (webcast).
• Baker Hughes rig count is out at 1 p.m. ET.
• CFTC Commitments of Traders report, 3:30 p.m. ET.
Fed Chairman Powell’s reappointment on shakier ground following Fed trading disclosures; Fed announces new rules. Federal Reserve officials can no longer own — or actively trade — individual stocks or bonds. If you thought that was — or should have been the rule before — you would be incorrect. Now policymakers and senior staff are limited to investments like mutual funds. And they must get permission to buy or sell anything and they typically must give 45 days' notice. Link to new rules.
Background: Financial disclosures showed two — now former — regional Fed officials owned assets sensitive to the monetary policy they helped shape. Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan and Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren were compelled to take early retirements as a result of the disclosure of their trades. Fed Vice Chair Richard Clarida also came under fire for stock trading. The other trades are now the subject of investigations by the Fed’s own inspector general and the SEC. Chairman Powell sold between $1 million and $5 million worth of stock from his personal account on Oct. 1, 2020, according to disclosure forms reviewed by the Prospect. There’s no allegation that Powell violated any ethical regulations, yet the timing of this revelation hurts him politically — Powell’s sale of shares from a Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund has not been previously reported. This sale occurred right before the Dow suffered a significant drop. Powell since has acknowledged last month its current rules around what Fed officials can trade or own are "not adequate. Powell said “these tough new rules raise the bar high in order to assure the public we serve that all of our senior officials maintain a single-minded focus on the public mission of the Federal Reserve.” Many think the bar should have been high to begin with.
Under current laws, top Fed officials do not have to put their assets into a blind trust over which they have no control, despite their knowledge of the inner workings of the economy. The Fed’s code of conduct for senior officials (link) holds that “personal financial dealings should be above reproach, and information obtained by them as officials of the System should never be used for personal gain.” The code says that no purchases or sales of securities should be made during the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) “blackout period,” which begins the second Saturday before an FOMC meeting and ends the Thursday after. None of Powell’s sales happened during the blackout periods for 2020, though the large Oct. 1 stock sale was made during a period when the public was not privy to the minutes of the Fed’s most recent meeting.
Impact: The Fed has entered the Washington swamp lingo, some say. It is possible that the stain on the Fed, and Powell, could impact whether President Biden reappoints him to a term that ends in February. Some reports say Powell may not even win support from a majority of Democrats on the Senate Banking Committee. A key Powell supporter is U.S. Treasury Secretary (and former Fed Chair) Janet Yellen. In 2018, Powell was confirmed by the Senate Banking Committee by a 22-1 vote. Only Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) opposed his nomination inside the committee. He then easily cleared the full Senate by a 84-13 vote in February 2018. Meanwhile, Republicans remain mostly supportive of Powell, and he could win a second term based on backing from GOP senators and enough Democrats. But others wonder whether Biden would do that with strong and growing opposition from progressives.
Prior trading seen as inappropriate. The New York Times notes: “The fact that central bank officials were able to engage in trading in a year when the Fed was actively propping up markets struck many politicians, academics and even former Fed employees as inappropriate because policymakers are privy to vast amounts of financial market information. Democrats and watchdog groups in particular have questioned the Fed’s ethics policies and the culture that allowed the financial activity to happen.” Sen. Warren sent a letter to Powell asking for documents after the New York Times reported (link) that the Fed’s ethics office in Washington had sent an email to the reserve banks in March 2020. The email suggested that officials should avoid active trading amid market turmoil and rapid-fire Fed action, and officials appear to have heeded the warning in April before some resumed financial activity later that spring. Warren plans to keep pressing Powell over the announced changes. “The scandal at the Fed has drawn attention to this area and the Fed is now scrambling to try and get ahead of it,” Warren said yesterday in an interview with Bloomberg News. “But the bottom line is that we still need to see a lot more from the Fed.”
But others are coming to Powell’s defense. Powell’s swift action to enact new stiff trading rules for senior Federal Reserve officials has the potential to improve his chances for renomination as chair by showing leadership while under fire, according to some Fed watchers. “Powell showed leadership and the ability to do the right thing quickly,” Roberto Perli, a former Fed economist, said. “So, if anything, I think this strengthens his candidacy.”
