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| March 31, 2006 | ||
In this Issue
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Budget Resolution Moving to House Floor; Labor-HHS Funding Battle ContinuesAs the House plans to take up the FY2007 budget resolution on the floor next week, Democrats and moderate Republicans continue to push for a $7-billion increase for Labor-HHS funding. The House’s $2.7-trillion federal budget package largely tracks President Bush's request for $873 billion of discretionary spending, but would cut $4.2 billion from health and labor programs. This week the House Budget Committee rejected an amendment to the resolution that would have added at least $7 billion to Labor-HHS, which includes funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The amendment, offered by Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), was defeated along party lines. The Senate successfully added a similar amendment by Sens. Arlen Specter (R-PA) and Tom Harkin (D-IA), which passed by a vote of 73 - 27 in mid-March. Despite failing in the House Budget Committee, a leader of moderate House Republicans, Rep. Mike Castle (R-DE), supports the DeLaura amendment and is encouraging members to vote no on the budget resolution if it does not contain increases for health and education programs. Republican leaders in the Senate and House are facing mounting opposition to the budget resolution from not only Democrats and moderate Republicans, but also conservative members of their party. Conservatives are demanding commitments on budget process overhaul before they support the budget resolution. Led by Reps. Mike Pence (R-IN), chair of the Republican Study Committee and Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX), they are pushing GOP leaders to embrace a budget process overhaul bill that will include line-item veto authority and other proposals. Immigration Bill Charging Ahead in Senate; ‘Guest Worker’ Provisions Victory for AgSenate Judiciary Committee action to include controversial “guest worker” provisions in its hard-won immigration reform bill is a major victory for agriculture interests, but battles loom during Senate floor consideration and into the conference committee with the House, which passed a bill with no similar provisions. The Senate provision is a five-year program that would allow workers to stay in the U.S., but apply for citizenship after paying $2000 in fines and any back taxes they may owe. The guest worker provision will be the focus of Senate floor debate, with Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA), chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee, planning to offer his own plan, one that does not automatically lead to citizenship for illegal aliens. Chambliss’ plan would “streamline” the H2A visa program – the current temporary worker program – by forcing illegal workers to return to their home country and apply for the temporary worker permit. The Senate has recessed for the weekend, but behind-the-scenes talks on how to reconcile House and Senate bills have begun, according to reports. The goal, said one staffer, is to “refine” the Senate language to make it acceptable to House conferees. FDA Approves Sucralose Health ClaimFDA issued a ruling this week to allow food manufacturers that use the artificial sweetener sucralose, or "Splenda," in their products to make a limited health claim that "Splenda" does not promote tooth decay. If food manufacturers choose to make the health claim it must read: "Frequent eating of foods high in sugars and starches as between-meal snacks can promote tooth decay. Sucralose, the sweetening ingredient used to sweeten this food, unlike sugars, does not promote tooth decay." This health claim only applies to products manufactured with "Splenda." The FDA will not allow the claim to be made for "Splenda" when it is sold in individual packets as a sweetener or in a granular form that can replace sugar in baked goods. The agency said in those forms, "Splenda" contains dextrose and isn't considered entirely "sugar-free." The ruling was made in response to a 2004 petition by McNeil Nutritionals, a unit of Johnson & Johnson. Burr Moving Forward With BARDASen. Richard Burr (R-NC) plans to move ahead with a bill to create a new agency within HHS to speed countermeasure development unless HHS Secretary Michael Leavitt offers a better plan, according to a congressional source. Under Burr’s proposal from last year, a Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Agency (BARDA) would fund late-stage development of promising biodefense and flu products and push for policies to streamline their approval and procurement. At a Senate health committee hearing March 16, Leavitt indicated he opposes creating a BARDA as outlined in Burr's biodefense bill because it would hamper his own plans for reorganizing HHS. According to report’s, Leavitt is worried adding a new agency would simply add to the number of people reporting to him rather than beef up the ability of the department to combat bioterror threats. House Bill Would Prioritize Biological Agents Threat AssessmentsRep. John Linder (R-GA) introduced the “Project BioShield Material Threats Act of 2006” this week seeking to streamline “material threat assessments” by the Department of Homeland Security under BioShield. Accoridng to Linder, DHS currently takes too long to determine if chemical and biological agents are a threat, delaying HHS contracts for countermeasures. “MTAs can take up to eight months,” according to the chair of the Homeland Security prevention of nuclear and biological attacks subcommittee. “Because the acquisition process hinges on completion of these threat assessments, it is perfectly reasonable to conclude that if we proceed at the same rate and conduct MTAs on all agents on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Category A, B and C lists sequentially, it will take years to complete ... we have neither the time nor the money to continue the process in this fashion.” Linder’s bill would ask DHS to use existing risk assessments when conducting MTAs