Courtney Votes to Lower Food and Fuel Costs for Eastern Connecticut Workers, Families, and Farmers

Today, Congressman Joe Courtney (CT-02) voted to pass legislation that would help shore up the food and agriculture supply chain, ensure fair competition in the meat and poultry sectors, and lower food and gasoline costs for eastern Connecticut residents. The Lower Food and Fuel Costs Act (H.R. 7606) is a legislative package that would provide new support to America's farmers to reduce input costs, increase competition, and lower prices at the grocery store. The bill would also expand farmers' ability to utilize their crop yield for biofuels--giving agriculture producers a larger fuel market to sell into, and lowering prices at the pump by providing Americans with more fuel choices.

The Lower Food and Fuel Costs Act was passed in the House with bipartisan support, by a vote of 221-204.

"Lowering prices and creating economic opportunity for workers and families in eastern Connecticut is job number-one," said Rep. Courtney. "The entire world is battling inflated food and energy prices right now as we emerge from the frying pan of a global pandemic and into the fire of war in Ukraine, but there are steps we can take to control what's in our own backyard and to reign in prices here at home. One of the most immediate and free-market ways to do that is by increasing competition among producers and choice among consumers, and helping our farmers to lower their overhead costs--and the Lower Food and Fuel Costs Act would do just that. This bill would provide a huge boost for all sorts of eastern Connecticut farmers and ranchers, lowering costs for them and for consumers at the grocery store and the gas station. I was proud to join colleagues from both sides of the aisle in passing this important legislation."

The Lower Food and Fuel Costs Act is a six-bill package to bring down expenses for American families by lowering input costs for farmers, increasing meat processing capacity and competition, and expanding the use of biofuels at the pump--a win for American farmers and consumers. Highlights of the bill include:

Ensuring Competition in the Meat and Poultry Industry

Concentration in the meatpacking industry has negatively impacted small and independent cattle producers for years, and has created brittleness in the meat and poultry supply chain that has led to market volatility and higher prices for consumers. The Lower Food and Fuel Costs Act includes two bills to strengthen competition in the meat and poultry sector, and to alleviate the supply chain bottlenecks that allow meatpacking conglomerates to set bad prices for producers and consumers alike:

The Meat and Poultry Special Investigator Act (H.R. 7606) -- Establishes a USDA Special Investigator for Competition Matters in the Agriculture Secretary's office, with specific authority to crack down on anti-competitive practices by meatpacking conglomerates in violation of the long-standing Packers and Stockyards Act. Enforcement of this legislation will lead to greater competition in meat and poultry processing, fairer access to markets for producers, and more price stability for consumers.
The Butcher Block Act (H.R. 4140) -- Expands and creates new livestock and meat processing capacity, alleviating supply chain bottlenecks and providing producers more options to market cattle.
Lowering Costs at the Grocery Store by Lowering Costs for Farmers

Russia and Ukraine are both major global producers of key components for fertilizer, and Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine has driven up input costs for farmers worldwide--driving up prices at the grocery store, in turn. The Lower Food and Fuel Costs Act includes two bills--both voted out of the House Agriculture Committee by unanimous consent--to reduce America's dependence on foreign fertilizer producers:

A bill to provide Additional Nutrient Management Assistance (H.R. 7764) -- Provides additional assistance to specialty and row crop producers to use fertilizers more efficiently, do soil testing, or seek out other sources of plant nutrients through the USDA's Environmental Quality and Incentives Program (EQIP). Includes $500 million in USDA funds to cover 100% of the cost of nutrient management plans for farmers to reduce fertilizer use and lower costs, while also providing resource benefits including clean water and reduced carbon use.
The Producing Responsible Energy and Conservation Incentives and Solutions for the Environment (PRECISE) Act (H.R. 2518) -- Expands USDA loans to farmers and rural entities to help farmers use fertilizers more efficiently through rural broadband and precision agriculture technology. This provision explicitly allows up to a 90% cost share for precision agriculture under the EQIP program. Expanding access to precision agriculture has the potential to reduce fertilizer use and lower costs while also providing resource benefits like clean water and reduced carbon use.
Enabling Farmers to Help Provide Fuel Choices and Lower Prices at the Pump

Expanding the use of biofuels--namely, homegrown American ethanol grown by American farmers--is beneficial for farmers, will help reduce dependency on foreign energy, and will lower prices at the pump for American consumers. Gasoline containing 15% ethanol (also known as E-15 or Unleaded 88) is typically a cleaner, cheaper fuel option that costs on-average $0.40 less per gallon, emits less carbon pollution, burns cleaner than regular gas, and next-generation biofuels infrastructure can make it even more efficient to produce.

The Lower Food and Fuel Costs Act includes two bills to expand access to Unleaded 88:

The Year-Round Fuel Choice Act (H.R. 4410) -- The Biden Administration recently waived the summer restriction on sales of E-15 fuel. This provision builds on that action by allowing for the voluntary year-round sale of E-15 or Unleaded 88, reducing prices at the pump for consumers.
The Renewable Fuel Infrastructure Investment and Market Expansion Act (H.R. 1542) -- Invests $200 million to help deploy additional storage and dispensing equipment to ensure that higher ethanol blends, biodiesel, sustainable aviation fuel, and other biofuels are more readily available nationwide.

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