House Members Drop RFS Bill; House Committees Close
to Finishing Energy Package, While Senate Still Working
A group of 22 bipartisan members of the House this week introduced
legislation to set a national renewable fuels standard (RFS) of 4
billion gallons by 2006 and 8 billion gallons by 2012, more than
doubling current renewable fuels production.
The legislation is a companion piece to a bill introduced last month
by Sens. Richard Lugar (R-IN) and Tom Harkin (D-IA). Eligible biofuels
under the terms of both bills are ethanol, biodiesel and cellulosic
biomass fuels.
The RFS bill is expected to be included in the omnibus
energy package both sides of Capitol Hill hope to enact this year,
and will likely be the
vehicle for any changes, extensions or modifications of some limited
provisions passed in the last session.
In the House, floor debate is scheduled on its bill next week. The
House Ways & Means Committee this week finished work on energy
tax provisions, without reference to last year’s ethanol and
biodiesel tax incentives, while the House Energy & Commerce Committee
completed its work on the overall energy framework favored by the
House. The House Resources Committee has also finished its work on
the bill.
The Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee continues to
work on its version of energy legislation, albeit at a slower pace
than in the House. Senate leaders have said their bill will be ready
for the floor within a couple of months, setting up conference committee
action late this summer or early fall.
While the House bill contains a controversial provision from last
session’s energy wrangle protecting the manufacturers of the
gasoline additive MTBE from liability, Senate sources indicate their
bill will not, leaving the matter for conference. At the same time,
the House bill contains a Resources Committee provision to allow
drilling in the coast plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
(ANWR), language that’s died in the Senate more than once.
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BSE UPDATE
USDA Blows Off Allegations
of U.S. BSE Coverup
Allegations by a former USDA veterinarian that the department covered
up possible cases of BSE in the U.S. due to sloppy testing were dismissed
out of hand by department officials this week, saying USDA is not
going to go back and review any animal testing.
Veterinarian Dr. Lester Friedlander, a former USDA inspector who
was fired by the department in 1995 (and who has a pending lawsuit
against USDA), made the allegations in a series of speeches across
Canada this week, including an appearance before the agriculture
committee of Canada’s Parliament.
Friedlander alleges brain samples from suspect animals were sent
to private labs which confirmed BSE, but USDA ran its own tests and
announced the results were negative. He said other USDA inspectors
had told him of the incidents, but they would not go public because
they feared losing their jobs and federal pensions. “I don’t
know if that’s true. That’s just what they told me,” United
Press International (UPI) quoted him in an April 14 report.
USDA denied the allegations throughout the week. In an April 14
meeting with reporters, Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns said, “…the
gentleman that is making these allegations is really doing so with
no proof whatsoever…He gets a lot of attention because he makes
baseless claims…there just isn’t any accuracy in what
he’s saying.”
Johanns said the department is dedicated to being as transparent
about the testing process as possible, even risking public criticism
for putting out too much information.
Friedlander was widely quoted saying he’d
take a lie detector test to help confirm his testimony.
However, Friedlander said later his statement about a lie detector
test was misquoted. He told UPI when he made that statement
he was referring to a 1991 incident in which he alleges a department
official told him that he ever found a case of BSE to not say anything.
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Japan Won’t Commit to
Date on Lifting U.S. Beef Ban; Johanns Concerned About Possible Sanctions
The Japanese government remains silent on when U.S.-Japan beef trade
may resume according to a report sent by the Japanese government
to the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) this week in response to
USTR’s call for resumption of trade at the earliest possible
date. The Japanese said “this is not a trade issue, but a food
safety issue,” and stressed the need to protect human health
and confidence in the food supply as it continued its internal review
and regulatory process.
However, threats by members of Congress to slap trade sanctions
on Japan if beef trade doesn’t resume soon have Secretary of
Agriculture Mike Johanns concerned, according to reports. He asked
that congressional leaders reconsider any attempt to sanction Japan
over beef sales.
“The problem is for every action there is a counter-action
and that just gets you in a situation where you can be facing some
very difficult consequences on both sides,” he said. “Why
should we even go there?”
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National Drought Preparedness Act Introduced in Senate
Sens. Tim Johnson (D-SD) and Pete Domenici (R-NM) introduced this
week legislation to create a national drought policy to provide assistance
to state and local governments to formulate drought preparedness plans
and help deliver drought assistance to affected farmers and ranchers.
A bipartisan group of midwestern and mountain state senators joined
them.
Johnson, whose state is experiencing its fifth consecutive year of
drought, said it was time for the federal government to take the same
approach to drought preparedness as it does to other disasters, including
floods, hurricanes and tornadoes.
The bill would create a national drought policy, moving away from
ad hoc emergency assistance programs; enhance delivery of federal drought
assistance where USDA and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
will work through a USDA council on relief to “bring all drought
programs to the table”; assistance to state and local governments
to create drought preparedness plans, and facilitate the development
of national forecasting and monitoring network to improve the reporting
of drought conditions and forecasting of future droughts.
