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).

Katrina Top Priority in Congress: Congress is back in full swing this week after its August recess, but initiatives originally slated for the first week back have been postponed indefinitely with attention shifted to the Hurricane Katrina disaster and secondly, Supreme Court nominations. Both the House and the Senate are focused on resolutions regarding recovery efforts for the states of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. President Bush submitted a $51.8 billion Emergency Supplemental Appropriations request to Congress on Wednesday in support of ongoing Hurricane Katrina disaster relief efforts. Congress passed the supplemental late Thursday afternoon. The emergency funds would support the immediate needs of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Department of Defense, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and other Federal government agencies in their relief and recovery missions. The House and Senate are expected to approve today.

USDA Farm & Ranch Assistance: More than $170 million in emergency assistance from the USDA is being made available for Gulf Coast farmers and ranchers suffering from Hurricane Katrina. USDA Secretary Mike Johanns says the USDA's Commodity Credit Corporation is implementing immediate changes to its Marketing Assistance Loan Program due to the hurricane. The changes allow producers to obtain loans for ‘on-farm’ grain storage on the ground in addition to grain bins and other normally approved structures. USDA is providing more than $20 million in Emergency Conservation Program (ECP) funds to help producers repair damage to their lands. The ECP is administered at the county level under the guidance of USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) state offices. A total of $152 million in FSA's Emergency Loan Program is available to eligible producers who have suffered at least a 30 percent reduction in crop production or have sustained physical losses to buildings, cattle or livestock. Producers should attempt to contact state FSA offices if local FSA offices are temporarily closed. For more details: visit the USDA website.

Cattle Producers Rally Relief: Cattlemen from across the nation are stepping up to help victims of Hurricane Katrina. Along with the catastrophic damage in and around New Orleans, thousands have been left homeless and without power and water in rural areas of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. In addition to making donations to traditional relief agencies, NCBA members are calling on all agricultural producers to contribute to the recovery effort of farm and ranch families.

The needs of badly damaged farm and ranch operations in the region include supplies, money, food and housing. Those who wish to donate supplies, or have leads on where to find donated supplies, may contact John Braly or Courtney Pollock of NCBA at 1-866-BEEFUSA. Several staging areas and distribution points have been established, with more still being arranged through the state cattlemen’s associations in Louisiana, Mississippi and several surrounding states. To date, 33 truckloads of materials have been donated, but much-needed supplies still include: fencing, building, feeding supplies, labor, cash, and housing.

…and in Texas: Texas Cattle Feeders Association (TCFA) has kicked of the Cattlemen’s Katrina Fund with a $25,000 donation to the American Red Cross. TCFA’s goal is to raise $1 million for the hurricane relief effort in the next 45 days through special relief sales at livestock auctions, and donations by feedyards and packing plants equal to the value of fed cattle and individual donations by cattlemen. Checks made out to "Cattlemen’s Katrina Fund" may be sent to: TCFA, 5501 Interstate 40 West, Amarillo, TX 79106, or contact TCFA at (806) 358-3681 or info@tcfa.org.  

…and in Mississippi: The Mississippi Cattlemen’s Association has also established a special account through the Mississippi Cattlemen’s Foundation to assist relief efforts for cattle producers impacted by the hurricane. Donations made out to the Mississippi Cattlemen’s Foundation and marked "Katrina Relief" may be sent to 680 Monroe St., Jackson, MS 39202, or call 601-354-8951 or email to missca1@bellsouth.net.

…and in Louisiana: The Louisiana Cattlemen's Foundation is accepting donations to help with food relief efforts. Donations will be used to purchase food for evacuees being housed and assisted at emergency shelters, with area cattlemen volunteering to prepare and serve the food. Donations to this relief effort can be mailed to: Louisiana Cattlemen's Foundation, 4921 Interstate 10 Frontage Road, Port Allen, LA 70767, or by calling 225-343-3491.

Death Tax Vote Postponed: A Senate vote on the Death Tax could possibly be postponed for awhile now in the Katrina aftermath, but producers are encouraged to keep up the pressure for the Death Tax vote. Senate leadership remains committed to bringing Death Tax repeal to a vote in the Senate as soon as it is practical to do so. NCBA’s analysis document for cattle producers on permanent repeal of the Death Tax is available online, or by contacting NCBA’s Washington D.C. office. Go to www.beefusa.org and send a letter to your Senator about your personal experience with the Death Tax or to find key points on the issue.

