A group of Midwest Senators is urging the Army Corps of Engineers to communicate better with lawmakers and stakeholders during flood events. Senators Jody Ernst and Chuck Grassley of Iowa led the effort, along with Senators from Kansas, Missouri, and North and South Dakota.

In a letter to the Army Corps of Engineers, the Senators describes issues with communications between the Corps and local levee sponsors and those in harm’s way. The Senators requested the Corps begin sending email updates to all local sponsors of Corps levees in the Missouri River Basin weekly starting within 30 days of receiving their letter. Better communications, the Senators say, “could have mitigated some of the damages,” during the beginning of ongoing flooding along the Missouri River this spring, according to the letter.

During heightened flood events along the Missouri River, the Corps of Engineers hosts scheduled conference calls with stakeholders and media, sometimes daily, with the most recent call scheduled Tuesday. The Corps also generally provides a forecast for the Missouri River once every three weeks. During this spring, that forecast has been updated weekly.

Trade officials from China are in Washington, DC this week as the Trump administration places further pressure on China to reach an agreement with the United States. Trump will increase tariffs on China Friday, saying talks between the two nations are going too slowly. On Twitter, Trump states he will increase tariffs on $200 billion of goods from 10 to 25 percent.

Trade organization Tariffs Hurt the Heartland says the move would cost nearly one million American jobs, and “increase the likelihood of retaliation on American farmers.” China and the U.S. meet this week in what was expected to be the final round of formal talks. Trump is expected to host his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in June, with the expectation the two would sign an agreement.

A spokesperson for China’s Foreign Ministry said Monday the negotiations held so far between the two sides have achieved positive progress, adding, China hopes the U.S. will work to “meet each other halfway and strive for a mutually beneficial agreement on the basis of mutual respect.”

Republican Senators met with President Donald Trump last week to discuss steel and aluminum tariffs and the effect they’re having on possible passage of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement. Bloomberg says the senators talked about economic and political concerns on the tariffs, the negotiations with China, as well as new tariffs that Trump is threatening to impose on auto imports from the European Union.

The group emphasized just how important it is to get Trump’s trade deal with Canada and Mexico passed through Congress. Senate Finance Committee Chair Chuck Grassley told the president they want to work with him to “get past the steel and aluminum tariff issue so USMCA can become law.”

However, Bloomberg says the appeal didn’t seem to work. Trump followed up the meeting with a Twitter post declaring that “the tariffs are working for Pennsylvania,” one of the key states that helped him to get elected. Grassley’s most pointed attack on the president’s tariffs came in a Wall Street Journal op-ed piece. Grassley wrote that Trump’s signature trade agreement is “dead-on-arrival if he decides not to lift the tariffs on steel and aluminum.”

(USDA) U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue on Friday announced the finalists of the 136 Expressions of Interest received from parties in 35 states vying to become the new homes of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service (ERS) and National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA).

Secretary Perdue said that “This short list of locations took into consideration critical factors required to uphold the important missions of ERS and NIFA. We also considered factors important to our employees, such as quality of life. Relocation will help ensure USDA is the most effective, most efficient, and most customer-focused agency in the federal government, allowing us to be closer to our stakeholders and move our resources closer to our customers.”

The top Expressions of Interest were reviewed in detail, and USDA selected a short list of locations offering existing buildings with sufficient space to meet ERS and NIFA requirements. The top three Expressions of Interest under consideration are: the Greater Kansas City Region in KS and MO, the Research Triangle Region in NC, and multiple locations in IN.

Besides the top 3, the USDA says that two other Expressions of Interest remain under consideration as alternative locations should the top three locations not suit USDA’s needs: St. Louis, MO and Madison, WI.

As part of the site selection process, USDA narrowed the Expressions of Interest list using a set of established criteria defined by USDA, NIFA, and ERS leadership. The criteria included: Quality of Life, Costs (Capital and Operating), Workforce, and Logistics / IT Infrastructure.

More information about the site selection process can be found at, https://www.usda.gov/media/press-releases/2018/12/21/perdue-announces-ers-nifa-site-selection-criteria

(NAFB) The U.S. House is set to work on a disaster aid bill that includes financial help for Midwestern and Southern Farmers. The Hagstrom Report says House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer made the announcement last week as the House adjourned until tomorrow. Hoyer says the House will consider H.R. 2157, which is the Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2019.

“The legislation would provide relief and recovery assistance to Americans that have been affected by recent natural disasters,” Hoyer says. “It includes an additional $3 billion to address serious needs that resulted from flooding in the Midwest and tornadoes in the South.”

Meanwhile, Senate Republicans say they have a plan put together that includes $300 million in additional aid to Puerto Rico, which Democrats want. They also say that President Trump has agreed to support the bill. Republican Senator David Perdue of Georgia says that Trump is “on board.” Perdue also told the Washington Post that, “I hope the logjam in Congress is breaking. I honestly think both sides are trying right now.”