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| March 17, 2006 | ||
In this Issue
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Both the House and Senate began a week-long St. Patrick's Day Recess. The Senate will return March 27; the House will resume business on the 28th.Inside Track will not be published next Friday, March 24.
Senate Narrowly Approves Budget, Includes Increased Funding for NIHThe Senate narrowly approved a $2.8 trillion election-year budget by a vote of 51 to 49 on Thursday following a 52-to-48 Senate vote to increase the federal debt limit by $781 billion, bringing the debt ceiling to nearly $9 trillion. In a move hailed by the medical research community, Sens. Arlen Specter (R-PA) and Tom Harkin (D-IA) led the fight for $7 billion in additional funding for health and education programs. In the end, the proposal passed by a vote of 73 to 27. However, this is not guaranteed money since the $7 billion increase has many hurdles if it is ever to become a reality. In total, the Senate approved more than $16 billion in added spending for social, military, job safety and home-heating programs, exceeding President Bush’s proposed budget. The House has not yet acted on the budget, therefore these additions mean that reaching a final budget deal with the House will be difficult. House Republicans circulated a memorandum on Thursday showing how they had been willing to resist efforts to add money for social and domestic security programs to the emergency spending bill. The Senate approved the $2.8 trillion budget with five Republicans voting no. Sen. Mary L. Landrieu (D-LA) was the only Democrat to vote for the budget after winning agreement for a new $10 billion effort for levee rebuilding and coastal protection to be paid for out of oil royalties and other sources. Bush Names Von Eschenbach to Head FDAThis week President Bush nominated Andrew C. von Eschenbach, the director of the National Cancer Institute, to be permanent commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Von Eschenbach has served as acting FDA commissioner since September. Immediately following the formal nomination, Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) and Patty Murray (D-WA) announced they will not allow a vote on his nomination until the FDA acts on the application for over-the-counter status of Plan B, the so-called “morning after pill.” Secretary of Health & Human Services Michael Leavitt hailed von Eschenbach's career as one that "has been defined by his vision for progress in research and passion for the care of patients -- two qualities which will serve the agency and the American public well." He added: "The FDA needs permanent leadership to spur more innovation, improve drug safety and help lifesaving drugs reach patients faster." Before joining the National Cancer Institute, von Eschenbach spent 25
years at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston,
ultimately serving as chief academic officer. In that position, he led
a faculty of nearly 1,000 cancer researchers and clinicians. He has survived
three cancer diagnoses: melanoma, prostate cancer and basal cell carcinoma. CDC Continues to Focus on Pandemic Influenza and ObesityPandemic influenza preparedness and concerns over the high rate of obesity took center stage this week when CDC Director Julie Gerberding testified before the House Appropriations subcommittee on Labor Health & Human Services. Focusing on pandemic influenza, Gerberding said, “We appreciate the support Congress has given us in the form of a supplemental appropriation to deal with vaccines, to deal with antivirals, to deal with international detection.” However, if the pandemic hit the U.S. today the impact would be “profound” she said. According to Gerberding, now is the time for CDC to continue investing in making vaccines better, increasing the capacity for CDC’s Laboratory Response Network (LRN) and working with the states to strengthen their response plans. Gerberding identified the growing rate of obesity in the U.S. as a "complicated societal issue." While calories in and calories out is key, she said, other problems include the disappearance of physical education programs in schools. In addition, she said people seek out "convenience foods" that are often high in calories while low in nutritional benefit. Subcommittee Chair Ralph Regula (R-OH) said he sees vending machines in schools filled with high fat and high calorie foods and asked if there was a way to have a campaign to makes school boards and administrations aware of the problem these vending machines pose and remove them from the schools. Gerberding responded that data exists showing if vending machines are filled with only healthier items then schools can still make the money. In addition, Steps to a Healthier US is working with Governors to get high calorie beverages out of schools. Proposed Biodefense Agency Could Clash With HHS Reorganization PlanHHS Secretary Michael Leavitt this week indicated during a Congressional hearing he opposes creating a new Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Agency (BARDA) as outlined in Sen. Richard Burr's (R-NC) biodefense bill S. 1873 because it would hamper his own plans for reorganizing HHS. Burr proposed BARDA to speed the development and acquisition of bioterror and pandemic countermeasures, but Leavitt says he plans to use HHS' Office of Public Health Emergency Preparedness (OPHEP) for the same purpose. “I will reorganize the Office of Public Health Emergency Preparedness and assign and empower it as the responsible office to develop and implement a strategic plan for this purpose, and I will ensure that HHS component programs and functions are properly aligned, and that their respective strengths are leveraged, to support OPHEP's efforts,” Leavitt said at a Senate health committee hearing Thursday, March 16. “I am concerned that S. 1873 would impose an organizational framework on HHS that impairs my ability to implement the strategic approach for medical countermeasures development and procurement that I have outlined, including the functions to be executed by a reorganized OPHEP and a more efficient BioShield interagency governance process.” House Science Committee Chair Boehlert to RetireHouse Science Committee Chair Rep. Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY) announced he would not seek re-election. Because of six-year term limits for committee chairs, Boehlert was expected to step down at the end of this term. According to reports, Rep. Ralph Hall (R-TX), who is next in line, will seek the chair along with Reps. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) and Vernon Ehlers (R-MI). At 82, Hall is the oldest member of the House. Rohrabacher is fourth in seniority on the committee and has been an active member on the panel, particularly on space issues. Immigration Set to Move on Senate Floor; Committee Debate Centers on EnforcementAs the Senate Judiciary Committee continues to wrangle
over provisions in their bill, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN)
is planning to
stick to the planned March 27 schedule for floor consideration for immigration
legislation by bringing up his own border-security bill - then substitute
it with a broader immigration bill that the committee
is completing.
