Washington Report for 2-10-14

By Steve Kopperud

Obama signs farm bill after easy Senate win

After a long and hard fight, President Obama has signed the 2014 Farm Bill. Last week the Senate approved it 68-32.

Obama signed the bill at Michigan State University, a nod to a request by Senate Agriculture Committee Chair Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) to spotlight the nation’s first land grant university.

The Senate floor debate and outcome was predictable, with most Washington, D.C., insiders confident the bill would pass if only because both the House and Senate are tired of dealing with it after nearly three years of back and forth.

Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kansas), former ranking member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, voted against the bill, saying “it’s a bill that goes backwards towards protectionist subsidy programs.” He was displeased that commodity program reforms included in earlier versions of the bill did not survive in the final bill. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) also voted “nay,” unhappy with the way his payment limitation provisions were handled, particularly the decision to hand off defining an “actively engaged” farmer for purposes of program participation to U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) was the harshest critic of the legislation. “How are we supposed to restore the confidence of the American people with this monstrosity,” he said, referencing the bill’s nearly $1-trillion price tag, 80 percent of which is nutrition/feeding program spending. He said the bill spends too much on “farm subsidies,” contains duplicative nutrition programs and special interest pet projects. Several Democrats voted against the measure purely because it contains cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

Former Senate Agriculture Committee Chair Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), chair of the Judiciary Committee, said it best: “This was hard fought. It was as complex an effort as I have ever seen, and I have been on the agriculture committee for close to 40 years.”

Vilsack: USDA set to implement new farm bill

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has been working for months to ready its various agencies to implement new authorities and programs of the 2014 Farm Bill, said Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack.

Speaking to the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture's annual policy meeting in Washington, D.C., Vilsack said, “As soon as the ink is dry on this bill … we will begin to implement it” but acknowledged “it won’t be easy.”

USDA has working groups within each title of the farm bill, the overall project coordinated by Deputy Secretary Krysta Harden. Weekly reports on progress will be sent to Vilsack, who also set up a separate convening group to prioritize program implementation so rulemakings do not get backlogged. USDA will detail staff to the White House for review of proposed regulations.

USDA acknowledged the commodity title will be the heaviest lift because of the wholesale shift in how USDA will provide an income safety net and payments to farmers. The task is further complicated because the department needs to get several of the new crop programs in place with just a few weeks until spring planting in some regions.

House Republican energy for 2014 immigration reform effort disappearing

All of the zeal that House Republicans showed last week while unveiling immigration reform criteria seems to be disappearing as politics trump the policy on how to deal with 12 million undocumented workers in the United States.

However, several major agricultural organizations this week in the form of the Agriculture Workforce Coalition announced they will join with a broader business coalition – Partnership for a New American Economy – to ramp up the push for House immigration reform before the end of this Congress. AWC helped negotiate the ag guest worker section of the approved Senate immigration bill.

At issue is not only the much-publicized “path to citizenship” or amnesty for workers in this country illegally – the House document does not talk citizenship but “legal status” – but also the critical need to increase the number of ag guest worker/seasonal worker visas. A bill approved by the House Judiciary Committee last year would create a new program to allow 500,000 temporary ag workers to enter the country for up to 18 months on an annual basis but does not address their status.

While President Obama said he’s willing to look at all options on immigration reform – referring to the House Republican principles – Republican leaders said the chance of getting a bill through their chamber this year is increasingly doubtful. House Budget Committee Chair Paul Ryan (R- Wisc.), who’s been in discussions with Senate immigration reform leader Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), said last week it’s a matter of “(border) security first, no amnesty, and then we might be able to get somewhere.”

House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) threw cold water on the likelihood of a bill this year when he said the House would take no action on broad immigration reform until Obama shows he’s willing to enforce current law and any changes Congress may approve.

“There’s widespread doubt about whether this administration can be trusted to enforce our laws. It’s going to be difficult to move any immigration legislation until that changes,” Boehner said.

AWC members want at minimum a short-term solution to the need to legitimize over 1.2 million undocumented aliens working in agriculture. They want a functioning guest worker program that provides enough new visas to meet the worker needs of the crop, fruit, vegetable, dairy and meat processing industries.

Ag joins grocery, biotech to push for FDA 'solution' on GM labeling

With an expected 26 state legislatures this year expected to consider at least some form of mandatory food labeling over the use of genetically modified ingredients, 29 national organizations, including the American Feed Industry Association and the National Grain & Feed Association, announced they are part of a coalition to push for a federal solution to the labeling challenge.

