Cattlemen's Capitol Concerns: November 4, 2004

Cattlemen's Capitol Concerns
November 4, 2004
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 the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA).

ELECTION 2004:

NCBA Applauds Bush Re-Election: After months of tough campaigns, Election Day 2004 produced long lines at the polls and even longer waits for results. It wasn’t until late Wednesday morning that President George W. Bush was declared the winner capturing 279 electoral votes and winning by more than 3.5 million popular votes. NCBA believes cattle producers and our rural communities will benefit from the long-term results of the 2004 election. President Bush has long-supported policies which help rural communities and small businesses to prosper. He supports tax relief for small businesses, personal property rights, and has fostered an aggressive trade policy opening markets worldwide for our products. Furthermore, President Bush is committed to working with producers and our industry on efforts to better ensure the health of our cattle herd.

NCBA would like to applaud the thousands of cattle industry volunteers who worked during the campaigns to help educate friends and neighbors about candidates’ positions and how those positions affect agricultural communities. Rural Americans came out strong at the polls this week, and those votes were crucial in this election. "We believe that’s what democracy’s all about – having the ability to participate in the political process," says NCBA President and Kansas cattle producer Jan Lyons. "The issues we face as cattle producers are important to our country and our nation’s economy. We’re confident that our voices are being heard, and our focus now turns to the future." NCBA will continue to work for cattle producers across the country on policies that will affect the bottom line. As we look to the future, the focus is on unifying our industry. The time has come for us to come together, to move forward, and continue to work for policies that will improve the profitability of America’s ranchers and farmers.

Historic Election Figures: This election was historic in many ways: President Bush's margin of victory makes him the only candidate since 1988 to win with a majority of the popular vote, and – even more impressive - President Bush received more votes in this election than any presidential candidate in our country's history.

Election 2004 was also historic for America’s cattle producers and members of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA). On Aug. 13 at their Board of Director’s meeting, NCBA members approved a directive instructing the NCBA PAC to formally endorse and financially support the Bush-Cheney ticket. Never before in NCBA’s 106-year history have they formally endorsed a candidate, and NCBA was the only agriculture organization to do so.

Congressional Races and Agriculture: Changing seats in the U.S. Congress are a large factor in determining the priorities of agricultural and trade policies over the next few years. The Republicans will remain in control of both the House and the Senate, and have extended their level of control. The next Senate will have 55 Republicans, 44 Democrats and one independent. Republicans gained four seats in the Senate, winning all but one of the nine closest races. They won all five open southern seats, and in South Dakota, popular challenger John Thune defeated Minority Leader Tom Daschle. Sen. Zell Miller (D-GA) and Sen. Peter Fitzgerald (R-IL), both Agriculture Committee members, stepped down and their seats were picked up by new members of opposing parties. In the House, the Republicans have at least 231 seats, the Democrats have 201 seats, with one independent. Following House elections, two Louisiana contests are still to be decided in a Dec. 4 runoff. Redistricting in Texas dealt blows to senior Democrat Charles Stenholm, former Ranking Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee. The 2004 results mark the largest number of House Republicans elected since 1946.

Japan Export Requirements: USDA's Ag Marketing Service (AMS) hosted a meeting Nov. 3rd in Kansas City to explain the requirements needed to support the new Japanese Beef Export Verification (BEV) program. As part of the Oct. 23 framework agreement between the two countries, USDA is completing additional research regarding maturity and bone ossification to validate the age of cattle 20 months or younger. Japan will accept this maturity qualification upon the completion of this additional research. In addition to birth records, the Japanese will accept records using insemination date, group age verification or USDA Process Verified animal identification and data collection services that includes age. While the Japanese are familiar with the BEV program and have information about it, it hasn't officially been accepted. A technical team from Japan is expected to come to the U.S. where the program formally will be presented to them for review, but the date of this visit has not been set. Japan will not resume accepting U.S. beef until Japan has completed its transition away from 100 percent testing to testing of animals 21 months of age and older. This process is currently underway.

2005 Conservation Program Sign-up: This week, the USDA announced cattle producers in 202 watersheds nationwide are invited to participate in the 2005 round of the Conservation Security Program (CSP). According to the USDA, sign-ups will likely begin this winter. The CSP is a voluntary program that provides assistance to promote land conservation. This is the first opportunity for producers in every state to participate in the conservation program, which was introduced last summer in just 18 watersheds. Workshops will be offered in the selected watersheds to more fully explain the program to interested potential participants. In September, nearly 2,200 farmers and ranchers were selected as the first participants in the CSP. For more information and a map of the watersheds in each state, go to: http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/csp

USDA Surveillance for BSE: In related news, USDA continues its BSE surveillance program which began on June 1. APHIS posts the test results on their website at: http://www.aphis.usda.gov. To date, 99,192 tests have been conducted with no positives reported.

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