Cattlemen's Capitol Concerns: April 1, 2004

Cattlemen's Capitol Concerns

April 1, 2004 – SPECIAL SPRING CONFERENCE EDITION!

The CCC is a weekly report from Washington D.C. giving an up-to-date summary of top policy initiatives concerning the cattle industry; direct from National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA).

NCBA Spring Conference: More than three hundred of our nation’s cattle producers are in Washington this week for NCBA’s 2004 Spring Conference. The week-long packed agenda includes briefings from key congressional leaders and Administration officials. This Thursday and Friday, attendees have scheduled meetings on Capitol Hill with their members of Congress and with agency officials to voice their position on issues of importance to the cattle and beef industries. 

Department of Interior Secretary Gale Norton visited with the Public Lands Council and NCBA Federal Lands Committee Wednesday morning.  Offering cattlemen unique access, the Secretary spoke candidly about endangered species issues such as the delisting of the Gray Wolf and the proposed listing of the Sage Grouse.  "We have a responsibility to uphold the Endangered Species Act," the Secretary said. "We want to work voluntarily and cooperatively with you to ensure conservation programs are in place to protect the species."

Rep. Bob Beauprez (R-CO) spoke to the NCBA Executive Committee on Wednesday afternoon and spoke bluntly about policy debates surrounding such issues as BSE, animal ID, tax reform, energy and public land use.  The congressman urged more involvement from cattlemen.  "We need to hear from you more frequently, and we need to hear not just about cattle industry issues, but all issues that might affect the economy" said Beauprez.  "A good economy is in everyone’s best interest…people buy more beef in a good economy."  Some of his more pointed remarks were about the economy and the success of the tax cut package signed by the President last spring.  "Three trillion dollars have been put back in the marketplace.  The economy is up – the Ag economy is up – even after BSE."

House Ag Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) addressed the legislative issues briefing on Thursday morning, touching on top priority issues for cattlemen such as BSE testing, trade, animal ID, and country-of-origin labeling.  Goodlatte applauded the industry for its handling of the BSE issue and said although cattle prices declined following the December 23 announcement, they have remained stable ever since - as has consumer confidence. The Chairman cautioned cattlemen of supporting any special testing regimes in efforts to re-open foreign markets.  "Don’t do anything for our foreign customers that we’re not prepared to also do domestically," Goodlatte warned.  "A cure that’s worse than the disease is no cure at all." 

Spring Conference Press Briefing:  Also Thursday morning, NCBA hosted a press briefing live from Spring Conference headquarters.  NCBA leadership gave an update on the state of the cattle industry and fielded questions on the priority issues cattlemen are discussing in Washington this week.  Speakers included President and Kansas Cattle Producer Jan Lyons, President-Elect and Texas Cattle Producer Jim McAdams, Vice President and Missouri Cattle Producer Mike John, CEO Terry Stokes, and NCBA Vice President of Government Affairs Chandler Keys.  Media asked a variety of questions about resumption of trade and animal ID, but most reporters were interested in our position on private testing for BSE.  "Animal health testing doesn’t guarantee food safety," said Chandler Keys.  "100 percent testing is not warranted by science, and it will take funding and resources away from other legitimate food safety programs."

Town Hall Meeting:  Live from Spring Conference, NCBA will broadcast a Town Hall meeting via satellite from Capitol Hill on Thursday night. The 90-minute broadcast will include updates on NCBA efforts, particularly actions to reopen export markets for U.S. beef, and minimize the impact of new BSE regulations on cattlemen. The broadcast will be moderated by Jeff Nalley, National Association of Farm Broadcasters president, and will feature NCBA President and Kansas cattle producer Jan Lyons, CEO Terry Stokes, Vice President of Government Affairs Chandler Keys and Chief Economist Gregg Doud. 

Phone in with your questions! Cattlemen from around the nation can call-in to the Town Hall meeting using a telephone number provided on-screen with their own questions or comments.  The meeting will be broadcast live on RFD-TV from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm (eastern time) April 1, and a tape of the show will be rebroadcast three times on the RFD-TV channel at six hour intervals, following the start of the initial broadcast.  The program will also be broadcast on Saturday, April 3 at 4:00 pm (ET).

U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Robert Zoellick will brief Spring Conference attendees on trade negotiations and the Administration’s efforts to re-open export markets Friday morning.  Following the Ambassador’s discussion, A BSE forum at USDA will feature a panel discussion between key administration officials. 

Agency Visits:  Friday afternoon, our hundreds of Spring Conference attendees have meetings set up with officials at key agency offices such as Farm Service Agency, Grain Inspection, Packers & Stockyards Administration, Agriculture Marketing Service, Foreign Agricultural Service, Food Safety and Inspection Service, Food & Nutrition Service and Center for Nutrition Policy & Promotion, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Food and Drug Administration, Department Of Treasury, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Bureau of Land Management, Environmental Protection Agency, the White House Council on Environmental Quality, and Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.