and use information already available from the intelligence community to complete the assessments. The bill also directs DHS to conduct the MTA process in a way that groups agents together according to similar agent properties, or according to adverse health consequences that are common to different agents, according to a summary of the bill. So far DHS has completed only three MTAs for anthrax, small pox and botulinum. Linder’s bill deals with issues not covered in Sen. Richard Burr’s (R-NC) biodefense bill. USDA Releases Summary of Farm Bill Public CommentsSaying the documents will serve as the basis for USDA policy review and analysis in preparation for the 2007 Farm Bill debate, the department this week released a comprehensive summary of all public comments it has received during its Farm Bill listening session tour. USDA held 52 listening sessions in 48 states and received over 4,000 comments. The summary includes 41 separate subject areas, which led to the same number of summary papers. Each paper contains background data on the subject, a summary of opinions expressed and a list of specific recommendations received. USDA will now analyze the summaries to identify areas for further study, beginning with risk management, an effort to be led by USDA Chief Economist Keith Collins. The summaries are available at www.usda.gov. Doha or Not, Simple Extension of 2002 Farm Bill Would Be ToughWhile several major industries and groups, including the American Farm Bureau Federation and the sugar industry, are calling for a simple extension of the 2002 Farm Bill in the absence of a World Trade Organization (WTO) agreement, the road to extension will be rough. Critics of extension – which include some senior staff in both the House and Senate – contend budget pressures don’t bode well for a simple extension, especially in light of the uncertainty of a WTO agreement. Further, a simple extension could lay the U.S. open to WTO challenges. Committee staffers are saying they might be able to get an extension bill out of committee, but it likely wouldn’t pass muster on the floor of either chamber. Japan Says No Beef Imports Until Tech Team Visits U.S. Plants; U.S. Beef Plant Workers to Get More TrainingSaying progress was made toward reopening beef trade between the U.S. and Japan during his recent team visit to Japan, Acting USDA Under Secretary Chuck Lambert told Senate appropriators this week the next step toward renewed trade will be a visit to U.S. meat processing plants by a Japanese technical team. The purpose of those visits, expected in a week to 10 days, will be to determine if U.S. plants can comply with rules for shipping beef to Japan. In a related development, U.S. meat processing plant workers at establishments permitted to export beef to Japan will receive additional training, part of a preliminary agreement Lambert worked out while in Japan. The goal of the training is to make sure workers know what meat products can be shipped to Japan and those which can’t under the U.S./Japan trade agreement. Major Push on Disaster Assistance BillsSenate legislation to provide a payment to farmers of 50% of the established crop price if a farmer loses at least 35% of a crop due to a natural disaster is getting a big push from major farm and crop groups in Washington, DC. S. 2438, a bill introduced by Sens. Kent Conrad (D-ND), Mel Martinez (R-FL), Max Baucus (D-MT), Sen. Conrad Burns (R-MT) and 20 other cosponsors, received public backing this week in a letter sent to the Hill by the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), National Farmers Union (NFU), Ag Retailers Assn.(ARA), National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG), National Cotton Council (NCC), USA Rice Federation and several other groups. The bill would allow for “comprehensive” disaster assistance, meaning aid would not be limited to specific incidences as outlined by Congress on a case-by-case basis. While the Conrad bill is specific to disasters in 2005, he said at a press conference this week he’d welcome a “friendly amendment” to extend assistance to 2006 disasters, as well. The goal is to add the disaster language to the Iraq war/Hurricane Katrina supplemental appropriations bill moving through the committee process next week. Senate Looking At Lifting Ethanol Import TariffsIn the latest discussion of the MTBE liability issue – MTBE being the gasoline additive refiners will stop using – some Senators fear summer gasoline price spikes, and one option under study is to temporarily lift tariffs on ethanol imports. The MTBE issue is back because of an EPA announcement last month that refiners need no longer add 2% oxygen to gasoline to meet clean air mandates. Ethanol and MTBE were the two additives most frequently used to meet that requirement. The reason Senators are looking at options, including the tariff action, is that the likelihood of MTBE liability protection legislation being passed by Congress is low at best, and there are concerns gasoline supply shortages may drive up prices, if only on a regional basis. Some Senators are concerned there is not enough ethanol available to replace MTBE. Alternative fuel producers say there will be more than enough of the corn-based fuel to meet demand. Portman Heads to Brazil Hoping to Jump Start Doha TalksSpecial Trade Representative Rob Portman left for Brazil this week in hopes that talks with his counterparts in Brazil, as well as European Union trade minister Peter Mandelson and WTO Director General Pascal Lamy, will lead to a breakthrough on agriculture and manufactured goods issues in the WTO negotiations. Portman reiterated the U.S. offer to trim trade-distorting subsidies 60%, and urged other countries to “come forward” with comparable plans if the U.S. offer is to remain viable. Portman also said getting market access in developing nations is tougher because they have, on average, higher formal tariff rates. New BillsA 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.2480 H.CON.RES.366 H.R.5029 H.R.5049 Inside Track is produced as a service to
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