The Cattlemen’s Capitol Concerns (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 the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA).

Cattlemen Need to Corral Members of Congress Over August Recess:  The House of Representatives is out for August recess, and the Senate plans to recess Friday.  While on August recess, members of Congress will be in their home states through Labor Day.  This gives cattlemen a wonderful opportunity to seek out their Senators and Representatives at home and communicate to them about the importance of the issues below.  For more information on these issues, visit http://capwiz.com/beefusa or contact NCBA’s Washington office at 202-347-0228.

Senate Leaders Call for Tax Relief for Drought-Stricken Ranchers:  NCBA continues to work to support cattlemen suffering from drought and wildfire conditions.  In response to those efforts, Senator Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) and 14 of his colleagues sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson this week requesting that he extend the tax relief for ranchers who were forced to sell off large portions of their herds as a result of the drought in 2002.

Previous NCBA efforts resulted in passage of the American Jobs Creation Act of 2003 which contained a provision to amend Section 1033 (e) of the Uniform Tax Code.  This amendment extended the tax deferment period for weather-related sales of livestock, known as involuntary conversions, from two years to four years.  The amendment also states that the Secretary of the Treasury can further extend the deferral period.   “A further extension of this deferment period is important to the producers in our states who continue to suffer from the devastating effects of drought,” said the bi-partisan group of Senators.  A copy of this letter is posted at www.beefusa.org. 

In related news, NCBA has developed a web-based resource (http://hill.beef.org/drought) so producers can access the latest drought information online.  This web page features a link to the U.S. drought monitor and the U.S. seasonal drought outlook, as well as information on how to contact your local FSA office and general FSA disaster assistance. 

Oklahoma Producer Defends Property Rights at Senate Hearing:  Keith Kisling, a cattle rancher and wheat farmer from Burlington, Oklahoma told a Senate subcommittee that the government should not be over-regulating wetlands or ditches on farmers’ and ranchers’ private property under the Clean Water Act. 

The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee’s Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife and Water called the hearing to discuss the impact of the Supreme Court's decisions in the joint cases of Rapanos v. United States and Carabell v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on "The Waters of the United States."  Kisling says the decisions issued in these cases limit the waters subject to regulation under the Act, and the government needs to act accordingly. 

“The challenge for society in using private lands is to strike a sensible balance between the demands of food production and conservation of natural resources,” said Kisling.  “Regulation has been allowed to proceed unlawfully and directly at odds with teachings from the leading Supreme Court cases.”  Kisling testified August 1 on behalf of NCBA and the National Association of Wheat Growers.  A copy of his testimony is posted at www.beefusa.org.

Death Tax Update:  The Senate is considering H.R. 5970, the Estate Tax and Extension of Tax Relief Act of 2006 which passed the House July 29.  NCBA has worked for decades to repeal the Death Tax which hits ranching families with taxes of up to 55 percent of total assets when the business owner dies.  After failing to move legislation in the Senate calling for full and permanent repeal of the Death Tax earlier this summer, the House began work on compromise legislation. 

The current estate tax repeal is scheduled to reach full repeal by 2010, but in 2011 the exemption level returns to $1 million with a tax rate of 55 percent.  The language contained in H.R. 5970 will make permanent the following relief:

• Estate tax exemption level of $5 million per person/$10 million per couple will be phased in by 2015,
• The value of an estate above exemption level and up to $25 million will be taxed at the capital gains rate (currently this rate is 15 percent, but it is scheduled to increase to 20 percent in 2010),
• Estate values over $25 million will be taxable at a fixed rate of 30 percent,
• Estate values and exemption levels are indexed to inflation, and
• The "stepped-up" basis provision is retained.

In a letter this week to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.), NCBA voiced support for this bill as a small step toward lessening the tax burden on farmers and ranchers.  But NCBA has made it perfectly clear to Congress that we do so with reservations about language within the bill, and that we will only be fully satisfied with full and permanent repeal of the Death Tax.  A copy of the letter to Senator Frist is posted at www.beefusa.org.

Both Houses of Congress Supporting Superfund Bills:  Congress is moving bills in both the House and Senate to clarify that Congress never intended to regulate animal manure under Superfund laws. 

The Superfund laws were created to:  provide for the cleanup of toxic waste dumps and hazardous chemical spills, to force reporting of releases of hazardous chemicals and to enable emergency response.  But opponents of animal agriculture want to apply Superfund laws to livestock operations because of manure emissions.  Superfund laws, CERCLA (Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act) and EPCRA (Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act), already contain provisions exempting fertilizer and other substances used in agricultural operations from their regulations. 

In the Senate, S. 3681 has 27 Senate co-sponsors with Senators Rick Santorum (R-Penn.), Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) and Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) signed on since last week!  In the House, H.R. 4341 currently has 177 co-sponsors with Reps. Jim Marshall (D-Ga) and Mark Green (R-WI) signed on since last week.  Visit http://capwiz.com/beefusa to see a full list of co-sponsors.  If your Senator or Representative is not yet listed, send a message to them asking them to sign on, or seek them out at home over August recess and communicate to them the importance of this issue!

NCBA Members Testify at House Ag Subcommittee Field Hearings:  NCBA cattle producer-members testified at a pair of House Agriculture subcommittee hearings on farm bill development held July 31. The subcommittees are gathering feedback from ranchers in preparation for reauthorizing the Farm Bill next year.

