Special "value-sized" edition!

Cattlemen's Capitol Concerns
May 19, 2005

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).

Bush Outlines Aggressive Trade Agenda:  NCBA Vice President of Government Affairs Jay Truitt, along with a group of key industry leaders met with President Bush on May 18 where the President outlined his trade agenda for the coming months.  Truitt says cattlemen should be pleased with the President’s commitment to trade.  “Obviously, it is taking us longer than expected to reopen some of our key export markets,” says Truitt.  “But the President assured us that he’s willing to put the full
weight of the White House behind his trade agenda, and that agenda includes trade policies that will be very beneficial to cattlemen.” 

Administration Launches Summer Push for CAFTA-DR:  A top priority for the President is the Central America-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR), and he said he hopes the agreement will see passage in Congress this summer. Administration officials including Trade Representative Rob Portman, Commerce Secretary Gutierrez, National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley and Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove expressed their desire to see CAFTA passed in the House before the Fourth of July recess.  According to media reports, Senate Finance Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) said he intends to schedule a mock markup of the legislation the second week in June and that the agreement should reach the Senate floor in July.

During his weekly radio address last weekend, President Bush called on Congress to approve the U.S.-Central America-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement, saying it will help U.S. long-term economic security. The President also said CAFTA "would help the new democracies in our hemisphere deliver better jobs and higher labor standards to their workers, and it would create a more level playing field for
American goods and services."

Producers Urged to Lend Support:  NCBA producer-members are urged to contact their members of Congress and reiterate why the CAFTA-DR is a great deal for cattle producers. For localized state information for writing letters-to-the editor or opinion editorials in your state, go to the USDA Foreign Ag Service online at http://www.fas.usda.gov/info/factsheets/CAFTA/state.html or visit NCBA’s web site at http://hill.beef.org/cafta or go to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative
online at www.ustr.gov and click on the CAFTA-DR Briefing Book.

Johanns Says Plant Closures Will Hurt U.S. Cattlemen:  During a media call from Hyrum, Utah, Secretary Mike Johanns said he is “deeply concerned about the changes that are occurring in this great industry.”  Johanns was in Hyrum to tour Swift’s E.A. Miller Beef Processing Facility where the continued closure of the Canadian border has already led to the layoff of 66 workers and a 20 percent drop in
the number of cattle purchased from Northwest cattlemen.  Johanns says cutbacks at these plants are causing cattlemen to seek alternatives for livestock processing.  “That may ultimately involve shipping costs into the Midwest, and that makes it very impossible to turn a profit,” said Johanns.  "Some refuse to look beyond the short-term economic benefits of keeping the Canadian border closed.  They don't see the long-term harm to this industry.” 

USDA Calls Meeting on BSE:  The continued debate over reopening the Canadian border and efforts by protectionist groups to call into question the safety of beef has prompted USDA to host a roundtable discussion on BSE in North America and the economic effect on the U.S. beef industry.  "The roundtable will bring together experts from the USDA, producers, packers, academia and others to discuss the
safety of North American beef and the economic impact of border closings,” said Johanns. “The topics of the roundtable will include current science behind the safety of the beef supply, economic activity including markets and job losses and the shifting infrastructure with an eye toward the long-term effects on the global beef and cattle market.”  The meeting will take place Thursday, June 9 from 9:30-noon at the Andrew Boss Laboratory on University of Minnesota's St. Paul campus.  Johanns said the discussion will be open to the public, and producers are encouraged to attend.

Interior Appropriations:  The House is currently debating the Interior Appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2006.  The House Appropriations Interior Subcommittee approved the spending bill on May 10. The bill currently contains language relating to CERCLA/EPCRA reporting requirements under the Clean Air Act that will be beneficial to cattlemen.  But focus is on an effort to remove the BLM’s sale authority for wild horses and burros.  Implemented last fall, the BLM program has enhanced awareness of the horse and burro population problem and promoted adoptions of thousands of animals.  NCBA and PLC are urging ranchers to contact their congressional representatives to urge them to leave the sale authority intact. 

Ag Appropriations:  The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture passed its Ag Appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2006 on May 16 by voice vote.  The bill is now scheduled to go to the full Appropriations Committee on May 25.  NCBA’s top priority is that the agriculture appropriations bill fund continued enhancement of our nation’s animal health infrastructure.  This infrastructure includes the National Animal Disease Center, the National Veterinary Services Laboratory and the Center for
Veterinary Biologics, and it provides for research on animal diseases and monitoring and surveillance programs to protect our animals from the introduction of foreign animal diseases.  Another priority is a request for funding for nutrition research.  NCBA is pleased that the current bill language funds these cattle industry priorities, and we’re hopeful the funding levels will remain in the bill’s final version.

