WASHINGTON, July 13, 2016 - The national biotech disclosure
bill appears headed to an easy victory in the House, clearing the legislation
for President Obama’s signature. House Agriculture Chairman Mike Conaway and
the committee’s ranking Democrat, Collin Peterson, tell Agri-Pulse that
they expect a majority of both Republicans and Democrats to vote for the
landmark bill.
Some Republicans may oppose the bill because it requires
mandatory disclosure. But Conaway says those lawmakers will be voting against
the “expressed interest” of a “huge consortium” of groups and companies across
the food and agriculture sector.
The House is expected to take a procedural vote on the bill
today by approving a rule that won’t allow any amendments to be considered to
the legislation. The final vote on the bill is expected Thursday. The president
is expected to sign it before the end of the month. Peterson said he believes
that Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack will put his department to work right
away writing the regulations that will be required to carry out the disclosure
standards.
Conaway has let it be known that he has concerns about the
bill because of the discretion that USDA will have in writing the rules. But he
also made clear to Democrats on the House Rules Committee that the on-package
labeling required by Vermont’s new law is unacceptable. Conaway said the labels
are the “equivalent of a skull and crossbones” and would have a “chilling
effect” on biotechnology.
(For more on Conaway’s and Peterson’s thoughts on the bill
see this week’s Agri-Pulse newsletter.)
House debates Interior-Environment amendments. The
House started debate last night on dozens of amendments to the fiscal 2017
spending bill for the Interior Department and EPA. The White House already is
threatening to veto the bill because of its attacks on the president’s
regulatory agenda.
The pending amendments include one that would bar the EPA
from penalizing any states that fail to meet pollution-reduction targets for
the Chesapeake Bay region.
McGovern warns on splitting farm bill. An outspoken
Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee says farmers should think twice
about pushing lawmakers to remove nutrition programs from the farm bill.
Massachusetts Rep. Jim McGovern told members of the American Soybean
Association yesterday that “you’re never going to see another farm bill” if the
legislation is split.
McGovern has frequently criticized the long series of
oversight hearings that the Agriculture Committee has been holding on the
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. He says that he’s worried that the
hearings – there have been 16 in all – “are really kind of a backdoor attempt”
to either cut the program “in a major way” or to separate SNAP from the farm
bill.
Earlier this year at Commodity Classic in New Orleans, ASA
voted to formally oppose splitting the farm bill. Many commodity groups
and lawmakers - including McGovern - feel the urban and rural coalition is
vital to creating enough support to pass the key ag legislation.
Farm groups fear EU pesticide rules would impact trade. Forty-nine
U.S. agricultural groups have signed a letter warning
the Obama Administration that new pesticide rules being considered in Europe
could hurt U.S. exports.
The groups say that the rules being considered by the
European Commission would prevent some pesticides from getting a proper risk
analysis and simply declare them “ineligible for authorization.” That in turn
could create new barriers for European imports of U.S. fruits, vegetables, nuts
and other commodities, the groups warn.
The groups say that U.S. growers don’t have alternative
pesticides for many of the products that would be hit by the EU rules.
Weedkillers to get California warning labels. California
has added
three herbicides to its Proposition 65 list of products that receive
warning labels. Atrazine, simazine and propazine and their chlorometabolites
will go on the list effective July 15 as “known to the state to cause
reproductive toxicity,” according to the state Office of Environmental Health
Hazard Assessment.
The agency had proposed adding them to the list about a year
ago, but Syngenta appealed the decision, delaying the designation. The state
agency noted that Syngenta lost in state court and hasn’t gotten an appeals
court to stay the ruling. Monsanto is in state court fighting the
California agency’s proposed placement of glyphosate on the Prop 65 list as a
known carcinogen.
DeLauro warns against lame duck TPP vote. The Obama
administration is still hoping Congress will ratify the 12-country
Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal this year, but Rep. Rosa DeLauro is
warning lawmakers that they would be going against popular public sentiment if
they did so.
“A lame duck vote to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership will
not only go against the American people’s will, it will be shameful and wrong,
said DeLauro, a Connecticut Democrat.
U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman continues to
promote the trade pact and to meet with supporters, like the American Farm Bureau
Federation. But Senate
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell reiterated to reporters yesterday that the
chances of TPP getting a vote after the November elections are “pretty slim.”
Fast and furious at FFAR. The new Foundation for Food and Agricultural Research
(FFAR), created in the 2014 farm bill, is marching along at a “fast
and furious” pace, says Executive Director Sally Rockey. We’ve got an excellent
overview of what’s been happening since the foundation was created in today’sAgri-Pulse newsletter.
Later this morning, FFAR will announce funding for its first
major project – partnering with a large global foundation to reward mid-career
agricultural scientists, who will presumably be incentivized to keep doing
great work after receiving such a big financial award and recognition. Stay
tuned.
He said it. “This is about getting rid of Roundup and
getting rid of Roundup Ready crops.” - The House Agriculture Committee’s
ranking Democrat, Collin Peterson, to the House Rules Committee on what he
believes are the motives of pro-labeling activists.
(Spencer Chase, Bill Tomson, Steve Davies and Sara Wyant
contributed to this report.)
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