The Coalition for Safe & Affordable Food is co-chaired by the Grocery Manufacturers Association and the National Corn Growers Association. It includes American Farm Bureau Federation, the Biotechnology Industry Organization, the American Seed Trade Association, the American Sugarbeet Growers Association, the Corn Refiners Association, National Association of Wheat Growers, National Oilseed Processors Association, National Turkey Federation, North American Millers Association and the U.S. Beet Sugar Association.

GMA organized the coalition after its members spent more than $60 million to defeat a GMO labeling referendum in California and Washington state. The Senate defeated farm bill amendments in 2012 aimed at giving states the authority to set their own GMO labeling standards. A couple of New England states have approved such bills but implementation is contingent upon several other states doing likewise. Those bills do not impact feed and pet food labels.

The coalition will push for federal legislation that achieves these goals: mandatory U.S. Food and Drug Administration review of all GMO ingredients – in concert with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's approval process – before they can be used commercially; federal preemption of state authority to set GMO labeling beyond FDA labeling policy; strict guidance on company labeling for the presence or absence of GMO ingredients; mandatory labeling for the use of any GMO ingredient that has a safety issue, and a federal definition of “natural” when used on human food labels.

The Center for Food Safety, a staunch supporter of broad GMO food/feed labeling, said of the coalition: “They know that the food movement’s power is growing and that labeling is not a matter of if, but when. These companies have failed to win over consumers who overwhelmingly support the mandatory labeling of G Mos and now they’re trying to steal away consumer choice in Congress.”

EPA wades through 15,000-plus RFS comments

More than 15,000 comments have been submitted about the Environmental Protection Agency's proposal on how much domestic bio fuel should be blended with gasoline in 2014 under the federal Renewable Fuel Standard.

The comments cover EPA’s reasoning for proposing a reduction; the overall proposal to reduce or freeze RFS levels for various bio fuels, and whether the agency even has the legal authority to reduce the RFS based on annual levels set in law. The comment period ended last week.

Speaking at the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture, EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy last week hinted at possible “adjustments” in the RFS levels proposed by her agency.

FDA proposes clean truck/rail rule under FSMA

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has published the last of its major rules implementing the Food Safety Modernization Act – a proposal covering the safe and clean transport of food, feed and ingredients by truck and rail.

The proposed rule covers truck and rail transport of livestock and poultry feed and pet foods/ingredients, as well as human foods and ingredients. It covers certain shippers and receivers and carriers that transport food within the United States. Transport is covered whether or not the food or ingredients are offered in or enter interstate commerce, meaning if a shipper moves covered food articles across the country, county to county or just a few blocks, the transport must meet the new sanitation standards.

On the other end of the transport spectrum, the proposed rule also applies to exporters who ship food or ingredients to the United States in cargo containers by ship or airplane and arrange for the transfer of that food to rail or motor carrier, if the food is consumed or distributed in the United States.

The rule contemplates requirements for vehicles and transport equipment, including proposing new requirements for the design and maintenance of vehicles/transport equipment to ensure “it does not cause the food … it transports to become contaminated”; measures to be taken to ensure food is not contaminated, including temperature controls and separation of food from non-food goods in the same load; sharing/exchanging information on prior cargoes, cleaning of equipment and temperature controls among the shipper, carrier and receiver to ensure the vehicles that have previously hauled milk will not introduce allergens into non-dairy foods through cross-contact; training of personnel in sanitary transportation practices and documentation of the training; maintenance of written procedures and records by carriers and shippers on equipment cleaning, prior cargoes and temperature control, and how and when FDA will waive the requirements if it decides the waiver won’t create a situation that could lead to food contamination.

Exempt from the proposed clean truck/rail rule are shippers, receivers or carriers with less than $500,000 in total annual sales; raw ag commodity transport done by a farm; food transshipped through the United States to another country; food imported for future export but not distributed or consumed in the United States; transport of shelf-stable food that is completely enclosed in a container; transport of compressed food gases, and transport of live food animals.

Comments are due by May 31. Following publication of a final rule, small businesses – “businesses other than motor carriers who are not also shippers and/or receivers employing fewer than 500 persons and motor carriers with less than $25.5 million in annual receipts” – will have two years to comply; all other businesses not defined as “small” or not exempted from the rule, would have one year to comply.

FSMA feed rule highlighted by NASDA

The animal food performance standards proposed rule published by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration under its Food Safety Modernization Act mandate needs more time for review and comment, according to the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture.