Cattlemen Urge Vote on Judicial Nominee Bill Myers:  The Senate is debating President Bush’s judicial nominees as Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) decides whether or not to invoke the nuclear option to end judicial filibusters.  Producer-members of NCBA and Public Lands Council (PLC) continue to push for a vote on nominee Bill Myers.  Myers is nominated to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which has jurisdiction over nine Western states and over 485 million acres of federal lands.  President Bush nominated Myers to the federal bench last year, but Senate Democrats filibustered and blocked his vote.  NCBA believes Myers deserves an up-or-down vote once and for all. 

“This vacancy in the Ninth Circuit has existed for years while Bill Myers has patiently waited for Congressional approval,” says NCBA Vice President of Government Affairs Jay Truitt. “The Ninth Circuit cannot keep up with its caseload.  Citizens in these Western communities are paying the price because they can’t have their grievances heard in a timely fashion.”  Cattle producers are urged to contact their U.S. Senators and ask them to call for an up-or-down vote on Bill Myers’ nomination.

Carlson Accepts USDA Appointment:  Ag Secretary Mike Johanns announced May 16 the appointment of Merlyn Carlson as the deputy under secretary for USDA Natural Resources and Environment. Carlson will begin his new duties on June 13, 2005.  Merlyn Carlson was appointed director of agriculture for Nebraska in January 1999. In addition to being a former NCBA President, Carlson is a Nebraska Hall of Agricultural Achievement honoree, recipient of the University of Nebraska Agriculture
Contribution Award and a 2004 inductee into the Nebraska Cattlemen Hall of Fame.  Carlson holds a Bachelor of Science degree in agriculture from Colorado State University. Until recently, he operated a ranch in western Nebraska, where he also raised corn, wheat and alfalfa. He and his wife, Janice, have two grown daughters, Debra and Chris.

Death Tax Summit: The Family Business Estate Tax Coalition (FBETC), of which NCBA is co-director, held a Capitol Hill Summit for Permanent Death Tax Repeal on May 17.  Speakers included Senator Jon Kyl (R-AZ); Rep. Kenny Hulshof (R-MO); Michael E. Meece, Special Assistant to the President and Deputy Director of Public Liaison, The White House; and Rep. Robert "Bud" Cramer, Jr. (D-AL). The Senate is expected to vote on permanent repeal legislation this spring. NCBA will continue to work with Senate offices in support of S.420, The Death Tax Repeal Permanency Act, introduced by Senators Kyl and Nelson. This legislation is the companion legislation to the 2005 House bill which passed in the House April 13.

U.S. WTO Membership: The House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Trade held a hearing May 17 to review U.S. participation in the World Trade Organization (WTO).  Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Peter Allgeier was among the witnesses.  WTO countries are currently in the ninth round of negotiations, called the Doha Development Round, which was launched in Doha, Qatar, November 2001. Every five years, the president must submit a report regarding U.S. participation in the WTO. Congress received this report, “2005 Trade Policy Agenda and 2004 Annual Report of the President’s Trade Agreements Program,” in March.  The report is posted online at http://www.ustr.gov/Document_Library/Reports_Publications
/2005/2005_Trade_Policy_Agenda/Section_Index.html.

NCBA members believe U.S. WTO membership is essential for continued development and expansion of market access for U.S. beef products. This spring, the Committee on Ways and Means must consider H. J. Res. 27, a joint resolution introduced this March which could take the U.S. out of the agreement.  NCBA members are in opposition to this resolution and are in strong support of the WTO. We are looking
forward to continued negotiations, breaking down prohibitive trade barriers and opening doors for our U.S. beef products.  Congressman E. Clay Shaw, Jr. (R-FL), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Trade of the Committee on Ways and Means, stated upon announcement of the hearing: “The WTO has proven to be a useful forum for building trade relationships and working out disputes.  I cannot imagine
anyone seriously thinking that we are better off without the WTO, but it is important that Congress continually review and oversee how the system works.”