Property Rights Hearing: This Wednesday, NCBA attended the U.S. House Agriculture Committee hearing to review the U.S. Supreme Court decision Kelo v. City of New London. The Court’s decision in the Kelo case upheld state and local eminent domain authority to seize private property for commercial economic development purposes. The hearing also gathered to consider H.R. 3405, Strengthening the Ownership of Private Property Act of 2005 (STOPP). The STOPP Act, co-authored by Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Henry Bonilla (R-TX) and Rep. Stephanie Herseth (D-SD), prohibits the use of Federal funding for any state or local government that uses its eminent domain powers to obtain private property for commercial development.

Other bills currently under consideration:
- H.R. 3135, the "Private Property Rights Protection Act of 2005," was introduced June 30, 2005 by Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI). This bill currently has 127 cosponsors.
- S. 1313, the "Protection of Homes, Small Businesses, and Private Property Act of 2005" was introduced June 27, 2005 by Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) and currently has 25 cosponsors.

These bills bar the federal government from exercising its condemnation authority for this purpose. Additionally, the bills limit the availability of federal funds for state governments to use in condemning private property for economic development. Cattlemen should contact their Members of Congress and urge support for these efforts. NCBA and the Public Lands Council (PLC) will continue to work to see this issue is addressed and cattlemen’s property rights are protected.

SRM Rule Amendment: This week, the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) published an amendment to the interim final rule for removal of specified risk material (SRM) from the food supply. The amendment permits the use of the small intestine (excluding the distal ileum) in human food from cattle slaughtered in official U.S. establishments or in certified foreign establishments eligible to export to the U.S. under FSIS and APHIS regulations. Establishments must document their procedure to ensure removal of the distal ileum in their HACCP plan, sanitation SOPs, or other prerequisite programs. NCBA pushed for this amendment knowing that establishments have the technology to effectively remove the distal ileum which will allow the remaining portion of the small intestine to be used domestically for casings or exported. The export market for beef small intestine is valued at $25 million per year. This change should also allow many domestic sausage processors to stay in business as they will now have access to beef casings again. The amendment becomes effective October 7, 2005.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published a similar amendment this week to their interim final rule for removing risk materials from the foods that FDA regulates, dietary supplements, and cosmetics, to allow the small intestine to be used. The FDA amendment also clarifies that milk and milk products, hide and hide-derived products, and tallow derivatives are not considered prohibited materials.

NCBA to Hold Farm Bill Summit: As the 109th Congress returns to Washington, D.C., agriculture industries are turning much of their attention to the 2007 Farm Bill debate that will soon take center stage. In an effort to guide this debate, NCBA is holding a State Affiliate Executive Summit in Washington, D.C. on October 20-21, 2005. Cattle producers will hear from D.C. insiders with expertise in Farm Bill policy and begin laying the groundwork to assure a unified voice in the formulation of the next Farm Bill. As in decades past, NCBA members are the leading voice representing the nation’s cattle producers in the development of the new Farm Bill and will address the specific needs of the cattle industry throughout this extensive, landmark legislative initiative.

Budget Update: Also this fall, Congress is scheduled to complete work on budget, appropriations, trimming federal farm spending over the next few years and begin working on the next Farm Bill. Congress needs to complete work on the Agriculture spending bill for FY06, which will begin on the first of October. Both chambers must agree upon versions to finalize in conference and approve. The buzz in the Senate this week is there will be at least a two-week delay in the budget reconciliation process. They need to outline $3 billion in mandatory cuts in agricultural spending over the five years, and $34.7 billion in total cuts. This afternoon, the House began consideration of H.R. 2862, the Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations bill. NCBA will continue to be involved with Senate and House offices on Capitol Hill to assure that that best interests of cattle producers are represented.

First Fall Conservation Workshops This Friday: Environmental Stewardship Award Winners in Hookstown, Pennsylvania and Cottonwood, Arizona will be hosting conservation workshops this month. The first workshop is scheduled for this Friday, September 9th at McElhaney Stock Farm in Hookstown, PA. The full-day workshop will feature guest speakers from the Natural Resources Conservation Service, Penn State University Coop Ext, NCBA, and more. One seminar will cover the importance of providing quality nutrition and minerals to the herd, another will teach participants "everything you wanted to know about making round bale baleage," and wagon tours will be provided throughout the day to view various conservation projects that have been implemented on the property. The second workshop will be during the 2005 Public Lands Council Annual Meeting, set for September 13 – 15, 2005 in Cottonwood, Arizona. For more information on either workshop, contact Stacey Katseanes skatseanes@beef.org or 202-347-0228.

