This week, the House will take up their version of Farm Bill reauthorization when they begin debate on the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management (FARRM) Act of 2013, HR 1947. NARC recently sent a Member release asking members to contact their Congressional delegation in support of amendments to provide much-needed technical policy changes to key [...]
Late last night, the Senate voted 66-27 to pass its version of the Farm Bill. The Agriculture Reform, Food and Jobs Act (S 954), which reauthorizes the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) activities for five years, would reduce current spending levels by $23 billion. This is significantly less than the nearly $40 billion in cuts [...]
The Senate could vote on final passage for a Farm Bill as early as Thursday or Monday after Majority Leader Reid filed cloture Tuesday night limiting debate on the measure. Stalled negotiations around the number of amendments allowed on the floor, coupled with a shortened Senate workweek prompted the procedural maneuver. The House is expected [...]
Last week Sen. Bernie Sanders, introduced legislation to reauthorize the Older Americans Act of 1965 (S 1028), which expired in 2011. The measure currently has 14 co-sponsors, but no Republican support. Sanders introduced a bill half the size last year’s proposal in an effort to focus on reauthorizing provisions with widespread agreement. The legislation also [...]
In a Statement of Administration Policy (SAP) released on Monday, the President said he would support the current legislation being debated this week in the Senate to reauthorize the 2008 Farm Bill. Specifically, the SAP states that the administration supports a farm bill that will “promote rural development, preserve a farm safety net, maintain strong [...]
NARC Releases Economic Competitiveness Planning Report: In partnership with the McKnight Foundation, the Metropolitan Council (Minneapolis, MN) and MZ Strategies, LLC, NARC released Planning for Regional Competitiveness: For Regional Economic Partners in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul Metropolitan Area. Thirty peer regions were surveyed providing a status assessment of current regional economic competitiveness and equity planning efforts nationwide. [...]
Last week, senior staff from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) joined NARC members for a webinar to discuss funding available for regional planning activities through the Investing in Manufacturing Communities Partnership (IMCP) initiative. The IMCP program is an administration-wide initiative that aims to accelerate the resurgence of manufacturing and help cultivate [...]
Both the House and Senate Agriculture Committees will consider their respective versions of the 2013 Farm Bill reauthorization this week. The draft bills, which were released late last week, are similar to proposals advanced in 2012. The House bill, The Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management (FARRM) Act of 2013 makes significant additional cuts to [...]
Statements from Sens. Patty Murray and Johnny Isakson’s made in a meeting with NLC officials indicate that the framework for the Senate WIA reauthorization bill will likely retain the current state and local governance structures, including a strong role for local elected officials and business leaders. They also supported upholding local workforce development areas based [...]
Last week the President nominated a close economic advisory and long-time supporter to lead the Commerce Department. Business woman and entrepreneur Penny Pritzker has served on the administration’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board and is on the board of the Hyatt Hotels Corporation. She has also steered fundraising strategies for Obama election efforts and leads the [...]
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