ESA Hearing: The Senate’s Environmental and Public Works Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife and Water held an oversight hearing May 19 on the Endangered Species Act.  Sen. Lincoln Chafee (R-RI), subcommittee chair, called the hearing where top Bush administration officials, property rights advocates and environmentalists testified on efforts to reform the Act.  Earlier this year, Chafee
joined with House Resources Committee Chairman Richard Pombo (R-CA), Sen. Mike Crapo (R-ID) and Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR) to say they would work together to "improve and update" the act, which they criticized for listing thousands of species but recovering less than one percent.  NCBA and PLC support the more efficient recovery of species, sound science in decision-making and general improvements
which reduce the regulatory and litigious burden on landowners. 

Canadian Cattlemen Visiting: A delegation of Canadian Cattlemen, led by John Masswhol, Director of International Relations for the Canadian Cattlemen's Association, are visiting Denver, Greeley and Fort Collins, Colorado this week for meetings with area businesses, agricultural reporters and political leaders. The meetings were set up to explain one-on-one the Canadian cattle industry's perspective on the U.S. border closure to live Canadian cattle trade. Among key points the group is discussing:
- Processing capacity is moving from the U.S. to Canada making U.S. plants less competitive.  Since the border closure, Canada has expanded its domestic slaughter capacity by 14 percent, as well as increased the number of cattle slaughtered by 24 percent from 2003 to 2004.
- There is no “wall of beef” waiting to cross the border.  Fewer than 200,000 cattle would have been available for export if the borders had opened on March 7, 2005. The number of cattle ready for export is less than two days worth of slaughter in the U.S.
 - Canada’s beef and cattle are safe.  Canada’s feed ban and food safety measures are scientifically-based and designed first and foremost to protect human and animal health.
 
Grazing Practices Handbook: NCBA and USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service have developed a Grazing Management Handbook with the goal of helping to promote sustainable livestock operations through environmental stewardship.  The handbook provides producers nationwide with direct access to information on how to best conserve the resources in their care.  It outlines the on-the-ground practices that any livestock operator could implement to improve resource conditions and wildlife habitat on their private lands.  The Grazing Management Handbook can be accessed on NCBA’s policy web site at: http://hill.beef.org or NRCS’s web site at:  http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/.

Producers Reminded to Comment on Animal ID: USDA needs producer input on their Animal ID discussion papers by June 6, 2005. NCBA urges producers across the country to participate in the discussion on this issue and submit comments on the USDA’s NAIS Draft Strategic Plan and the NAIS Draft Program Standards.  Of particular importance, producers need to address the questions posed by USDA regarding a private-sector animal ID system.  Producers can submit comments on line or via regular mail:
- EDOCKET: Go to http://www.epa.gov/feddocket to submit or view public comments, access the index listing of the contents of the official public docket and to access those documents in the public docket that are available electronically.
Once you have entered EDOCKET, click on the "View Open APHIS Dockets" link to locate this document.
- Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Please send four copies of your comment (an
original and three copies) to
Docket No. 05-015-1
Regulatory Analysis and Development
PPD, APHIS, Station 3C71
4700 River Road, Unit 118
Riverdale, MD 20737-1238.
Please state that your comment refers to Docket No. 05-015-1.  More information is posted on USDA’s Animal ID web site at http://www.usda.gov/nais.

Producers Reminded to Comment on EQIP:  NCBA reminds producers to submit comments on USDA’s Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). Written comments will be accepted through June 5. USDA-NRCS will use the information gathered from the sessions to prepare for the 2006 program year.  More information is posted at
http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/news/index.html#eqiplisteningsession.

Mark Your Calendars for NCBA-PAC Golf Tournament!:  Tuesday, July 26 is the date of the NCBA-PAC Golf Tournament at NCBA’s Summer Conference in Denver, Colorado.  The tournament will be held at Arrowhead Golf Club in Littleton, CO.  The ticket price is $150.00 and includes transportation, green fees, cart rental, range balls, on course refreshments and a chuck wagon buffet.  All proceeds will benefit NCBA-PAC/PEF.  NCBA-PAC makes the voices of cattle producers heard on Capitol Hill by supporting members of Congress who speak for and protect our policy initiatives.

USDA Surveillance for BSE: USDA continues its enhanced BSE surveillance program which began June 1.  To date, 354,871 tests have been conducted with no positive cases reported.  APHIS’s goal is to test as many cattle from the high-risk population as possible in a 12- to 18-month period. Testing 268,500 animals would 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

This publication is funded by cattle producers and other industry supporters through their voluntary membership contributions to NCBA. To join the tens of thousands of cattle producers from across the U.S. in working to preserve our legacy, contact NCBA Member Services at 1-866-BEEF-USA or Membership@beef.org.

For more information, please visit our web site at hill.beef.org.
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