Elsewhere in Washington…

Death Tax Summit:  NCBA and members of the Family Business Estate Tax Coalition participated in a Summit for Permanent Death Tax repeal on Capitol Hill Wednesday.  The Senate is expected to vote on the budget package next week which includes money to move repeal of the Death Tax closer by one year to 2009 continuing into 2010. Senator Jon Kyl (R-AZ), Senator Don Nickles (R-OK), Rep. Jennifer Dunn (R-WA), and Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D-HI) spoke about why permanent repeal of the Death Tax is so important.  Cattlemen have long supported full repeal of the Death Tax which has historically prevented many ranching families from passing their operations on to the next generation.

Export Markets Opening:  NCBA has received word that Nicaragua has re-opened its doors to U.S. beef exports. We are expecting the additional countries in Central America to follow suit very soon, including Panama, and NCBA is currently working on resuming the export of U.S. beef variety meats to Mexico.

Taiwan officials announced Wednesday that they will likely end a ban on U.S. beef in the near future.  The U.S. government sent letters last week to trading partners asking them to re-open their markets to U.S. beef.  The letters accompanied the USDA’s response to the International Review Team report on the case of BSE in Washington State which details the measures taken since the discovery of the disease.  "If safety is assured then a decision will be made as soon as possible...and I think it will be positive," said Chen Lu-hung, director of Taiwan’s the Bureau of Food Safety.  At this time, USDA is focusing its efforts on key Asian markets for U.S. beef including Hong Kong, China, and South Korea.  USDA is also focusing on two beef variety meat export markets: Russia and Egypt.

Japan:  USDA is inviting Japanese officials and the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) to engage in a science-based discussion on BSE. In a statement released today, USDA Secretary Ann Veneman said "We have assurances that the OIE would commit to an aggressive timetable to review a commonly accepted definition of BSE and related testing methodologies as well as a common definition of specified risk materials."  USDA sent a letter Monday to Japanese Agriculture Minister Yoshiyuki Kamei proposing the two countries take their debate over resumption of trade to OIE experts. The OIE is the international standard setting body for animal diseases. USDA says, "We have submitted our system and measures to scrutiny by international experts and see no reason why Japan should be reluctant to do likewise."

BSE Surveillance Program:  USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service announced Monday that seven geographically dispersed state laboratories have been approved to assist in the increased surveillance program for BSE.  The one-time increased surveillance program announced by USDA March 15, calls for the testing of approximately 200,000 U.S. cattle over 12-18 months to better determine the level of risk for BSE.  The following laboratories will participate in the increased testing program: 

- California Animal Health and Food Safety Lab System, University of California-Davis

- Colorado State University Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory

- Texas Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory (College Station)

- Wisconsin Animal Health Laboratory (Madison)

- Washington State University Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory

- Athens Diagnostic Laboratory, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia

- NY State College of Veterinary Medicine, Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, Cornell University

USDA’s National Veterinary Services Laboratory in Ames, Iowa remains the national reference lab for BSE and will conduct confirmatory testing.

BSE in the Netherlands:  The Dutch Agriculture Minister announced Monday that a 12-year old animal from a farm in the central Dutch town of Geldermalsen has tested positive for BSE.  This case is the Netherlands’ fourth BSE incident this year, and the 75th since 1997 when BSE was first diagnosed in that country.  The December 23 finding of BSE in a Canadian cow in Washington State is the only case of BSE in the U.S.

Child Nutrition Act:  The House passed S. 2241 Tuesday, reauthorizing the Child Nutrition Act (CNA) programs until June 30, 2004. Parts of the CNA were due to expire March 31, 2004 if not reauthorized. The Senate will now have additional time to work on their new bill without the threat of impending expiration.  The House passed their new bill, the Child Nutrition Improvement and Integrity Act (H.R. 3873) last week.

Dietary Guidelines:  NCBA staff attended meetings of the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC) on Tuesday and Wednesday.  NCBA, along with food and nutrition organizations, are involved with this process to monitor the activities of this committee. The DGAC consists of 13 nutrition professionals responsible for reviewing the Dietary Guidelines for Americans report, published every five years.  This is a broad-based nutrition policy guide which utilizes the latest scientific and medical knowledge to advise the general public on ways to improve overall health through proper nutrition. The future guidelines will also become the basis for U.S. government nutrition programs, such as school lunches. The U.S. Dietary Guidelines process allows everyone concerned about public health to have a voice. We continue to reiterate beef’s exceptional nutritional value.

Budget Conference:  Requests for the Fiscal Year 2005 Budget are being debated in conference this week.  The House began its debate on the budget last week and NCBA sent a letter to key members of congress urging for funding for animal health infrastructure, agriculture programs and USDA activities, especially those related to BSE and animal diseases. 

Media Contact:

Tanya Augustson or Karen Batra at 202-347-0228 taugustson@beef.org or kbatra@beef.org

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