The Current Political Climate
and the Beef Business
Priorities in Washingon are very different than they used to be. NCBA Director of Legislative Affairs Colin Woodall gives overview of current legislative issues affecting the cattle industry.
SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS (Jan. 27, 2010) — Colin Woodall, executive director of legislative affairs for the National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA), provided an overview of the current political climate and its effect on the beef business. He spoke Jan. 27 during a Cattlemen’s College breakout session at the 2010 Cattle Industry Annual Convention and NCBA Trade Show in San Antonio, Texas.
Woodall set the scene by outlining the major players, starting with President Barack Obama and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) secretary Tom Vilsack, as well as:
• Michael Polan, author of the vegetarianism-promoting book The Omnivore's Dilemna, who "has the president's ear and great access to USDA;"
• Cass Sunstein, Obama's new regulatory czar, who believes that animals should have the legal right to sue their human owners and that hunting should be outlawed; and
• Kathleen Merrigan, the deputy secretary of USDA, who wrote the original standards in the USDA Organic program.
"As you can see, this is not your father's USDA anymore. The priorities are very different than they used to be. Now it's all about childhood obesity, alternative 'green' production and farmer's markets. There's no focus on conventional agriculture or commodity programs," Woodall said. He then gave an overview of several current legislative issues affecting the beef industry.
Clean Water Restoration Act (CWRA). The CWRA seeks to amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly called the Clean Water Act) by removing the "navigable" determination of covered waters and replacing it with the term "waters of the United States." Woodall said this would essentially make possible regulation by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Army Corps of Engineers on any body of water or potential body of water in the United States, including those on private property.
"If this passes, you will have to file a report to get permission to water your livestock each day,” Woodall said. “Currently the backlog of paperwork at EPA is more than six months long. Can your cattle wait six months for a drink of water?"
Death Tax. "We've all heard the saying, 'There's nothing certain in life but death and taxes,' but only in the United States do you actually get taxed on dying," Woodall joked, noting that NCBA has been fighting for full repeal of the death tax for more than 20 years. Thanks to tax cuts made by former president George W. Bush, the tax is actually repealed for 2010. However, it is scheduled to resume Jan. 1, 2011, with estate value taxed at 55% after a $1 million exemption.
Woodall said he expects the 2009 tax levels to be extended before the 2011 tax levels are enacted, noting that a two- or three-year extension is most likely. Full repeal is not likely, Woodall said, but NCBA is working on an exemption for agricultural estates.
Government Intrusion in the Marketplace. "NCBA supports transparency in the marketplace and making sure that anti-competitive actions are prosecuted, but we don't need to create any additional laws to do that," Woodall said. "We already have laws on the books that do those things. We need to enforce the laws we have rather than make up new ones."
He also said that the Department of Justice (DOJ) and USDA are working to eliminate "business justification," which is the ability to earn premiums on a product by meeting specific program requirements. If they are successful, it would essentially eliminate specification-based marketing programs as a source of premiums for producers.
National Animal Identification System (NAIS). "After outrageous listening sessions involving arrests of unruly protestors, we expect to see a new proposal on mandatory animal identification by Easter," Woodall said.
Immigration. "In a mid-term election year, no one wants to vote on immigration. It's too hot of a topic," Woodall said. "We don't expect to see anything happen on immigration at all this year."
Country-of-Origin Labeling (COOL). "COOL is the gift that keeps on giving, isn't it? Whether you're for it or against it, you have to be ticked off right now," Woodall said, noting that there has yet to be any data generated to quantify what effect, if any, the labeling has had on sales or consumer perceptions. The only known effect of the legislation is that it has prompted Mexico and Canada, our No. 1 and No. 2 trading partners, to file suit with the World Trade Organization (WTO) against the U.S. If they win their suits, they will be able to take retaliatory action, including closing their borders to our products.
The Future
Woodall concluded with these remarks: "If you hear nothing else I say today, please hear this: Vote, vote, vote! November 2 is Election Day. No excuses; get out and vote. You do make a difference."
Editor’s Note: This article was written under contract or by staff of Angus Productions Inc. (API), which claims copyright to this article. It may not be published or distributed without the express permission of Angus Productions Inc. To request reprint permission and guidelines, contact Shauna Rose Hermel, editor, at (816) 383-5270.