National Grange and Agriculture Partners Win Big House Vote on FIFRA
By Nicole Palya Wood, National Grange Legislative Director
Near Sheldon, IL, grower Joe Zumwalt applies a low-insecticide bait that is targeted against western corn rootworms feeding on and laying eggs in these soybeans.
On March 31, the United States House of Representatives passed H.R. 872, a measure which seeks to repeal the duplicated regulation of pesticides and fungicides. National Grange joined the Chemical Producers & Distributors Association, Croplife America, the National Association of State Directors of Agriculture and other ag groups to lobby for a reduction in red tape and a clarification on which Federal Act should govern over the use of insecticides, fungicides, and rodenticides. The vote of 292-130 was a victory for U.S. agriculture and a step in the right direction toward a legislative fix to repeal a series of ill-advised court rulings.
For almost 38 years, the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act or FIFRA, has regulated the application of pesticides over water. In the early 2000’s several court rulings were interpreted to require dischargers of these products to also obtain permits under the Clean Water Act’s (CWA) National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System or NPDES.
Rep. Bob Gibbs, R-OH, sponsor of FIFRA bill, sits on the House Agriculture Committee and the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
Currently, the EPA is trying to finalize a rule for these permits and the courts have granted an extension for states to establish their NPDES programs. Although the extension provides more time for state water quality agencies to create a plan and hire staff, the new rule will increase the size of the NPDES program by 60 percent, while providing no funding to the states that have to implement the rule. State water quality and forest management services would have to absorb the costs of testing, data collection, permit development and issuance, as well as compliance assistance and training. Furthermore, this new rule could cause states to reallocate monies used for highly effective mosquito control programs, which unsupported, could cause major health issues for human and animal welfare.
State entities would only be one of the groups affected. Although the EPA has eliminated some smaller farms from the new permitting scheme, there is nothing in the CWA that protects farmers, forestry folks or landowners from CWA citizen suits. Farmers and foresters already in compliance with FIFRA label usage could be exposed to a new liability and subject to fines, some of which are for mere paperwork infringements.
The National Grange will continue to work on this issue in the U.S. Senate and pursue bill sponsors. The measure has been assigned to the Senate Agriculture Committee where a hearing is expected early this summer.
Dairy, Pork Breathe Easier with Mexican Trucking Resolution
By Nicole Palya Wood, National Grange Legislative Director
Farmers and producers throughout the United States should be breathing a sigh of relief now that the White House and the Mexican government have come to an agreement on the long-held stand off over Mexican trucks and tariffs. On Thursday, March 3, the White House announced that the two governments had reached an agreement which would allow Mexican trucks to re-enter U.S. roads, a deal that was part of NAFTA but which has been the center of controversy for the last 17 years.
FACT
In 2010, Mexico was the largest import market for American dairy products, with more than $837 million purchased
Under the new agreement, Mexican long-haul truckers that meet EPA and U.S. Department of Transportation guidelines will be allowed to operate on U.S. highways. Drivers must pass safety, skills and language tests as well.
When the agreement is signed, the Mexican government will reduce the export tariffs currently attached to 99 U.S. products by 50 percent. The remaining 50 percent will be eliminated when the first Mexican truck has been certified and enters the U.S.
The Dairy industry has been especially hard hit, as over the last decade, Mexico has emerged as the largest export market for U.S. dairy. Last year alone, Mexico imported at least $837 million of American dairy, more than double that of the next largest export market. Due to the duration of the import tariffs, some Mexican consumers of cheeses and other U.S. dairy products have had to seek alternative producers. Some of these markets may be gone for good to other countries, and in a historically bad year from U.S. dairy, that means a great deal.
Pork producers were also negatively impacted during the tariff implementation with pork products being levied a tax of between 5 and 25 percent. Mexico is the second largest export market for U.S. pork and recent statistics released from the U.S. Department of Commerce reported U.S. pork exports to Mexico dropped by nearly 5,000 metric tons from August while Canadian pork exports increased by almost 2,000 metric tons.
The agreement between President Barack Obama and Mexican President Felipe Calderon is said to be signed sometime early this summer; however, the Department of Transportation will have to draft rules, and it will have to be approved by Congress first. A congressional hearing is expected in May and opposition to the measure is sure to surface among Representatives with pro-union constituencies and those who think this deal constitutes the U.S. State Department turning a blind eye to border patrol security issues.
IPAB: Good Intentions, Bad Results
By Grace Boatright, National Grange Program Assistant
Along with several questionable provisions contained within President Barack Obama’s Health Care Bill, the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB) is rapidly climbing to the top of America’s hit list.