• South Dakota producer Scott Jones testified for cattle producers in Wall, S.D. at a hearing hosted by the Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management.
• Iowa producer Bill Scheitler testified for cattle producers in Sioux Center, Iowa at a hearing hosted by the Subcommittee on Livestock and Horticulture.  Scheitler also testified at a recent Senate Ag Committee hearing in Ankeny, Iowa on July 24.  For more information, visit:  http://agriculture.house.gov. 

NCBA Members Prepare for Senate Farm Bill Field Hearings: The Senate Ag Committee will host a series of field hearings on farm bill development in mid-August and NCBA cattle producer-members have been called on to testify on behalf of cattle producers and NCBA. 

• Oregon producer Sharon Livingston will testify Tuesday, August 15 in Redmond, Ore.
• Nebraska producer Jay Wolff will testify Wednesday, August 16 in Grand Island, Neb.
• Montana producer Bill Donald will testify Thursday, August 17 in Great Falls, Mont.

For more information, visit:  http://agriculture.senate.gov. 

House Approves Conservation Tax Provisions:  The House approved conservation tax provisions within the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (H.R. 4) which passed July 28.  NCBA has been pushing for this language that better protects the agricultural character of the land. 

Of interest to ranchers, the Qualified Conservation Contribution Provision raises the charitable deduction limit from 30 percent of adjusted gross income to 50 percent of adjusted gross income for qualified conservation contributions, provided that such contribution does not prevent the use of the donated land for farming or ranching purposes. The charitable deduction limit is raised to 100 percent of adjusted gross income for eligible farmers and ranchers. The provision allows a taxpayer to carry forward the deduction for 15 years, provided that the taxpayer is a farmer or rancher in the year of the carry forward. The provision is effective for two years through 2007.

EPA Extends Comment Period for CAFO Rule; Announces Webcast:  EPA is expected to issue, on August 4, a Federal Register Notice which extends to August 29, 2006 the comment period on its June 30, 2006 proposed rule.  The proposed rule is posted at http://www.epa.gov/npdes/regulations/cafo_revisedrule.pdf and an EPA Fact Sheet on the proposal is at http://www.epa.gov/npdes/regulations/cafo_revisedrule_factsheet.pdf.   

The notice also announces that the Agency will conduct on August 8 a webcast public meeting on the proposed rule during which EPA officials will explain the proposal. Individuals interested in participating in the webcast are requested to register on the EPA CAFO website at http://cfpub.epa.gov/npdes/afo/aforule.cfm.  Details for the webcast are below:

Tuesday, August 8, 2006
12:00noon – 2:00pm (Eastern time)

This webcast will provide an overview of the proposed revisions to the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permitting requirements (Section 122) and Effluent Limitations Guidelines (Section 412) for Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs). This proposal is in response to the order issued by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in Waterkeeper Alliance et al. v. EPA, and would revise several aspects of EPA's current regulations governing discharges from CAFOs. EPA is seeking public involvement and is using this opportunity to clarify the rule.

Senate Finance Committee Approves PNTR for Vietnam: The Senate Finance Committee voted 18-0 on July 31 to approve a bill that would grant permanent normal trade relations to Vietnam.  The House Ways & Means Committee has not yet held a hearing on the House version of the Vietnam permanent normal trade relations status (PNTR) bill.  Under the terms of the agreement, approximately three-quarters of U.S. agricultural exports – including beef - to Vietnam will face bound duty rates of 15 percent or less, while Vietnam will gain no greater access to the U.S. market.

As part of the WTO accession process, the U.S. Congress needs to vote on PNTR status for Vietnam, rather than granting an annual Jackson-Vanik waiver.  The U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) is pushing for this to be brought up before August recess, but it has yet to be put on the Congressional calendar.  Vietnam hopes to get approval for the final agreement at the WTO General Council meeting in October.  For more information visit:  http://www.usvtc.org/trade/wto.

Peru Trade:  The Senate Finance Committee approved recommendations on draft legislation implementing the U.S.-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement. The Committee decided last week to recommend an amendment that will hold Peru to written commitments agreed upon in January 2006.  The amendment, brought forth by Senator Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), will require the USTR to ensure that Peru reopens its market to U.S. beef based on OIE guidelines as they committed to do before a U.S.- Peru free trade agreement can be implemented. 

USDA Requests Comments on Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program (FRPP):  At an appearance in Elliston, Mont. July 28, Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment Mark Rey announced the release of an amended interim final rule for the Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program (FRPP) with a request for public comment.  FRPP helps landowners protect their land by providing matching funds to help purchase development rights to keep productive farm and ranch land in agricultural uses. Public comments on the rule will be accepted for 60 days from the date the rule appears in the Federal Register.  For more information on FRPP and other conservation programs, contact your local NRCS office or visit www.nrcs.usda.gov. This amended FRPP interim final rule can be viewed at:  http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/frpp.

U.S. BSE Surveillance:  USDA’s Enhanced BSE Surveillance Program continues to test targeted animals identified as most likely to have the disease.  Since June 1, 2004, the program has tested 769,073 cattle and has found only two confirmed cases, evidence that our safeguards are working and the prevalence of BSE in the United States is extremely low.  Testing 268,500 animals can detect BSE at a rate of 1 in 10 million adult cattle at a 99 percent confidence level. 

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