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Senate Panel Approves Johnson to Head EPA
The Senate Environment & Public Works Committee this week voted
17-1 to approve Stephen Johnson to be the next administrator of EPA,
but only after Johnson nixed a controversial EPA program that prompted
two Senators to threaten to place a hold on his nomination.
Johnson, currently EPA acting administrator and the
first career federal scientist nominated to head the agency, was lambasted
during his confirmation
hearing by Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) over an EPA cosponsored study
with the chemical industry in which low-income families would have
been compensated to allow the agency to research pesticide effects
on infant children. Johnson killed the program following his hearing.
Boxer said she continues to have concerns about EPA programs that
are more “about politics than science,” but voted for Johnson’s
nomination. Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE) voted against the nomination, saying
he had not received requested information from Johnson on how EPA antipollution
proposals differ from White House priorities.
Return to top Senate Committee Adopts Ag HOS Rules, Does Not Make Permanent
While agriculture interests were pleased that the
Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation approved
this week safety provision of the highway reauthorization package defining
agricultural
commodities and farm supplies under the agricultural hours of service
(HOS) exemption, they were disappointed the committee did not make
the provision permanent or protect it from secretarial discretion to
roll back or remove the exemption. The House-passed highway bill contains
a provision making the ag HOS exemption permanent, setting up a Senate
floor fight and/or a conference committee confrontation on the issue.
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Bankruptcy Reform on Way to Bush
With House passage this week of a Senate bill that supporters and
critics agree is the most sweeping federal bankruptcy reform package
in 25 years, the way is clear for a presidential signature. However,
the reform, while hailed by agriculture and financial services industries,
was not without controversy.
One major controversy surrounds the process by which the House effectively
voted on a Senate bill while disallowing any floor amendments. Senate
Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) said it was similar to the process
followed with the recent tort reform measure enacted earlier this year.
No conference committee was required because the Senate approved the
legislation first and the House approved the Senate version without
amendments.
The bill requires bankruptcy filers who have the means to enter into
court-ordered repayment plans under Chapter 13 of the bankruptcy code
rather than escaping all debt when they file under Chapter 7. At the
same time, the bill aims to reduce “abusive and frivolous” filings.
Opponents said the bill is a congressional gift to credit card companies
and banks, saying it will hurt consumers with a legitimate need for
bankruptcy debt protection.
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CAFTA Passage Unsure Over Sugar
Congressional approval of the Central American – Dominican
Republic - Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) remains in doubt over continuing
and
vigorous opposition by the sugar industry - with some GOP but solid
Democratic support in both chambers - over claims substantial sugar
exports by CAFTA nations will hurt domestic producers.
Sen. Mike Crapo (R-ID) said the sugar industry “made a compelling
case” during a recent hearing in the Senate Finance Committee.
Crapo said current law allows most CAFTA nations duty-free access for
their ag exports to the U.S., but the U.S. does not enjoy the same
access to CAFTA markets. CAFTA, he said, gains access for U.S. commodities
at the cost of sugar. Idaho is a large sugar beet-producing state.
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EU to Restrict U.S. Corn Gluten Imports Over Syngenta
Mishap
To prevent unapproved genetically modified corn seed
or its products from finding their way to Europe, the European Union
(EU) this week said it
is drafting tougher new restrictions on corn gluten imports from the
U.S. The action comes in the wake of Swiss-based Syngenta reporting
several weeks ago that an unapproved version of its genetically modified
corn seed was mistakenly sold over a three-year period.
The import restriction could be in place as early as next week, EU
sources said. U.S. exporters will have to provide proof from an internationally
accredited laboratory that their exports to the EU do not include any
of the unapproved corn strain, under the EU draft plan. A spokesman
said most of the 25 EU member nations supported the action.
Syngenta, in publicly supporting the EU action, said it is developing
a test to detect the corn seed and that it should be available in time
to meet the EU testing requirements.
EU authorities say they are concentrating on corn
gluten feed because they have confirmed the presence of the unapproved
Syngenta seed strain in
that product. Authorities are also testing corn oil and corn flour
imported from the U.S. Some of the corn grown from the unapproved seed
is thought to have been sold in Europe, Canada and Japan.
The European Food Safety Authority said this week the presence of
the unapproved corn in food products was unlikely to pose any threat
to health or the environment. Last week, the EU said it would leave
the ongoing investigation into the Syngenta situation to the U.S. Syngenta
has agreed to pay a $375,000 fine levied by the U.S. government.
Return to top Court Surprises FDA by Ephedra Ruling
On April 13, the U.S. District Court for the District
of Utah Central Division ruled against FDA and for the plaintiffs,
Neutraceutical Corporation
and Solaray, Inc., in a case concerning FDA’s action to ban dietary
supplements containing ephedra. In February 2004, FDA issued a regulation
calling such supplements adulterated, and declaring them to pose an “unreasonable
risk of illness or injury.” The agency was sued by the supplement
manufacturers, which asked the court to rule FDA’s action violated
provisions of the Dietary Supplement Health & Education Act (DSHEA)
and to order FDA to re-issue its regulation to specify supplements
containing 10 mg or fewer of ephedra per daily dose are not adulterated
and may be sold legally.
The court agreed with the plaintiffs, making the following
points. DSHEA expressly provides that dietary supplements be regulated
as foods.