While Judiciary Committee Chair Arlen Specter (R-PA) said he would prefer to have the additional time to complete the committee bill, he said the new plan would prompt members to finish their work. According to reports, Frist had set aside two weeks for the Senate to consider immigration, and worried that waiting until the committee was finished would not give senators enough time to debate. As the Senate Judiciary Committee continues to slog its way through the political quagmire that is immigration reform legislation in an election year, the focus appears to be enforcement issues not comprehensive reform. Amendments accepted to the underlying bill have dealt with issues such as extending and replacing fencing along the Arizona-Mexico border, as well as increasing the number of border patrol agents. Debate this week began on how to address 12 million illegal immigrants now in the U.S. working in key industries, including agriculture. Agriculture has pushed both House and Senate for a comprehensive “guest worker” program to ensure labor availability. One proposal by Sens. John McCain (R-AZ) and Edward Kennedy (D, MA) would allow illegal alien workers to remain in the U.S. if workers pursued citizenship. Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA), chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee, has promoted a program that would allow workers to stay in the U.S. on temporary status but return home after work is completed. The American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) says if no guest worker program is forthcoming, one-third of fruit and vegetable growers in the U.S. couldn’t compete with foreign growers, losing $9 billion a year and ceding domestic markets to imports. Immigration and labor sources say farmers wouldn’t face a labor shortage if they paid competitive wages. USDA Confirms Alabama BSE Case; Fallout Minimal, Surveillance to DropA “red crossbred” cow in Alabama – originally reported to be a Santa Gertrudis – believed to be over 10 years old, is this country’s third confirmed case of BSE, USDA reported this week. The animal was euthanized by a veterinarian after the animal became nonambulatory, tissue samples were sent to USDA, and the animal was buried on-farm with no material entering the food or feed chains. The age was estimated by the vet based on dentition. The age of the animal is significant because it means the cow was born before the 1997 feed ban. Locating the animal’s birth farm will be difficult as the animal was on the farm where it died less than a year. USDA is recovering the carcass to check for identification and to confirm the animal’s breed and age. Fallout from the report was minimal with cattle markets gyrating slightly and media attention disappearing in less than 24 hours. Several reporters at a USDA briefing on the situation asked USDA officials if this latest case would complicate on-going discussions with Japan about resuming beef trade. USDA said it does not expect those talks to be affected. When Canada announced its most recent BSE case a month ago – the same day Japan announced its 22nd case – Japan took no action on Canadian beef exports. USDA, industry and animal scientists continue to reiterate the U.S. BSE detection and mitigation system worked as it is supposed to – the cow was found, euthanized, sampled and disposed of. USDA has tested over 652,000 animals, including 21,000 otherwise healthy cattle, and has continually reminded the public of the possibility BSE cases could be discovered. However, USDA also announced this week it will begin to reduce the number of animal inspections conducted as part of the BSE program “in line with international standards,” but declined to say by how much or when. USDA says the discovery of only two indigenous cases of BSE in the U.S. out of over 650,000 animals “proves the point” that the U.S. has an extremely low risk of BSE. Critics on Capitol Hill were quick to jump on the USDA announcement, with Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), ranking member on the House Appropriations agriculture subcommittee, saying, “With no national animal ID system with trace-back capabilities, no final rule on animal feed, it is clear now is not the time to decrease testing…” Sundlof Grilled on Feed Rule “Harmonization” With CanadaWhile USDA was taking flak from its House appropriators over BSE mitigation, FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) Director Dr. Stephen Sundlof was taking heat from Senate appropriators who wanted to know if FDA was actively working to convince its Canadian counterpart to “weaken” the proposed Canadian feed rule to allow plate waste and poultry litter feeding. Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) asked Sundlof why the U.S. is not following Canada’s lead in banning plate waste and poultry litter in ruminant feeds. Sundlof, explaining that the risk of conveying BSE through plate waste and poultry litter is extremely low, said the two governments are routinely conferring, adding if Canada’s system has components that are better than the U.S., FDA would consider including them in its system. Last week, FDA Commissioner-designate Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach said FDA’s proposed feed rule changes could be finalized as early as July 1. Hong Kong Bans Swift Beef Co. ShipmentsHong Kong officials suspended beef imports from Swift Beef Co. after inspectors discovered a shipment contained bone in contravention of Hong Kong’s agreement with the U.S. that only boneless beef from cattle less than 30 months old would be allowed into the territory. A Swift spokesman said the shipment did not contain any specified risk material (SRM), presenting no food