Cattlemen's Capitol Concerns: October 7, 2004

Cattlemen's Capitol Concerns
October 7, 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).

Disaster Relief: Cattle producers suffering hurricane damage may find help within a disaster relief package which passed unanimously (412-0) last night in the House of Representatives. The $10.9 billion emergency supplemental bill, H.R. 5212, will provide funding for states hit by hurricanes Charley, Frances, Ivan, and Jeanne, and by Tropical Storm Bonnie.  The measure is expected to go to conference as early as today as part of the Fiscal Year 2005 Homeland Security bill. On Aug. 27, President Bush called for funding and resources to assist agriculture producers impacted by the hurricanes, and NCBA has been working with state legislatures and Congress to appropriate whatever funds are necessary to help. NCBA also coordinated assistance efforts within its membership, giving producers nationwide an opportunity to help producers in storm-ravaged areas. H.R. 5212 includes approximately $565 million for agricultural assistance.  Of that, $230 million will be for the Emergency Watershed Protection program and the Emergency Conservation Program (ECP).  The ECP is the program that will help cattle producers most.

Rancher HELP Act: Also in Congress, NCBA expects the House to vote later today on the Foreign Sales Corporation conference report which will resolve an adverse WTO ruling which is causing U.S. exports to be faced with ever increasing tariffs by the European Union. This bill includes two additional provisions that NCBA has been working on for some time: The "Rancher Help Act" language allows for the extended deferral of capital gains tax from drought-related sales of livestock.  The provisions allow ranchers forced to reduce herds due to drought to be exempt from paying capital gains tax if they replace their herds within four years. Current law allows for only two years; Secondly, the conference report extends the Section 179 expensing provision by two years. The House should vote later today and we expect it to pass. Senate action on the bill is pending.

Congressional Update: Congress is expected to recess at the end of this week for election year activities. In addition to the legislation mentioned above, this week’s congressional agenda includes possibly reauthorizing Mandatory Price Reporting. NCBA is working with Congress and emphasizing the importance of a one-year reauthorization, and NCBA expects Mandatory Price Reporting will be reauthorized without opposition. The original statute would sunset the provision Oct. 22. Legislation called the "Ranch Act," which would compensate public lands ranchers who are forced off allotments due to ESA designations or other federal actions, is expected to be introduced by Rep. Rick Renzi (R-AZ). NCBA and the PLC have long urged members of Congress to draft legislation such as this. Congress is expected to reconvene November 15 to begin work on an omnibus appropriations bill.

Tax Extension Bill Signing: Iowa NCBA members attended President Bush's signing of the Working Families Tax Relief Act of 2004 on October 4, held at the South Suburban YMCA in Des Moines, Iowa. With this signature, federal law will extend tax relief for millions of American families and add momentum to the economy. The bipartisan bill extends the $1,000 child tax credit, the marriage penalty relief and the expanded 10 percent tax bracket. It also protects millions of families from having to pay the alternative minimum tax in 2005. This bill will also increase the child credit refunds for almost 7 million low-income families in the 2004 tax year. The President urged the importance of tax cuts and reiterated his dedication to permanent repeal of the Death Tax. "We need to make sure the death tax doesn't come back to life. We need to keep the tax relief we enacted for investors and small businesses. We need to reform the tax code to make it simpler, easier to understand, and pro-growth. To keep the economy growing, we need to reduce the burden of regulation on small businesses."

Bovine Genome Database Now Online: The USDA announced Oct. 6 that the first draft of the bovine genome sequence has been deposited into free public databases for use by biomedical and agricultural researchers around the globe. NCBA has urged support of sequencing of the bovine genome in correspondences with the USDA and National Institute of Health, and NCBA helped coordinate a coalition of industry groups in raising funds for the project. The bovine genome sequence will serve as a tool for ag researchers striving to improve health and disease management of cattle. This research can lead to practices which will lead to more efficient and profitable methods of meat and milk production, enhance the nutritional value of beef and dairy products, and make the nation's food supply even safer by selecting animals with reduced risk for disease, and decreasing the use of antibiotics.

Environmental Award Deadline: It’s that time of year again—and this time, you could be a winner! If you or someone you know is an exceptional steward of the land, this is your chance to shine. If you know a cattle operation worthy of nomination, act now! It’s time to begin working on applications for the 15th Annual Environmental Stewardship Award Program (ESAP). The final deadline for applications is March 4, 2005. Sponsored by Dow AgroSciences, and USDA’s Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), the Environmental Stewardship Program recognizes cattle producers who use innovative practices to protect and enhance natural resources while maintaining or increasing the profitability of their businesses. The ESAP nomination application is readily available online at: hill.beef.org/esap, or please contact Megan Tipton in NCBA’s Washington D.C. office at mtipton@beef.org or 202-347-0228 to request a copy of the application.

NCBA in Top Trade Policy Meetings: Former NCBA President and Iowa cattle producer Wythe Willey is in Washington D.C. this week for meetings with the Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations (ACTPN). The group will discuss current issues including WTO and bi-laterial negotiations, the interagency Strategy Targeting Organized Piracy (STOP), Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) and more. This is a great opportunity for U.S. cattle producers to be represented on a national level with top trade officials. President Bush announced the appointment of Wythe to serve on the Committee last winter. Willey, along with the 31 other selected individuals, is serving a two-year term. ACTPN, the principal trade advisory committee of the U.S., was established by Congress under the trade Act of 1974, and advises U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick on U.S. trade policy decisions.

Japan: U.S. and Japanese officials continue talks regarding beef trade issues at meetings this week in Fort Collins, Colorado. A delegation of academic specialists and officials from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF), the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW), and the Cabinet-level Food Safety Commission met with the U.S Department of Agriculture (USDA) and other government agencies to further discuss animal health safeguards and other BSE issues.

NCBA at Five Nations Meetings: This Friday, NCBA’s trade policy team is heading to the annual Five Nations Beef Conference, hosted this year in Mexico. The world’s five largest beef producing nations will discuss top issues, and work to reach a consensus on a variety of issues impacting beef and the beef supply. Post-meeting, attendees will develop a position statement covering issues such as: trade reform; BSE; animal ID; and animal welfare. The participants will report on the current situation of the cattle industry in each nation.

Mexican Trade: This weekend, NCBA’s trade policy team will be attending cross border working group meetings with Mexican cattle producers. In related news, officials with Mexico’s Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries, and Food Products (SAGARPA) issued a notification to their border inspectors to rescind implementation of the new September 30 certification requirements for 30 days. This 30-day postponement was issued so the USDA can provide SAGARPA with additional information aimed at having the requirement completely removed.

CAFTA: On September 23rd, the Senate of the Dominican Republic (DR) passed a bill that will impose a tax on all beverages made with high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). The Bush Administration and Members of Congress warned the DR that such a move would jeopardize its inclusion in the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), which was recently signed between the U.S. and Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and the DR. It is currently unclear as to what the future holds for this agreement. However, NCBA would very much like to see the DR included in the agreement as it offers a good tourism market for high quality U.S. beef.

USDA Surveillance for BSE: 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, 73,714 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

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