supply chain
U.S. House Ag panel mulls safety net changes in farm bill amid soaring costs
WASHINGTON — Members of the U.S. House Agriculture Committee are considering how to help farmers struggling with rising costs for fertilizer, fuel, seeds and chemicals — the unfortunate harvest of the war in Ukraine, strains on the global supply system, inflation and severe weather. A panel of the committee heard from agricultural economists Thursday, as lawmakers debate […]
Formula shortage exposes familiar weakness in our safety net
Last week, the Ohio Department of Health requested that the U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services allow greater flexibility in its social assistance programs around baby formula. The program the Ohio Department of Health is most interested in is the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program, one of the […]
Congress, White House scramble to ease baby formula shortage
WASHINGTON — Both the Biden administration and Congress moved Wednesday to try to relieve a national infant formula shortage, as the White House invoked the Defense Production Act and the U.S. House approved $28 million for the Food and Drug Administration. President Joe Biden said he would use the law to address the formula shortage, requiring suppliers […]
Biden administration looks for ways to alleviate infant formula shortage
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration sought to assuage parents’ concerns over an ongoing infant formula shortage Thursday, though officials couldn’t offer a timeline for when store shelves would be fully stocked again. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the administration is working to “cut red tape,” increase imports of formula and broaden what types […]
Yes, US economy may be slowing, but don’t forget it’s coming off the hottest year since 1984
By D. Brian Blank, Mississippi State University The U.S. economy unexpectedly shrank in the first quarter, according to gross domestic product data released on April 28, 2022. While the reasons were technical and weren’t seen as signs of weakness, they add to worries that the U.S. might be headed for another recession as the Federal […]
Proposed trucking reforms offload costs on public
In April of 2020, the world saw the largest immediate contraction of consumer spending in recorded history. The fits and starts in the bounce back from this contraction is largely a function of the speed at which the world shut down and opened back up again. While 2020 was the year of hundreds of thousands […]
Why are prices so high? Blame the supply chain, and that’s the reason inflation is here to stay
Consumer prices soared in October 2021 and are now up 6.2% from a year earlier – higher than most economists’ estimates and the fastest increase in more than three decades. At this point, that may be no surprise to most Americans, who are seeing higher prices while shopping for shoes and steaks, dining at restaurants […]
Easing of supply chain problems to start with backed-up seaports, White House says
The first seaport to improve its facilities following passage of the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill could be in Savannah, Ga., a senior Biden administration official said Tuesday. President Joe Biden has yet to sign the measure, which Congress sent to Biden’s desk late last week, funding improvements in highways, transit, ports, waterways, airports and other infrastructure. But […]
Cyberattack on New Hampshire school district illustrates growing threat to states and localities
WASHINGTON — In October 2019, officials at a tiny western New Hampshire school district suddenly realized they had a problem on their hands. The Sunapee School District’s servers, documents and other internal information systems had been locked down by an outside entity demanding a ransom payment. A cyberattack, like the Colonial Pipeline one that spurred days […]