- The Minority Business Development Agency will hold consultations on May 17 about their business development and entrepreneurial services in Indian Country.
- USDA has consultations on Build America Buy America Act impacts on Tribal on May 22-23.
- There were no Congressional hearings last week, but this week, there are four hearings to note: two in the House Appropriations Committee, one from the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, and another in the House Natural Resources Committee.
- There are three new Federal Register notices this week, including a final notification on Child Nutrition Programs.
- The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued a decision about Tribal water rights and water-related infrastructure.
Tribal Consultation/Listening Sessions/Advisory Committee Meetings:
Title of Event: Greater Tribal Community Virtual Consultation Meeting
About: The consultation allows Tribal leaders to provide input on the Minority Business Development Agency’s (MBDA) services in Indian Country, Alaska, and Hawaii and their implications in these communities. The MBDA is a subagency of the U.S. Department of Commerce that promotes minority-owned businesses, and Native American firms.
Date(s): May 17, 2024, (Register here)
Those who can’t make the virtual meeting but would still like to provide comments can send written submissions by June 16, 2024, to regulations.gov.
Click the button below to learn more:
Title of Event: Build America, Buy America Act (BABAA) Purchase Consultation and Listening Session
About: Under BABAA, entities such as Indian Tribes and Alaska Native Corporations must domestically source steel, iron, manufactured products, and construction materials when their projects receive federal funding. USDA is required to seek feedback from Indian Country directly on how the application of BABAA to USDA programs will affect covered Tribal entities.
Date(s):
- May 22, 2024 – Caucus: 2-3 p.m. ET; Consultation/Listening Session: 3-5 p.m. ET. Register here
- May 23, 2024 – Caucus: 2-3 p.m. ET; Consultation/Listening Session: 3-5 p.m. ET. Register here
Click the button below to learn more
Congressional updates
Looking Back:
- There were no Congressional hearings relevant to Indian Country food and agriculture last week.
Looking Ahead
- Hearing: House Appropriations Committee– Thursday, May 2 at 10 a.m. ET
- Topic: Member Day- Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies
- Hearing: House Appropriations Committee– Wednesday, May 5 at 1 p.m. ET
- Topic: Budget Hearing- Fiscal Year 2025 Request for the USDA Farm Production and Conservation (FPAC) Mission Area
- Witnesses:
- Robert Bonnie- Undersecretary, Farm Production and Conservation, USDA
- Terry Crosby- Chief, Natural Resources Conservation Service, USDA
- Zach Ducheneaux- Administrator, Farm Service Agency, USDA
- Marcia Bunger- Administrator, Risk Management Agency, USDA
- Hearing: Senate Indian Affairs Committee– Wednesday, May 1 at 2:30 p.m. ET
- Topic: (Rescheduled) Markup H.R. 1240 Winnebago Land Transfer Act of 2023
- Hearing: House Natural Resource Committee– Wednesday, May 1 at 10 a.m. ET
- Topic: Examining FY 2025 Budget Request for the Dept. of Interior
- Witness: Deb Haaland, Secretary, Dept. of Interior
Nominations
No current nominations to note.
Regulatory/Rulemaking Actions:
Title: Child Nutrition Programs; Meal Patterns Consistent with the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
- USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service has issued a final rule that aligns Child Nutrition Programs with the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
- The rule will take effect on July 1, 2024, and incorporates feedback from stakeholders, including 200 comments on the proposal to add “traditional foods”’ to the regulations.
- USDA also sought feedback on which traditional foods USDA should incorporate in the Food Buying Guide. Some of the responses suggested adding wild game, including moose, reindeer, and caribou as well as plants such as kelp and Eskimo potatoes and fruits like salmonberries.
Posted: Week of April 29
Title: Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request on Importation of Animals and Poultry, Animal and Poultry Products, Certain Animal Embryos, Semen, and Zoological Animals.
- USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) will collect a variety of information from entities such as foreign animal health authorities, U.S. importers, and foreign exporters. APHIS sources of information will include agreements, permits, and declarations of importation to help ensure that imports do not introduce foreign animal diseases into the United States.
- Tribal governments are among the expected respondents by May 28, 2024.
- APHIS’ Veterinary Services (VS) unit’s responsibilities include preventing the introduction of foreign or certain other infectious animal diseases into the United States.
Posted: Week of April 29
Title: Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request on Importation of Animals and Poultry, Animal and Poultry Products, Certain Animal Embryos, Semen, and Zoological Animals.
- USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) will collect a variety of information from entities such as foreign animal health authorities, U.S. importers, and foreign exporters. APHIS sources of information will include agreements, permits, and declarations of importation to help ensure that imports do not introduce foreign animal diseases into the United States.
- Tribal governments are among the expected respondents by May 28, 2024.
- APHIS’ Veterinary Services (VS) unit’s responsibilities include preventing the introduction of foreign or certain other infectious animal diseases into the United States.
Posted: Week of April 29
Regulatory/Rulemaking Actions:
Title: Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC): Revisions in the WIC Food Packages
- This is a notification of a final rule that will take effect on June 17, 2024.
- The changes to the WIC food packages are intended to provide participants with a wider variety of foods that align with the latest nutritional guidance in the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
- Changes also provide WIC State agencies with greater flexibility to prescribe and tailor food packages that accommodate participants’ special dietary needs and personal and cultural food preferences as well as address key nutritional needs to support healthy dietary patterns.
Posted: Week of April 22
- The deadline for comment submissions about this interim final rule is extended from April 27, 2024, to August 27, 2024.
- This interim final rule establishes a permanent Summer EBT Program, starting in the summer of 2024, and allows for meal service for eligible families, who have school-aged children and live in rural areas where no congregate meal service is offered.
Posted: Week of April 22
- USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) seeks comments from the public, including from Tribal Governments, about its study on Understanding Risk Assessment (RA) in SNAP Payment Accuracy.
- One of the key research objectives is to determine if the RA tools create (or relieve) racial disparities.
- The subject of the RA focuses on FNS’ and the SNAP State agencies’ ability to monitor the program for improper over or underpayments.
- Comments must be received by May 9, 2024.
Posted: Week of April 15
Court Decisions:
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit:
Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah & Ouray Indian Reservation v. United States, No. 21-1880, (Apr. 25, 2024).
The Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation sued the United States, asserting claims concerning the Tribe’s water rights and water-related infrastructure. The Court found that a 1906 treaty wherein the United States accepted a duty to “h[o]ld and operate]” certain irrigation systems “in trust for the Indians” imposed trust duties on the United States sufficient to support the claim it had a duty to manage existing water infrastructure. The Court dismissed another breach of trust and takings claims because they were time-barred or because the relevant agreement did not impose sufficient trust responsibilities on the United States.