EU Beef Hormone Ban: The World Trade Organization (WTO) will hold dispute settlement proceedings September 12-15 regarding beef hormone trade issues. The panel will be asked to rule on the European Union's complaint against U.S. and Canadian sanctions on EU imports resulting from their ban on U.S. beef.

The current EU ban on U.S. hormone-treated beef was already found to be an illegal trade barrier by the WTO, violating international trade rules, and not at all based on sound science. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Food Safety Inspection Service have studied this issue at length, and have found that there are no risks to human or animal health from the use of these growth promotants. U.S. cattle producers have continually called on the EU to drop its illegal ban on U.S. beef or face retaliation.

In front of this panel, the EU will claim once again that the ban on U.S. beef should be upheld, asking the WTO to reconsider due to their scientific studies. But repeated scientific studies, including those done by the EU, show that the banned growth promotants pose no threat to human or animal health when used according to approved veterinary procedures. The WTO Appellate Body reiterated this when they upheld sound science rather than using unscientific factors as the basis for international trade rules and ruled in favor of the United States, forcing the EU to drop the ban or prove it is scientifically valid. The EU has failed to look at the science in this matter and refused to implement the recommendations and rulings of the WTO.

After decades of delay tactics and lost market opportunities for U.S. cattlemen, it’s time for the EU to play fair with us-- and with its consumers. Europeans should have the opportunity to decide for themselves what products to buy, just as American consumers do every day. This EU beef ban is pure protectionism, and U.S. cattlemen will continue to fight the EU on this matter. We look forward to the outcome of these proceedings.

Dominican Republic Passes CAFTA-DR: This week, the Dominican Republic (DR) passed the Central America-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement by an overwhelming margin. NCBA applauds this exciting news, and is pleased that the DR now joins El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and the United States in approving the CAFTA-DR. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative will be coordinating with the CAFTA governments over the next few weeks to determine when to put the agreement into effect. CAFTA is a great deal for U.S. producers and we look forward to exporting our top-quality U.S. beef into these export markets.

LAP Sign-Up Ends Friday: The sign-up period for Livestock Assistance Program (LAP) 2003 and 2004 ends THIS FRIDAY, September 9, 2005. This program provides payments to livestock producers for grazing losses that occurred if a cattle operation’s grazing lands are in counties declared primary disaster areas. Livestock producers in contiguous counties are not eligible. Payments to producers enrolled in LAP are expected to begin in late summer. Eligible producers are encouraged to enroll. NCBA policy supports Farm Service Agency's LAP and has aggressively pursued adequate funding, including Federal Emergency Management Agency funding, for livestock producers adversely impacted by disaster conditions. NCBA works with the USDA and Congress to ensure that eligibility criteria for all livestock assistance and compensation programs are based on livestock and/or forage production losses and funding distributed on actual county losses. Go to http://disaster.fsa.usda.gov for details on new and existing disaster assistance.

State Visit: Jeff Eisenberg, NCBA Director of Federal Lands and PLC Executive Director, is in North Dakota this week. While in North Dakota, Jeff will work with state cattle producers regarding federal lands and property rights issues of local concern to the North Dakota cattle ranchers.

Public Lands Council Annual Meeting: This week, members of the Public Lands Council (PLC) are ramping up for next week’s PLC Annual Meeting, which runs September 13 – 15, 2005 in Cottonwood, Arizona. The two-day meeting and range workshop will kick off with a welcome reception on the evening of Monday, September 12. The meeting headquarters is the Quality Inn, Las Campanas in Cottonwood. PLC members will discuss key issues and share in the policy-making process that guides our organization.

Mandatory Price Reporting: Authorization for USDA's mandatory livestock price reporting program runs out at the end of September. Congress will have to act this month on the issue. The House Agriculture Committee has passed a bill reauthorizing the program for five years. Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Tom Harkin (D-IA) have requested a GAO report on the program's operation, due in a few months. The current price reporting program could therefore be reauthorized for only a few months to give Congress the opportunity to consider this GAO report recommendations.

BSE Surveillance: To date, USDA’s Enhanced BSE Surveillance Program has tested 459,187 targeted animals at highest risk for BSE and has found only one confirmed case, evidence that our firewalls 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  

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