Among other things, this means they do not need to demonstrate benefits
or to provide data comparing benefits and risks, as is required for
drugs and medical devices. In its determination ephedra-containing
supplements pose an “unreasonable risk,” the court stated,
FDA cross-referenced medical device provisions of the law, as well
as provisions of the Toxic Substances Control Act, which say that a
product not able to demonstrate benefit, in the face of even a small
risk, poses an “unreasonable” risk. However, the court
said, the medical device provisions are not applicable to dietary supplements
and FDA cannot require of supplement manufacturers that they do risk-benefit
analyses.
Further, the court said, DSHEA specifically places
on FDA the burden to demonstrate a supplement is not safe before the
agency can take
action to remove it from the market. This determination must be made
on a specific dose-related basis, according to DSHEA. Therefore, FDA
must prove that each dose of the ingredient is unsafe before it takes
action against a given dosage in a product. In FDA’s analysis
of the risks of ephedra products, it referenced a study of the risk
of “a chronic ephedrine dose of 1.5 mg every four hours,” which
FDA used as indication of the risk of this low dose (9 mg per day)
of ephedra. The court said this evidence was not appropriate, because
the comparison was with an injected, not an oral product, and the risk
attendant to the oral product was determined by a mathematical extrapolation,
not by a “preponderance of evidence.”
The court ordered FDA to re-issue its regulation in
accord with the ruling, i.e., to allow legal marketing of products
with 10-mg per day
or lower doses of ephedrine alkaloids, and not to take any enforcement
action against such products.
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Hatch, Durbin Re-Start Supplement Legislation Talks
Following a District Court decision that FDA must
re-visit its ephedra “ban,” (see
related article), Sens. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) are
reportedly discussing trying to move forward with legislation they
had worked on
last year with Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) to require adverse event reporting
to FDA by dietary supplement manufacturers. The legislation, deriving
last year from agreement among the three Senators to work together
on such a bill, ran out of steam at the end of the 108th Congress.
Hatch reportedly was approached subsequently by one or more Utah supplement
manufacturers, expressing concern about specific provisions of the
then-draft bill and about general concerns related to mandatory adverse
event reporting. This contrasted with strong support for such legislation,
at least in concept, by other supplement groups, including the Council
for Responsible Nutrition and the American Herbal Products Association.
Among the stronger opponents of the legislation being considered last
year was Neutraceutical Corporation, one of the plaintiffs in the ephedra
lawsuit. Opponents of the adverse event reporting legislation have
expressed concern about whether and to what extent such a reporting
system would provide fodder for frivolous lawsuits.
It is not clear if, when, or what precise legislation might be introduced
in the Senate, but reportedly Durbin is particularly anxious to move
forward.
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Kennedy Offers Obesity Bill This week Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA) introduced the “Prevention
of Childhood Obesity Act.” This legislation would appoint a federal
commission on food policies to promote good nutrition, establish guidelines
for food and physical activity advertisements, and provide grants to
states to implement anti-obesity plans, including curricula and training
for educators for obesity prevention activities in school and after-school
programs.
In his floor statement Kennedy said, “Childhood obesity is
the obvious result of too much food and too little exercise…Children
are exposed to 40,000 food advertisements a year -- one food commercial
every minute -- urging them to eat candy, snacks, and fast food.
Vending machines are now in 43 percent of elementary schools and
97 percent of high schools, offering young students easy access to
soft drinks and snacks that can double their risk of obesity...”
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New Bills
A number of new bills have been introduced. Click
here to send a request for a copy of the text or more information about
the bill.
S.767
Sen. Christopher “Kit” Bond (R-MO) introduced a bill to
establish a Division of Food and Agricultural Science within the National
Science Foundation.
S.799
Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA) offered the “Prevention of Childhood
Obesity Act” to provide for the coordination of federal policies
and activities to prevent obesity in childhood, to provide for state
childhood obesity prevention and control, and to establish grant programs
to prevent childhood obesity within homes, schools, and communities.
S.802
A bill offered by Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM) would establish a National
Drought Council within the Department of Agriculture.
H.R.1545
Rep. Chris Cannon (R-UT) proposed legislation to amend the IRS code
to treat expenses for certain meal replacement and dietary supplement
products that qualify for FDA-approved health claims as expenses
for medical care.
H.R.1563
Rep. Gil Gutknecht (R-MN) introduced a bill to establish a Division
of Food and Agricultural Science within the National Science Foundation.
H.R.1620
A bill offered by Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA) would establish the Commission
on Freedom of Information Act Processing Delays.
H.R.1626
Rep. David Wu (D-OR) introduced a bill which would authorize
the Secretary of Health and Human Services to negotiate prices for
prescription drugs on behalf of Medicare beneficiaries and for the
reimportation
of
prescription
drugs.
H.R.1650
A bill offered by Rep. Nancy Johnson (R-CT) would allow tax credits
to holders of stem cell research bonds.
H.R.1655
Rep. Michael Michaud (R-ME) introduced a bill to establish an America
Rx program to establish fairer pricing for prescription drugs for
individuals without access to prescription drugs at discounted prices.
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Inside
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