Shortages of dishwashers and refrigerators are likely to stretch well into next year, Whirlpool’s chief executive officer said, as supply-chain problems constrain production and consumer demand remains strong. The Benton Harbor, Mich.-based company has ramped up appliance production, but delays have grown as waits for components and other snags lead to back-orders of around six weeks for the average appliance, said Whirlpool CEO Marc Bitzer. Whirlpool is also paying more for raw materials, labor and transportation.
Chief executives at CSX and Union Pacific say a lack of truck drivers, equipment and warehouse workers are causing congestion in their yards, forcing the railroad operators to turn down some business during a time of high demand for shipping companies. The railroads are also facing issues within their own operations, from damaged bridges to difficulty hiring conductors, that they say are hampering them from transporting more goods. Link to details via the WSJ.
— President Biden said he would consider deploying the National Guard to assist with supply-chain bottlenecks that have led to shortages and higher consumer costs. A White House official said shortly afterwards that the administration is not actively considering a deployment to ease the supply chain gridlock. "Requesting the use of the National Guard at the state level is under the purview of governors and we are not actively pursuing the use of the National Guard on a federal level."
— Southwest Airlines said that it would adjust its December schedule as it tries to get a handle on staffing shortfalls that contributed to a cascade of cancellations earlier this month. The airline said it now expects its fourth-quarter capacity to be down 8% from 2019, compared with the 5% reduction it had previously planned. The airline also said its schedule for next year would reflect “more conservative staffing assumptions, as well, all compared to historical norms.”
Market perspectives:
• Outside markets: The U.S. dollar index is under pressure ahead of U.S. trading, with the euro the only foreign rival slightly firmer against the greenback. The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note is slightly weaker, around 1.69%, with a mostly higher tone to global government bond yields. Gold and silver are seeing advances ahead of remarks by Fed Chair Powell. Gold is trading around $1,793 per troy ounce and silver around $24.37 per troy ounce.
• Crude oil prices have moved well into positive territory ahead of the U.S. trading day, with U.S. crude around $83.30 per barrel and Brent around $85.50 per barrel. Futures were under pressure in Asian action, with U.S. crude down 32 cents at $82.18 per barrel while Brent was 43 cents lower at $84.18 per barrel.
• Natural-gas prices have shed 19% since hitting a 13-year high earlier this month, reversing some of a run-up that has prompted fears of exorbitant heating bills and higher manufacturing costs at a time of already high prices. A warm start to autumn is behind the decline. With most of the country yet to turn the heat on, gas has accumulated in storage facilities faster than expected and shrunk a deficit that prompted worries over winter price surges and even potential shortages.
• Pain at the pump: Biden admits 'I don't have a near-term answer' for high gas prices. President Biden admitted during a town hall Thursday night that he has no immediate solution to the problem of spiking gas prices and suggested that Americans would not start seeing relief at the pump until next year. “I don’t see anything that’s going to happen in the meantime that’s going to significantly reduce gas prices. According to AAA, the national average price of a gallon of regular gasoline had reached $3.36 Thursday, up four cents from the average on Monday. The organization noted that no state had an average gas price lower than $3 per gallon.
• Gold and silver markets have finally awakened to the fact global inflation is rising and probably won’t be just transitory, notes market analyst Jim Wyckoff. Gold prices have been trending higher since late-September and silver prices this week hit a six-week high. History shows hard assets like the precious metals become more in favor as an inflation hedge when consumer and producer prices are rising.
• NWS weather: A trio of Pacific storm systems to produce copious amounts of rain and mountain snow in the Northwest and California this weekend... ...Severe storms possible in parts of the Southeast; Moderate to heavy rain and severe thunderstorms expected in the Central Plains Saturday in association with a developing low pressure system... ...Cooler than average in the Midwest and along the West Coast; Above normal temperatures persist in the Central and Southern Plains; more seasonal temperatures to return to the Intermountain West and Northeast.