safety issue. Swift called the shipment “a minor quality issue.” Canada Upholds Duties on U.S. Corn ImportsThe Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) this week upheld the $1.65 per bushel provisional duties on U.S. corn moving north of the border, saying the duty stands until the Canadian International Trade Tribunal (CITT) decides whether U.S. “dumping” and subsidizing of grain corn harms Canadian producers. The U.S. Corn Coalition, which includes the National Corn Growers Assn., American Farm Bureau Federation, U.S. Grains Council and the Corn Refiners Assn., said it was disappointed by the Canadian ruling, reiterating statements made in its filing with CITT February 23, that there is no evidence Canadian growers have been hurt by U.S. corn exports, which have declined substantially since 2002. Further, the coalition said CITT’s preliminary determinations of preliminary injury do not meet Canadian trade law standards and are inconsistent with international trade rules. USDA Doles Out Emergency Conservation Funds to 26 StatesUSDA this week announced it will send $20.1 million in Emergency Conservation Program money to 26 states affected by natural disasters to help “rehabilitate and strengthen environmental stewardship.” The funds are designed to assist farmers and ranchers rehab farmland damaged by flood, drought, wildfires and other natural disasters, including the removal of debris, restoring fences and conservation structures, water for livestock in drought areas, etc. Eligible producers receive cost-share assistance up to 75% of the cost of approved practices as determined by their Farm Service Agency (FSA) country office. The full list of states and counties can be found at http://disaster.fsa.usda.gov. Grassley, Baucus Push Alternative Energy Tax Break Extension BillA bill to extend for three years federal tax breaks for alternative fuels was introduced this week by Sens. Charles Grassley (R-IA) and Max Baucus (D-MT), chair and ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee. Most of the tax breaks, included in the omnibus energy package approved just last year, “are either too short-lived or capped at insufficient levels” to encourage alternative energy investment, Baucus said. Further, planning and investment strategies require longer time frames, he said. Specifically referenced in the bill are production tax credits, clean renewable energy bonds, biodiesel and alternative fuel excise tax credits, clean coal, refinery, business solar tax credits and others. Burns Wants Action on Rail Competition BillA rally of more than 200 industry representatives gathered recently to promote S. 919, the Railroad Competition Act, and heard Sen. Conrad Burns (R-MT) call on Congress to bring relief to captive markets where shippers have no competition on rates or service. Burns told reporters on a conference call he “wasn’t sent to Washington to oversee a monopoly.” Burns was joined on the press call by the executive vice president of the Montana Wheat & Barley Committee and the treasurer of the Montana Grain Growers Assn. Burns said the shipping gridlock is reaching “critical mass,” with shippers facing unreasonable rates, poor service and congestion. Burns also took shots at the Surface Transportation Board, saying the STB “charges folks $102,000 just to file a case and then it is almost certain the STB will side with the railroads.” Berry Wants Low-Cost Russian Ammonium Nitrate Allowed Into U.S.Rep. Marion Berry (D-AR) is pushing hard to allow American farmers to buy lower-cost Russian ammonium nitrate fertilizer. This week he put out a press release blasting the International Trade Commission for holding in place tariffs he says prevent Russian companies from selling in the U.S. Berry said domestically produced fertilizer prices “are through the roof,” and expressed frustration at the ITC’s decision to “keep cheap inputs out of reach of our farmers.” The ITC voted to keep existing tariffs on ammonium nitrate, similar to a 2005 ruling that maintained tariffs on imported urea. EU Tells WTO Sanctions on U.S. Goods Coming In 60 DaysThe European Union (EU) this week formally notified the World Trade Organization (WTO) that in two months it will begin imposing retaliatory trade sanctions on a host of U.S. products, including foods and ag products, unless Congress acts to bring the U.S. in line with a WTO-ordered removal of special tax breaks for U.S. exporting companies. At issue are so-called “foreign sales corporations (FSC)” which received preferential IRS treatment, including tax exemptions, on export income. Congress repealed the law allowing FSCs, but the EU appealed to the WTO that the law included provisions for transitions and continued to violate WTO rules because the tax exemptions granted FSCs continued during the transition phases. Foulke Confirmed As OSHA HeadEdwin Foulke was confirmed this week by the Senate to be the new administrator of the Occupation Safety & Health Administration (OSHA). At his confirmation hearing, Foulke, currently a partner in a Greenville, SC, law firm, said he would consider modernization of permissible exposure limits for chemical and be a strong enforcer of workplace safety law. Inside Track is produced as a service
to clients of Policy Directions, Inc., a Washington, DC-based government
relations/strategic government communications firm founded in 1995, specializing
in customized advocacy on health care; food; biomedical research; biotechnology,
human drug, and medical device regulation; federal nutrition policy and
programs; and environmental policies and programs. For more information
about PDI, please e-mail mailto:info@poldir.com. | |
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