WASHINGTON, Dec. 9, 2015 - Lawmakers
are taking it down to the wire this week as they negotiate sweeping deals on
spending and tax policy. Federal spending authority runs out Friday but the
deadline will almost certainly be extended temporarily to give the talks more
time.
House
Republican leaders were warning members that votes could be possible through
the weekend and into Monday as they sought to wrap up business for the
year.
Biotech labeling is one of the issues
that’s still in the mix. Senators have all but given up reaching agreement on
legislation that would permanently block states from imposing GMO labeling and
set federal standards for disclosure of biotech ingredients. However, there are still hopes for a temporary
fix, with the first state labeling law set to take effect in Vermont in
July.
One idea that’s been floated is a
two-year ban on state labeling laws. “That’s out there, but there are a lot of
different things out there,” said Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D. It’s too late to get
a “long-term solution” to the labeling issue in the year-end spending agreement
being negotiated, he said.
Oregon Sen.
Jeff Merkley, the ranking Democrat on the Agriculture Appropriations Committee,
has emerged as one of the key obstacles to a deal on labeling, according to Sen. Debbie Stabenow, and he tells Agri-Pulse
he won’t agree to preempt state labeling laws unless there is a federal
labeling standard enacted.
“I would be very concerned about
preempting state laws without establishing a sound federal standard, but I
haven’t seen any specific proposal to which to respond, so it’s all rumor at
this point,” he said.
Merkley told Senate leaders he objects
to even a temporary preemption measure. “Denying Americans the right to know
through local legislation, when we have no federal way of providing that
ability, is inappropriate,” he said.
Other legislation that could be in
trouble is a reauthorization of school nutrition standards. Stabenow, the top
Democrat on the Senate Agriculture Committee, said last week that the policy
disagreements had largely been ironed out. But Hoeven, who has been pushing to
give schools relief on requirements such as whole grains, said objections have
been raised on several issues, including from some lawmakers who want “dramatic
changes” in meal rules. “I felt like we were pretty well set but things keep
moving around,” he said.
One issue
sure to be addressed in coming days, either through the omnibus or another
must-pass bill, is the country-of-origin labeling law for meat. After the World Trade Organization on Monday authorized
$1 billion in retaliatory tariffs against U.S. exports, the only issue left was
whether a voluntary COOL program would replace the mandatory labeling law and
what the definition of U.S. product would be.
Agriculture also has a lot at stake in
a major tax package that congressional leaders have been trying to negotiate.
House Democrats have been raising objections to a package that among other
things would make permanent the expanded Section 179 expensing allowance that
expired last year along with dozens of other tax benefits.
But key lawmakers on Tuesday were
sounding more optimistic about the chances for a deal. “We may very well be able to do what would amount to a big bill with some
permanency,” said Senate Finance Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah. “We’re working behind the scenes to try to
get this put together.”
The fallback position is a two-year
bill that would revive the expired tax provisions, such as Section 179, and
extend them through 2016.
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, wants to use the bill to
overhaul the biodiesel tax credit so it goes to domestic producers rather than
fuel blenders. But Grassley knows the change will be difficult to push through
if talks on the big tax package fail and Congress reverts to a straight
two-year extension. “If you made a little change for biodiesel, you would have
10 other people who would want to make changes to 10 other provisions, and
where does that end?” he said.
#30
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