Items in Pro Farmer's First Thing Today include:
• Wheat leads overnight price strength
• China encouraging coal production but cracking down on price gouging, speculation
• China makes rare diesel purchase
• U.S. intelligence report warns about the geopolitical costs of climate change
• ADM to sell Peoria, Illinois ethanol plant
• Larger placements expected again for September
• Cold Storage Report also out this afternoon
• Slow developing cash cattle market
• December hogs extend discount to cash
POLICY FOCUS
— House Ways & Means chairman meets with Sinema on tax and revenue proposals for BBB/reconciliation measure. Ways and Means Chairman Rep. Richie Neal (D-Mass.) met Thursday with Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.). Neal said he explained to Sinema his point of view — that raising rates is the most efficient way to generate revenue. Sinema was non-committal, he said. Neal informed told Sinema that, at this late point in the process, asking for new proposals like mark-to-market taxation — whereby the government taxes assets at their value each year instead of upon sale — is quite difficult. “It's the ninth inning,” Neal said. “When are you gonna vet these issues? … I still think there's a long ways to go. The conversation was really good. … If you're going to start offering other options, you're going to have to have time to vet all of it right? I mean I think that that's a minimal requirement, right, so that we have a public understanding of what is being asked.”
Reports note that Sinema is willing to support tax increases that would target rich Americans and large companies. She has reportedly agreed to provisions in each of President Biden's four proposed revenue categories — international, domestic corporate, high net worth individuals, and tax enforcement — providing revenue to fully pay for a budget reconciliation package.
— President Biden said he doesn’t think there are enough Democratic votes to raise tax rates in a deal on his economic agenda, but that he believes he’ll reach an agreement on the overall legislative package. “I don’t think we’re going to be able to get the vote,” he said in response to a question about individual and corporate rates at a CNN town hall yesterday. A White House official said Biden was referring only to corporate tax rate increases, not other potential provisions to raise federal revenue, including other tax proposals. Biden also acknowledged that two provisions of the large social-spending bill he calls “Build Back Better” had been curtailed. An initiative to provide paid family leave would be slashed to just four weeks from 12, he said, and a proposal to make community college free would be eliminated. He said he would push for increasing Pell grants for lower-income college students instead.
Biden also said getting all dental, vision and hearing provisions he wants in the deal on his economic agenda is “a reach.” But, the president said they might get an $800 voucher on dental from Medicare, but there’s no deal yet. Biden said he thinks something on hearing will be in the deal, which Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) supports, and pointed out hearing is tied to dementia. Biden said vision is harder and there’s no consensus.
— Biden said Democrats plan on maintaining $150 billion for a Clean Electricity Performance Program, despite opposition from Sen. Manchin who he said “is open to my convincing him that I can use [the package] to increase environmental progress.”
— White House presses to get House vote next week on both BIF and BBB, ahead of Biden’s trip to Europe. White House officials are urging Democratic congressional leadership to move toward a House floor vote next week on both the bipartisan infrastructure bill (BIF) and the Build Back Better (BBB) reconciliation package, Punchbowl News reports. The votes would also have political overtones ahead of the Nov. 2 Virginia gubernational battle between Democrat Terry McAuliffe and GOP challenger Glenn Youngkin.
Comments: Most observers think the timeline while not impossible is improbable. President Biden told CNN’s Anderson Cooper that “I do think I’ll get a deal” before he heads to Europe. That is different from actual votes. In the Senate, Sens. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) remain in focus. Biden admitted during a CNN town hall on Thursday that in a 50-50 Senate, every senator “is a president. Every. Single. One. So, you got to work things out.”
BIDEN ADMINISTRATION PERSONNEL
— Add USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack to list of those seeking workers… thousands of them. USDA is faced with agency staffing challenges including several of President Joe Biden’s undersecretary nominees waiting for Senate confirmation. Vilsack, who previously served in the same role for nearly eight years under President Barack Obama, said his department is operating with 3,000 to 4,000 fewer employees than when he last filled the post.
Vilsack noted the meager number of undersecretaries he can lean on — two. So far, Congress has only confirmed Undersecretary for Rural Development Xochitl Torres Small and Undersecretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs Jennifer Moffitt. “There are several undersecretaries who have been nominated, who are sitting in the Senate, waiting for confirmation,” Vilsack said Wednesday at the Griffieon Family Farm in Ankeny, Iowa, according to Bloomberg.
