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 Round-up in Washington:  Hundreds of NCBA cattle producer-members will be in Washington next week for NCBA’s annual Spring Conference, March 27-31. This is the cattle industry’s preeminent conference on policy issues.  Attendees will hear directly from top policymakers, meet face-to-face with key Congressional offices, government agency influencers and articulate policy priorities for today’s cattlemen.  Confirmed speakers include U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Portman, USDA Chief Economist Keith Collins, Bureau of Land Management Director Kathleen Clarke, U.S. Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth, as well as other agency leaders and members of Congress and their staffs.  More information is posted at http://www.beefusa.org/convspringlegislativeconference.aspx.

Japan Trade Update:  A USDA technical team will meet with Japanese government officials next week, March 28-29, as talks continue between the two governments toward easing Japan’s temporary ban on U.S. beef. "The United States is eager to provide any additional clarification Japan may request so we can resume beef exports to Japan as quickly as possible," said Ag Secretary Mike Johanns. The team will be led by Marketing and Regulatory Programs Acting Under Secretary Chuck Lambert. Also on the team will be representatives from USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service, Agriculture Marketing Service, Foreign Agricultural Service and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

Congressional Schedule:  Congress is out on recess this week and is scheduled to reconvene on Monday, March 27.  During recess, NCBA cattle producer-members should use this opportunity to communicate with their members of Congress on a variety of legislative issues including:

• Superfund:  H.R. 4341 is gaining momentum in the House of Representatives as cattlemen continue to urge support for legislation that will clarify that manure is not considered a hazardous substance, pollutant or contaminant under the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA/Superfund regulations). This bill now has 81 co-sponsors with 2 new cosponsors, Reps. Tom Latham (R-Iowa) and Greg Walden (R-Ore.), signed on late last week!  Visit http://capwiz.com/beefusa to see a full list of cosponsors.  If your Representative is not yet listed, send a message to them asking them to sign on!
• Endangered Species Act: NCBA and PLC are looking for the Senate to introduce a bill on ESA reform as early as next week.  Producers can visit http://capwiz.com/beefusa/ to send a message directly to Senators urging them to support ESA reform efforts led by the Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee; and producers can visit http://hill.beef.org/ESA/ to share personal stories about how work on their land and operation have been impacted by excessive ESA regulations. 
• Death Tax:  NCBA expects the Senate to reconsider legislation to permanently repeal the Death Tax this Spring.  Now is the time for cattlemen to get back in touch with Senators and remind them of the need to repeal this devastating tax.  Producers can contact Senators in Washington via the U.S. Capitol Switchboard: (202) 224-3121, or send letters to Senators by clicking on http://capwiz.com/beefusa. Detailed information and analysis on the issue is available as well. Also, producers are asked to submit their story to NCBA and take our 2006 Death Tax Survey at http://hill.beef.org/tax.

NCBA Urges Relief Efforts for Wildfire Victims:  Cattle producers in the Texas panhandle region of the United States continue to suffer losses from devastating wildfires plaguing parts of Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Kansas.  Reports indicate as many as 10,000 head of cattle and horses have perished and another 2,500 animals are suffering illness or injury as a result of the fires.  In addition, blazes have destroyed fencing and other structures. Over 800,000 acres of pastureland have burned – an area roughly the size of half the state of Delaware.

The Texas Cattle Feeders Association, the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association and the Livestock Marketing Association of Texas have created the Cattlemen’s Disaster Relief Fund to assist cattlemen affected by wildfires in the Texas Panhandle, as well as similar disasters in other areas of Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico. In addition, staging areas for donated hay and feed have been set up at several locations in the affected areas.  To make a donation, send a tax-deductible check to “Cattlemen’s Disaster Relief Fund” to 5501 I-40 West, Amarillo, TX 79106.  For information on hay donations, contact Burt Rutherford at TCFA at (806) 358-3681. 

NCBA is supportive of indemnity programs for producers affected by devastating disasters and we are urging agency officials make available a similar program for cattle producers affected by the wildfires in Oklahoma and Texas.

United States, European Union Sign Package of Trade Concessions:  The United States and the European Union (EU) signed a bilateral trade agreement March 22 in Geneva on a comprehensive package of EU trade concessions to compensate the United States for tariff increases that resulted from the EU’s May 2004 enlargement.

The agreement reduces several EU agricultural and industrial tariffs to offset increases that occurred when the 10 countries that acceded to the EU in 2004 were required to change their tariff schedules to conform to the EU's common external tariff schedule. Under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), the United States is entitled to compensation from the EU to offset some of those changes. Implementation of these concessions is to go into effect no later than July 1, 2006.  Another element of the agreement gives the United States access to expanded tariff-rate quotas for a broad range of agricultural products, including beef and live bovine animals and sheep.  Visit http://www.ustr.gov for more information.

Kempthorne Named to Succeed Norton:  President Bush announced March 16 he will nominate Idaho Governor Dirk Kempthorne to be Secretary of Interior, succeeding Gale Norton who announced her resignation March 10.  In addition to serving as Governor of Idaho, Kempthorne has served as Mayor of Boise, and as a United States Senator where he chaired the Subcommittee on Drinking Water, Fisheries, and Wildlife and the Armed Services Personnel Subcommittee. The Department of Interior is responsible for managing our national parks and public lands, conserving our natural resources, and pursuing environmentally responsible energy development on federal lands and waters.

Animal Ag Alliance Meeting:  NCBA’s Executive Director of Regulatory Affairs Gary Weber participated in briefings at the Animal Agriculture Alliance Fifth Annual Stakeholders Summit, March 20-22.  This year’s Summit on “Animal Welfare, Antibiotics and Activism: Leadership, Action and Solutions to Challenging Issues” took place in Arlington, VA.  More information is posted at http://animalagalliance.org.

Ag Week is March 19-25:  Celebrated each year on or around the first day of spring, National Ag Day and Ag Week 2006 is HERE! Sponsored by the Agriculture Council of America, National Ag Day and Ag Week events promote and celebrate the abundance of American agriculture, and the role agriculture plays as the backbone of the nation’s economy. NCBA is proud to be an Ag Day Champion sponsor! Visit http://www.agday.org for more info on Ag Day events and for materials you can order or download to promote Ag Day and agriculture in your local community!

BSE Surveillance:  USDA’s Enhanced BSE Surveillance Program continues having already tested over half million high-risk animals for BSE since June 1, 2004.  As of today, the program has tested 652,697 targeted animals at highest risk for BSE and has found only two confirmed cases, evidence that our safeguards are working and the prevalence of this disease in the U.S. 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