GOP Budget Requires No Farm Bill Cuts; Reducing Wildfires
**Republicans released a fiscal 2018 budget resolution that would clear the way for $1.5 Trillion in tax cuts while requiring no reduction in farm bill spending.
According to Agri-Pulse, the resolution would allow GOP leaders to use the budget reconciliation to pass a tax bill with a simple majority, not the 60 votes normally required to overcome a filibuster.
Congressional Republicans joined President Trump last week in proposing tax cuts that include eliminating the estate tax and reducing the top tax rate for farming operations and other small businesses to 25%.
**A pair of hearings mere hours apart both came to the same conclusion: More needs to be done to make sure wildfires are adequately addressed.
But whether the answer lies in providing more money to the U.S. Forest Service, slashing bureaucratic red tape, or some combination of the two remains to be seen.
Agri-Pulse reports the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee listened to pitches for legislation that tries to combat the wildfire problem in the Western U.S. The House touched on many of the same topics, but included discussion about the role of climate change.
**Contentious issues remain in talks on renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement as the U.S., Canada and Mexico concluded a third round of talks in Ottawa last week.
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer says says the negotiations are progressing “at an unprecedented pace”, but negotiators acknowledge much work remains.