Some Republicans have raised concerns about USDA staffing shortages. A group of 11 GOP House members, led by Rep. Michael Cloud (R-Texas), highlighted issues at the Farm Service Agency (FSA) in particular. “Countless farmers in our districts have reached out concerned about staffing shortages in their local Farm Service Agency (FSA) offices,” the lawmakers wrote in a September letter to FSA Administrator Zach Ducheneaux. Vilsack told reporters last month that USDA has hired “a lot of new folks recently” at FSA, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, and other agencies. However, USDA contacts say there are FSA offices in the country that face shortages and additional ones stemming from the vaccine mandate to take effect soon.
Vilsack said USDA is employing different tools to combat the staffing problem, such as direct-hire authority to get employees on board more quickly, he added. The fiscal 2022 appropriations for USDA should also include resources to help boost employee numbers, Vilsack said. That measure may not be resolved until later in the year.
Meanwhile, the FSA has nixed a request by an association representing FSA employees for an exemption from the federal government’s vaccine mandate. The National Association of FSA County Office Employees, which represents about 6,700 employees, asked that county office employees be allowed to choose regular testing instead of vaccination. FSA Administrator Zach Ducheneaux said he fully supports President Joe Biden’s executive order requiring vaccines for federal employees.
CHINA UPDATE
— Evergrande averts default. China Evergrande Group made an overdue $84 million interest payment to international bondholders, the state-owned Securities Times reported today, an unexpected move that allows the property company to stave off a default. Evergrande was nearing the end of a 30-day grace period before bondholders could send a notice of default to the company after it failed to make the interest payment on about $2.03 billion of dollar bonds on Sept. 23. A default on those bonds would likely have spiraled into the biggest corporate default in Asia. The money was originally due on September 23; it would have officially defaulted if it hadn’t paid up by this weekend.
— Biden says the U.S. would defend Taiwan from attack by China. President Biden said the U.S. has a commitment to protect Taiwan and would come to its defense if attacked by China. “China knows the U.S. has the most powerful military in the world,” Biden said at the CNN town hall, adding what he worries about is China engaging in activities where they may make a serious mistake.
The White House scrambled to reaffirm the status quo after Biden said that America would defend Taiwan were mainland China to attack. America’s long-standing position is merely to aid Taiwan’s “self-defense” while keeping its military commitments vague. This is the second time since August that Biden’s remarks had to be walked back. China has become increasingly aggressive towards the island, which it considers its own.
— U.S. is aiming for a video conference between Biden and Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in November, Reuters reports, citing two unidentified sources. The agenda for the summit likely won’t be set until after the U.S. consults with allies at the G20 meeting in Rome and the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow.
— A group of 43 countries denounced China’s human rights record at the United Nations yesterday, criticizing Beijing for its detainment of Uyghurs in the western region of Xinjiang.
— China encouraging coal production but cracking down on price gouging, speculation. China is pushing coal miners to maximize output and hiking imports in an attempt rebuild stockpiles before the winter heating season amid the country’s energy crunch. But China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) will send teams of inspectors to major coal producing regions to probe the costs of coal production and distribution and will strictly punish firms reaping exorbitant profits. Also, China's securities regulator has said it would ask futures exchanges to raise fees, restrict trading quotas and come down heavily on coal price speculation. China's Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange widened the trading limits on some thermal coal futures contracts to 14% from 10% as of today.
— China makes rare diesel purchase. China’s state-run China National Offshore Oil Corp. booked two cargoes of diesel for import in November, according to trade sources cited by Reuters. Tight domestic supplies and high prices prompted the rare Chinese buying of diesel.
ENERGY & CLIMATE CHANGE
— U.S. intelligence report warns about the geopolitical costs of climate change. The report (link) says rising global temperatures pose a growing national-security risk, as nations battle over who will pay for climate-related costs, maneuver for advantage in a melting Arctic and grapple with drought and migration. Poor nations disproportionately affected are already seeking help from wealthier ones. In the years ahead, the report predicts, China — the largest emitter of greenhouse gasses — and India, the fourth largest, will struggle to wean themselves from coal. Some countries could unilaterally deploy geoengineering technologies to cool their climates, potentially sparking conflict. Global competition will also grow over access to minerals and technologies key to producing renewable energy. China is in a strong position to compete, the report says, as it controls more than half of the global processing capacity for such resources, including rare earth minerals used in wind turbines and others used in electric-vehicle batteries. The intelligence assessment comes ahead of a global climate summit that begins in Glasgow, Scotland, on Oct. 31.
