June 20, 2024

Dear USET/USET SPF Family,

On June 11, 2024, Senator Boozman (R-AR), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, issued a Press Release announcing the Senate Republican-drafted Framework for the Farm Bill reauthorization. Among the Republican-drafted Framework for the 12 titles of the Farm Bill, there appears to be support for many of Indian Country’s priorities. These include increased support and safety nets for beginning farmers (Titles I, V, and X); increased funding for conservation programs (Title II); maintaining the current Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) eligibility requirements and an annual inflation adjustment (Title IV); new mandatory funding for critical water infrastructure and community facilities in rural communities, permanent authorization of the ReConnect Program, and grants for water quality testing (Title VI); doubled funding for agriculture research (Title VII); and updates to the Good Neighbor Authority (GNA) so Tribal Nations can retain revenue generated under GNA projects (Title VIII).

Additionally, the Senate Republican-drafted Framework addresses several priorities raised by members of the Native Farm Bill Coalition that have not been seen in either the House Committee on Agriculture or Senate Democrat 2024 Farm Bill proposals, such as providing support for Tribal seafood processors. The release of the Senate Republican-drafted Framework follows the House Committee on Agriculture mark up on its version of the Farm Bill—H.R. 8467, the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2024—which contains 46 Tribal-specific provisions, and the Senate Agriculture Committee Democrats’ section-by-section summary of the Rural Prosperity and Food Security Act containing 53 Tribal-specific provisions. 

USET SPF will continue to monitor the Farm Bill reauthorization as the current Farm Bill extension expires at the end of this fiscal year on September 30, 2024. We will also continue advocating for the expansion of 638 contracting and compacting authorities for Tribal Nations across all USDA programs and services to be included in the Farm Bill reauthorization.

For more information, please contact Brian Howard, USET SPF Senior Policy Analyst, at bhoward@usetinc.org.

Established in 2014, the USET Sovereignty Protection Fund (USET SPF) is a non-profit, inter-Tribal organization advocating on behalf of thirty-three (33) federally recognized Tribal Nations from the Northeastern Woodlands to the Everglades and across the Gulf of Mexico. USET SPF is dedicated to promoting, protecting, and advancing the inherent sovereign rights and authorities of Tribal Nations and in assisting its membership in dealing effectively with public policy issues.