The Government Shutdown is Over...Now What?
By Jordan D. Dux, Senior Director of National Affairs
The longest federal government shutdown in U.S. history, 43 days, came to an end this week as a bill funding the federal government through late January 2026 was passed by Congress and signed by President Trump. While many of you reading this might not have noticed much of a change to your day-to-day lives, (thank you to our founding fathers for implementing a system of government that remains, even though it may not feel like it, limited in scope) disruptions were felt by those attempting to utilize USDA-FSA services, airports, and many other federal services. An example of the craziness of the entire situation hit me as I watched a quick video of federal researchers being knocked around a research aircraft being flown through Hurricane Melissa several weeks ago and I was reminded that these folks were amongst those not being paid during the shutdown. While both sides of the political aisle have been at fault for shutdowns in the past, and this is not in any way an attempt for me to place political blame on this go-around, I want to simply remind everyone that not a single government shutdown ever in the history of the United States has ever saved tax payers a dime. In fact, they cost the taxpayers and the U.S. economy billions in wasted dollars as protocols are implemented, and federal contracts are not paid. While government shutdowns can be used to prove a political point, don't think for a minute that it saves you any money. Okay...soapbox-style rant over.
The biggest question yet to be answered is also probably the most basic; what's next? While the answer to that question is always complicated, know that our answer is pretty simple. It's time for Congress to get to work.
That isn't to say that Nebraska's Congressional Delegation and their staff have been on vacation over the past few weeks. I know for a fact that each member of the delegation spent time in D.C. working with their colleagues, trying to end the stalemate and met with constituents in the state. I also know that their staff members answered each and every phone call I made to their offices and continued working without a paycheck. But now that the slow wheels of the federal government are spinning again, the entire Farm Bureau family is ready to cross a number of issues off our collective "To-Do" list.
First and foremost, getting Senator Deb Fischer's and Congressman Adrian Smith's bills that allow for the sale of E15 year-round is at the top of that list. I’m often asked if getting this issue finally fixed would result in considerably more corn being used to make ethanol, and the answer is a strong ‘yes!’ Remember, because old and outdated laws limit the sale of E15 during the summer, yearly waivers must be submitted. The EPA can approve those waivers, but not fix the underlying issue itself. This constant regulatory uncertainty makes fuel retailers less likely to make the necessary investments needed to universally replace E10 with E15 at fuel pumps across the country.
According to data from the American Corn Growers Association, replacing E10 with E15 would translate to 6.8 billion more gallons of ethanol being consumed, or roughly 2.4 billion bushels of corn a year. To put that into perspective, the U.S. utilized 5.6 billion bushels of corn to make ethanol in 2023. With U.S. production continuing to hit records, increasing domestic consumption of U.S. corn would certainly be an economic winner for both U.S. corn farmers, ethanol producers, and the U.S. economy.
While we were able to get close at the end of 2024, finally getting a legislative fix to this issue has been elusive for years. Following several discussions directly with Senior members of the Trump administration, including USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins, we are hopeful continued pressure from the White House will help Congress get this legislation across the finish-line.
Outside of year-round E15 legislation, Nebraska Farm Bureau also remains committed to securing a fix to California's and Massachusetts' misguided and unnecessary animal welfare laws, which only serve to increase costs for producers and consumers alike. While a fix has been in the works for the past several years, including in the House version of a new Farm Bill, passage of the fix remains difficult.
Lastly, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention our ask to provide some level of economic stabilization for crop farmers. While economic aid is always a tough subject, we know that current commodity prices combined with record high input prices are providing a considerable squeeze on the budgets of farm families across our state. Know that our ask for such assistance also acknowledges that continued asks are unsustainable and must be combined with the aforementioned policies as well as sound trade policy, to help ensure Nebraska’s farmers and ranchers are rewarded by the marketplace rather than the federal government.
Nebraska Farm Bureau President Mark McHargue said it best earlier this week, following the bill reopening the federal government being signed into law, “Nebraska Farm Bureau has a long legislative to-do list including securing year-round E15, providing a federal fix to unnecessary state animal welfare laws, and securing the financial future of our state's farm and ranch families. It's time to get to work!”