— ADM to sell Peoria, Illinois ethanol plant. ADM announced it will sell its Peoria, Illinois, ethanol plan to BioUrja, a commodity trading firm. ADM said the sale will trim 135 million gallons from their annual ethanol capacity.
— FERC clears increases in LNG production. Increased production capacity at two liquefied natural gas (LNG) production facilities has been cleared by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), with the regulatory determining the increases will not cause any environmental impacts. FERC authorized Corpus Christi Liquefaction in Texas to boost its LNG production capacity to 875.16 billion cubic feet per year (767 billion cubic feet prior), about a 14% rise, and for Sabine Pass Liquefaction in Louisiana to boost capacity to 1,661.94 billion cubic feet per year (1,509 billion cubic feet prior), about a 10% increase.
— Reuters: FTC extending approval process for oil and gas mergers. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has extended the approval process on at least five oil and gas mergers and acquisitions in the last three months, Reuters reported, based on a review of regulatory filings. The report noted that mergers in the oil and gas sector are rarely subjected to extended reviews by regulators as most times the companies’ output is sold in a market that is global so there is typically little impact on energy prices that are governed by global supply and demand. The delays in approvals have come typically from second requests for information from FTC, an action that can delay regulatory clearance by several months. The report indicated that second requests on transactions involving gas stations and pipelines are far more common than they are for mergers of oil and gas producers.
The situation is likely a result of the Biden administration asking the FTC to investigate the rise in energy prices with the regulator responding that it would closely examine gas station transactions but look at the energy industry more broadly. The item noted that the FTC has not challenged a major oil and gas producer merger since 2000 relative to the BP acquisition of Atlantic Richfield. The extended reviews are not an indication the transactions will be blocked but have come as a break from the typical actions by U.S. gov’t regulators and that could cause some pause in energy industry transactions.
— USDA’s Vilsack will meet with European officials ahead of COP26 meeting. USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack will head to Europe for meetings with officials there before attending the U.N. Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow. “Climate change is happening, and it threatens to disrupt our food systems, worsen food insecurity and negatively impact the livelihoods of our agricultural producers,” Vilsack said in a USDA notice announcing his trip. “But at the same time, many of our farmers, ranchers and forest landowners are paving the way and demonstrating the benefits of climate-smart agricultural practices,” Vilsack said. Before COP26, Vilsack to meet with European Union (EU) policymakers, farmers, media and others November 2-3 “to demonstrate the U.S.’ commitment to cooperation with Europe to foster more sustainable, climate-smart agricultural production systems,” USDA said.
LIVESTOCK, FOOD & BEVERAGE INDUSTRY
— Tomatoes from Mexican farm latest to be impacted by CBP order on forced labor. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Thursday (Oct. 21) issued a withhold release order (WRO) on the import of tomatoes produced by Agropecuarios Tom S.A. de C.V., and Horticola S.A de C.V., and their subsidiaries. CBP said the action was taken based on “information that reasonably indicates the use of forced labor against its workers.” The U.S. agency said at least five indicators of the International Labor Organization’s indicators of forced labor were found during its investigation. This WRO will only affect fresh tomato imports into the U.S. from this specific farm and its subsidiaries. Mexican authorities acted against the same farm in October 2020 based on allegations of forced labor conditions. There was no volume of value of the shipments from the Mexican farm to the U.S.
— House Agriculture Committee clears legislation to set up cattle contract library at USDA. The House Agriculture Committee Thursday (Oct. 21) approved bipartisan legislation to establish a library for cattle contracts at USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service, which backers say will help improve price transparency for the cattle market. Sponsored by Reps. Frank Lucas (R-Okla.), Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) and Henry Cuellar (D-Texas), the “Cattle Contract Library Act of 2021” (HR 5609) passed the committee by voice vote and has strong support from across cattle industry. Expectations are that the measure could be melded into a plan for Mandatory Livestock Market Reporting.
