Politics and views in the United States.

USDA, DHS Secretaries collaborate on a National Farm Security Action Plan. Health advocates worry about the budget megabill's impacts, and Prime Minister Netanyahu nominates President Trump for a Nobel Peace Prize.

TRANSCRIPT

Welcome to 2025 Talks, where we're following our democracy in historic times.

Securing and protecting American farmland ownership, actively engaging at every level of government to take swift legislative and executive action to ban the purchase of American farmland by Chinese nationals and other foreign adversaries.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rawlins says she and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem are collaborating on the National Farm Security Action Plan.

The seven-point policy would increase disclosure of foreign farmland ownership and increase penalties for false filings.

China owns less than half a percent of U.S. farmland, according to the American Farm Bureau, and foreigners own around three percent of American farmland, about 40 million acres out of nearly 900 million.

Healthcare groups say Medicaid cuts in the budget mega-bill will disproportionately impact LGBTQ+ people, almost two million of whom use the program.

Medicaid pays for much of the country's home care, and Jamie Worker with a nonprofit caring across generations says people already wait years to get it.

She says non-heterosexual individuals face additional barriers accessing services like those.

"Not everyone is aware about the services available.

LGBTQ folks are also more likely to experience discrimination while trying to access care needs."

New research confirms the issues the budget presents for hospitals and clinics.

An Urban Institute report projects changes to Medicaid and Medicare mean hospital revenues will fall by nearly $34 billion.

And Tiffany Donaldson with the Connecticut Health Foundation says providers will lose revenue because people won't get the care they need.

We're scared more people are going to lose their coverage, that people because of this are going to be sicker, and that we are going to lose lives because of this.

Around 17 million people are expected to lose their health insurance by 2034 because of the bill, mostly due to new work requirements.

Able-bodied Medicaid recipients ages 19 to 64 must work, volunteer, or go to school for 80 hours a month.

Arkansas enacted Medicaid work requirements like those in 2018.

Kesa Smith-Brantley with Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families says most of those kicked out of the state's program did qualify, but got tangled in the red tape.

We saw horrible examples of individuals who work in the food industry and in other industries where your hours fluctuate.

One month they were eligible and the next month they weren't.

And that was getting individuals removed from the Medicaid roll.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is nominating President Donald Trump for the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize.

He credits the president with brokering the Abraham Accords during his first term and with ceasefire and hostage releases in Gaza more recently.

Netanyahu praises Trump for peace through strength, including the bombing of Iranian nuclear facilities.

"The resolute decision of President Trump to act with us against those who seek to destroy Israel and threaten the peace of the world has made a remarkable change in the Middle East."

The Supreme Court is allowing Trump's plan to downsize federal agencies to move forward, at least for now.

Associate Justice Ketanji Brown-Jackson was the lone dissenting voice, saying this will the federal government as Congress created it.

I'm Edwin J. Viera for Pacifica Network and Public News Service.

Find our trust indicators at publicnewsservice.org.