IPAB is set to consist of 15 members who will be given the task of reducing Medicare costs once specific “triggers” are met. Specifically, they are to keep the growth in Medicare spending to per capita GDP plus an additional 1 percent, beginning in 2018. The board will then make recommendations to Congress about how and where to reduce spending.
Congress has until the following January to either implement IPAB’s recommendations or devise its own plan for saving Medicare at least the same amount of funds. If Congress fails to present its own agenda, IPAB’s plan automatically becomes law. No voting, no debate, no hold ups; it becomes law.
Recently, during a speech regarding health care spending, Obama made clear his intention to strengthen the role of IPAB in controlling costs.
The fear that IPAB would come to control public health care and drive out private providers was so great that last year 72 House Democrats joined Republicans in seeking to have IPAB removed from the Health Care legislation.
Its disdain undoubtedly rests in the fact that America as a whole prefers our traditional transparent, democratic process of law-making and problem-solving. Giving a 15-member board complete control over a program that encompasses over 46.5 million Americans seems a bit dictatorial.
The 15 members of this board, paid for their 6-year service and appointed by the President and confirmed by Congress, are to consist of physicians, economists, health insurers, employers, researchers, and others of various fields. What makes a doctor an expert on the allocation of American tax dollars is a bit ambiguous, but in general these members are professionals whose accomplishments are worthy of the President’s regard and people he obviously trusts to oversee Medicare cost-containment.
Some restrictions have been placed on IPAB recommendations; however, these limits are more likely to cause problems down the road. IPAB is prevented from making recommendations that would alter premiums, cost-sharing, and benefit design.
In light of such restrictions, their focus is limited to reducing payments to providers, likely resulting in private payers absorbing more costs.
Policy holders would have an increased financial responsibility rather than a broken system getting systemic repairs so desperately needed.
In addition, although everyone would be affected by this rise in premiums, Americans living in rural areas would be at a greater disadvantage. Rural residents tend to be older, poorer, and more likely to utilize Medicare services. Also, hospitals tend to be the second or third largest employer in rural areas, with 10 to 15 percent of the workforce being directly employed by the health care industry. Consequently, there are already 2,157 Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSA) in rural areas, as opposed to the 910 in urban areas. Any additional strain on Medicare services could cause drastic problems in these areas.
While the intent of establishing IPAB to reduce Medicare spending was likely made with the best intensions, its structure and operating freedom does not result in positive things for the American people and a better and more democratic system should be constructed.
GRANGE POLICY
The following resolution was passed by the National Grange at the 2010 National Convention held in Charlotte, N.C.
WHEREAS, federal health reform created the Medicare Independent Payment Advisory Board or IPAB, charged with reducing Medicare spending; and
WHEREAS, IPAB will have the power to make cost-cutting decisions about Medicare with little oversight and no means for seniors or their doctors to challenge its decisions; and|
WHEREAS, IPAB’s policy recommendations are all but certain to go into effect, as the health care law makes it nearly impossible for Congress to override IPAB decisions; and
WHEREAS, IPAB will likely cut payments to doctors, driving away even more doctors from Medicare; and
WHEREAS, IPAB decisions may result in the loss of coverage of certain treatments or drugs, limiting seniors’ access to health care; therefore be it
RESOLVED, that due to the extensive authority given to IPAB as part of the Health Care Reform Act of 2010, the National Grange urges Congress to repeal the IPAB (Independent Payment Advisory Board).
National Grange Invited to Participate in President’s Town Hall Meeting
A town hall meeting for the President is loosely scheduled for the week of May 9, and the National Grange has been invited to attend and participate.
Sponsored by CBS, the one-hour interactive meeting will focus on economics and how diverse groups are affected.
President Obama has held several town hall-styled meetings in the last six months, most recently at the Facebook headquarters in Palo Alto, Calif., where the President took questions from both a live crowd, as well as from Facebook account holders.
The National Grange is excited for the opportunity to engage the President on the potential for fuel cost relief and redundancy in EPA regulation for America’s farmers and rural residents.
Grange Weighs in on NTCA Broadband Adoption Summit
The National Telecommunications Cooperative Association held the Broadband Adoption Summit on April 6, and Legislative Director Nicole Palya Wood represented the National Grange at the Roundtable.
Department of Commerce Assistant Secretary Larry Strickland gave the keynote which focused on how the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and he as its chief administrator will try to “win the future” with breaking down the barriers of broadband adoption. Wood testified about the National Grange’s recent attempt to break age/technology divides by holding a seminar to instruct members on creating email addresses, corresponding electronically and utilizing social media.
“As we try to grow and communicate with our organization in a cost-efficient manner, we continue to fight the trends associated with an aging membership. Pairing our tech-savvy youth Grangers with our older members, in addition to our seminars, has not only helped innovate our communication methods, but it has created a new bond between these two populations and closed the technology gap,” said Wood.