CORONAVIRUS UPDATE
— Summary: Global cases of Covid-19 are at 242,597,420 with 4,931,810 deaths, according to data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. The U.S. case count is at 45,301,092 with 733,218 deaths. The Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center said that there have been 408,265,959 doses administered, 189,141,481 have been fully vaccinated, or 57.6% of the U.S. population.
— CDC vaccine advisers vote to recommend booster doses of Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines. Vaccine advisers to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) voted on Thursday to recommend booster doses of both Moderna's and Johnson & Johnson's Covid-19 vaccines. It is now up to CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky to accept or modify the committee's recommendation.
— Covid-19 may have killed up to 180,000 health workers globally, according to the World Health Organization. It estimates that only 40% of the world’s 135 million health workers are fully vaccinated. In Africa the share is less than 10%. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO’s chief, urged rich countries to do more for global vaccine equity.
POLITICS & ELECTIONS
— Biden open to ending filibuster for debt limit, voting rights. President Biden said he was open to “fundamentally altering” the filibuster and losing the 60-vote threshold for voting rights and “maybe more.” But Biden added that if he gets into a fight about the filibuster now, he could lose “at least three votes” on the rest of his agenda. The debt-ceiling 60-vote requirement is absurd, Biden said when asked about the filibuster — which requires 60 votes to cut off debate — at the town hall yesterday in Baltimore. Biden said his focus on securing congressional Democratic support for his economic agenda has distracted him from pursuing police reform and voting-rights legislation.
CONGRESS
— House clears resolution, 229-202, to hold Steve Bannon in criminal contempt of Congress. Just nine Republicans voted with every Democrat. Rep. Greg Pence (R-Ind.), the brother of former Vice President Mike Pence, did not vote. Republicans who voted yes: Rep. Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio (retiring), Reps. Peter Meijer (Mich.), Fred Upton (Mich.), Jaime Herrera Beutler (Wash.), Brian Fitzpatrick (Pa.), John Katko (N.Y.), Nancy Mace (S.C.), Adam Kinzinger (Ill.) and Liz Cheney (Wyo.). The only surprise GOP vote came from Rep. Mace. “I’m going to fight for subpoena powers that no matter who’s in power because we’ve got to have the opportunity and the ability to investigate” Mace said.
— Democrats are discussing another short-term Highway Trust Fund extension until Dec. 3, to avert program authorizations on track to expire Oct. 31. Democrats initially thought they would need additional funding to be allocated, but the sense is that they could move ahead with the patch without an appropriation, reports note.
The following is what’s at stake in terms of furloughs of federal employees if a patch (or House passage of the bipartisan infrastructure bill) isn’t put in place before the end of the month:
OTHER ITEMS OF NOTE
— Republicans press EPA official on WOTUS. Republicans on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee this week focused attention on the Biden administration’s efforts to provide a new definition of what constitutes waters of the U.S. (WOTUS). In a hearing with Radhika Fox, EPA assistant administrator for water, Sens. Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) and Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) focused their attention on making sure that the new definition does not provide additional burdens for farmers. Ernst pressed Fox on whether the longstanding exemption for prior converted cropland would be maintained, with Fox assuring her that it would be. “We are trying to look forward and develop a rule that is fair, that is balanced, and that is durable,” Fox said, reiterating phrasing used by EPA Administrator Michael Regan as he announced the WOTUS rewrite. “We think the ping pong that has happened for far too long on Waters of the United States needs to stop.” Fox said the new proposal should be released before the end of the year and promised “ample engagement with the agricultural community.”
— Increase in Social Security benefits published in the Federal Register. The formal notification of the 5.9% increase for Social Security benefits from the cost-of-living increase announced by the Social Security Administration is published in today’s (Oct. 22) Federal Register (link). The notice details the impact the increase will have on various Social Security payments/benefits.
— A rocket failure in Alaska thwarted America’s latest effort to test a hypersonic weapon. The Pentagon has made a priority of developing suborbital projectiles capable of delivering warheads at speeds exceeding Mach 5 to evade any missile-defense system. Russia claimed to have done so earlier this year and last weekend China was reported to have managed the same feat.
— Judge limits strikers at Deere. Responding to a request by Deere and Co., an Iowa district court judge said that only four UAW strikers at a time can picket each entrance to the company's Davenport Works, and that they cannot bring chairs or use burn barrels to keep warm. Link for details.
