Lawmakers are gearing up to negotiate a new CARES Act to bring relief to rural America.
During the legislative recess, Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley visited 29 of the state’s 99 counties to hear concerns from his constituents.
“I heard from cattle producers who support the Grassley/Tester livestock marketing bill,” he said. “I heard support voiced throughout the state for ethanol assistance as corn prices are still depressed and bean prices aren’t much better.”
The Senator is working with fellow Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst to subsidize feed stock for the ethanol industry in the next CARES package.
“I think that, what’s going to make our appeal credible, besides just the loss that ethanol had and didn’t get any help last time, is if petroleum gets some help, or if we can show that petroleum has already got some help through what was put in the strategic petroleum reserve,” he said.
They also plan to push for more support for livestock producers.
“When we did help in CARES package in March, we didn’t know about depopulation. We were only trying to help livestock through the CCC because of low prices because of the virus,” Grassley said. “Then we have economic loss of the depopulation and so we’re going to bring that issue up when we bring up the next CARES package.”
The future of trade is also an area of uncertainty for farmers. He states that officials believe China will abide by Phase One commitments on good faith; however, the Asian nation’s economy may be a factor to consider.