The rule is complex – 400-plus pages – and needs a second round of comments, the group told Michael Taylor, FDA deputy commissioner for food and veterinary services. “We’re seeing some initial concerns. There are some areas where, frankly, it’s not workable,” the group said. It asked Taylor if FDA could treat the feed rule in the same manner as the produce rule, which was reworked to allow for additional comments. Taylor indicated the agency is looking at options.

The feed industry gets five months to comment on the feed performance standards proposal; the human food industry received 11 months to comment on its version.

Winter spurs propane shortage, price spikes; group, calls on White House to act

The Midwest Governors Association has called on President Obama to help with a severe propane shortage brought on by severe winter weather and to address the price increases brought on by the shortage. The group’s letter was echoed by several members of the House and Senate. MGA represents the governors of Minnesota, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio and Wisconsin.

In Congress, an effort to assist the states and industry is being led by Reps. Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) and Adrian Smith (R-Wis.) and Sens. Al Franken (D-Minn.) and John Boozman (R-Ariz.).

The governors said they’ve been trying to handle the shortages in their individual states by declaring states of emergency, loosening regulatory restrictions and providing financial assistance. They said the federal government needs to also help and urged the president to explore regulatory waivers aimed at increasing supplies, including an extension of the hours of service waiver and temporarily waiving weight limits on the interstate highway system. They also want the Small Business Administration to ease loan requirements.

USDA sends $20 million on California drought; House passes water resource measure

In what are just the first actions in what many believe will be an escalating federal effort to assist drought-ravaged California, the House has approved a bill that would overrule certain water allocation efforts by California authorities, while the U.S. Department of Agriculture sent $20 million to the state to assist with drought mitigation efforts.

The House action, which seeks to overturn some actions taken on water allocation by state authorities and whether agriculture is being treated fairly, has already started a battle within the California congressional delegation. While the House measure is backed by Republicans, House Democrats, including California’s two senators, say the bill is overreaching.

The USDA money will go to ag conservation efforts and comes from the Natural Resources Conservation Service’s EQIP program. The federal assistance will help with a “suite of scientifically proven conservation techniques.”

Missouri AG sues California over egg production law

The attorney general of Missouri has filed a lawsuit in federal court to strike down a California law set to take effect in 2015 that says eggs from hens raised in a manner other than that prescribed by California law cannot be sold in the state. Missouri’s top lawyer, Chris Koster, said the California law infringes on interstate commerce protections by imposing standards on out-of-state farmers.

The California state law on egg sales followed the successful passage of a 2008 state ballot initiative that held egg laying hens had to be raised in cages larger than used in other parts of the country. The ballot item was pushed by the Humane Society of the United States.

The California law was the target of controversial language included in the House version of the 2014 Farm Bill and dropped in conference authored by Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) to federally preempt such laws. HSUS made removal of the King language from the farm bill its top farm bill priority.

Koster said 540 million Missouri eggs are sold annually in California and abiding by the California law would cost his state’s farmers $120 million in capital improvements and a 20 percent increase in ongoing production costs.

“If California legislators are permitted to mandate the size of chicken coops on Missouri farms, they may just as easily demand that Missouri soybeans be harvested by hand or Missouri corn be transported by solar-powered trucks,” Koster said.

Senate confirms Baucus as ambassador to China

Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), chair of the Senate Finance Committee and President Obama’s nominee to be ambassador to China, moved quickly through the confirmation process and was confirmed in the diplomatic post by a 96-0 vote. Baucus announced he would not seek reelection last year.

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) will take the helm of the finance committee, giving up the chair of the energy committee. Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) would likely move to that slot.

Reports indicate Montana Gov. Steve Bullock is likely to name Lt. Gov. John Walsh, a Democrat running for the open Senate seat, to fulfill the remainder of the Baucus term.

USDA sets up climate 'hubs'

The U.S. Department of Agriculture said it is creating seven “climate hubs” around the country to assist farmers, ranchers and forest landowners in dealing with climate change. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack said the “Regional Hubs for Adaptation and Mitigation of Climate Change” will deal with increased risks of fire, flood, drought and invasive pests and are part of President Obama’s Climate Action Plan.

The centers will be located at the National Laboratory for Agriculture and Environment, Ames, Iowa, with a “sub-hub” in Houghton, Mich.; Northern Research Station, Durham, N.H.; Southern Research Station, Raleigh, N.C., with a sub-hub in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico; the National Resources Center, Ft. Collins, Col.; Grazinglands Research Lab, El Reno, Okla.; Pacific Northwest Research Station, Corvallis, Ore., and the Rangeland Management/Jornada Experimental Range, Las Cruces, N.M., with a sub-hub in Davis, Calif. Possible vote this week on the farm bill