National Update
This week, the House voted on a number of oil spill research and liability bills.
The Senate continued work on a bill that would create a small-business lending fund and passed a supplemental spending bill which will help fund the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Both the Senate and House passed a 6 month extension of unemployment benefits. The President signed the bill into law yesterday.
There are several important updates that I have included below on the issues we are closely following.
Trade - U.S. and Russia sign Poultry Agreement
The U.S. and Russia have signed an agreement that will reopen the Russian market to U.S. poultry. This agreement will allow poultry treated with peroxyacetic acid (PAA) compounds, rather than chlorine, to be exported to Russia.
Russia closed their market on Jan. 1, 2010 to U.S. poultry due to the use of chlorine based washes by U.S. processors as a pathogen reduction treatment. Russia had been the largest export market for U.S. poultry with more than $700 million in sales in 2009. The U.S. has an annual export quota of 450,000 tons of poultry to Russia. Shipments of poultry to Russian ports are expected to resume within a month.
GIPSA Hearing
The House Agriculture Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy and Poultry hearing to review livestock and related U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) programs in advance of the 2012 Farm Bill. The Subcommittee heard testimony from USDA Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs Edward M. Avalos. Avalos was joined by administrators from USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) and Grain Inspection, Packers, and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA).
Most of the hearing was focused on concerns regarding the implementation of a 2008 farm bill provision directing USDA's Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration to write a rule to establish greater fairness in the marketing of livestock and poultry. GIPSA published the rule June 22 and set a comment period that expires Aug. 23.
Some members claimed that USDA went too far and went beyond Congressional intent. House Agriculture Chairman Collin Peterson said afterward that Avalos and Butler "are not exceeding their authority," but he added that they should extend the comment period until after USDA and the Justice Department hold a joint workshop on concentration in the meat industry in Fort Collins, Colo., on Aug. 27.
Immigration
On Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) told the Spanish-language newspaper La Opinion that the Senate may vote on a bill that would give young undocumented immigrants a chance at citizenship if they attend college or serve in the military, also known as the DREAM Act (S. 729), before the fall elections.
Reid has made immigration a legislative priority this year. But with no Republicans joining the effort to enact sweeping changes, an incremental approach may be the Democrats’ best hope for claiming even a small victory as they seek the support of Hispanic voters in November.
The Hispanic bloc is crucial to Reid, who is running for re-election against conservative Republican Sharron Angle.
It remains to be seen whether any thing will action happen on immigration before the elections due to the controversy that sounds the issue and a very limited legislative calendar.
Food Safety
It looks like Senator Feinstein’s proposal to phase out the use of bisphenol (BPA) in food packaging continues to be one of the main issues that is delaying action on the bipartisan food safety bill.
Discussions between Senator Michael Enzi (R-WY), Ranking Member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and Senator Feinstein have produced one breakthrough: an agreement to immediately ban the use of BPA in baby bottles and toddler cups. But Feinstein and Enzi have been unable to forge an agreement over phasing out the use of BPA in packaged food containers.
Senator Majority Leader Reid has stated that he wants senators to work out disputes before he will bring it to the Senate floor for a vote.
On another note, Congressman John Dingell (D-MI), a very senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, recently sent Senator Feinstein a letter basically asking her to withdraw the threat of her BPA proposal so the Senate can move forward with a vote on the food safety bill. Feinstein fired back a letter saying she will not back down and it is not her fault that the food safety bill has not been brought to the Senate floor for a vote. I’ve attached both of the letters in case you are interested in reading them. Interesting exchange from the House and Senate.