NACIA Washington Update
September 18, 2009

Since Congress has returned, all the oxygen in Washington is being used in the health care debate, that being the major topic of activity in the House and Senate. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Baucus (D-MT) Wednesday released his draft proposal.  While he has been leading the bi-partisan “Gang of Six” negotiations for the past several months, there is not yet Republican support for his bill. He has stated that he will mark up the legislation next week, and some Republicans have stated that there is still a possibility they could back the proposal, if further changes are made. 

While health care has been the major issue, dialogue on climate change legislation has also garnered some attention—and both the new Chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee and the House Ranking Member have weighed in on the topic. Senate Agriculture Chairwoman Lincoln (D-AR) has been quoted as stating her opposition to the House legislation (passed in June) due to its potential financial impact, especially the effect of higher energy prices and fertilizer costs, on producers: “I am opposed to the House passed cap-and-trade legislation for various reasons. In my opinion it picks winners and losers, and that’s not our job up here.” House Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Lucas (R-OK) this week issued a release highlighting a Treasury Department analysis stating a cap and trade system will cost households an extra $1,761 a year in new taxes. Ranking Member Lucas strongly opposed the system in the release, stating that “the cap and trade bill is the single, largest, economic threat to farmers and rural Americans in decades.” To read his full release, please click here.

Chairwoman Lincoln has also begun forming her new Agriculture Committee staff. She has started at the top, selecting former staffer Robert Holifield to serve as her Committee Staff Director. Holifield is also from Arkansas, and most recently deputy chief of staff for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. He served as the Senator’s senior adviser on agriculture policy from 2000 to 2007.

Off the Hill, USDA and RMA have been very active in the crop insurance arena. Thursday morning, Deputy Secretary Merrigan announced $8.6 million in partnership agreements aimed to assist small and underserved producers. The funding is through the USDA “Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food” initiative, and is designed to educate producers on new risk management strategies.  In the announcement, Deputy Secretary Merrigan states, “For these small farmers in particular, risk management often means understanding direct marketing and for this they need legal, financial, and food safety tools and information appropriate for the scale of their operation and the markets that they serve.” As the announcement states, a portion of the funding is going directly to crop insurance education: 

“Crop Insurance Education in Targeted States: $4,470,075 is being awarded to deliver crop insurance education and information to agricultural producers in 16 states designated as historically underserved with respect to crop insurance. These targeted states include: Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming.”

For more information, please click here.

On Wednesday, the FCIC held a Board of Directors meeting in Kansas City, Missouri. The main business was to vote on whether or not to provide reimbursement for the development costs of new products that have been approved during this past fiscal year.  Six products were deemed reimbursable, including ones for GRP oysters, which has already gone though its first sales period in Louisiana, cotton seed, and tobacco quality. For the full agenda, please click here.  More information on the meeting will be available soon. 

Other USDA activities of interest include the following:

• USDA has designated eight counties in Iowa as primary natural disaster areas due to losses caused by severe storms, hail and flooding in the beginning of August. The counties are Calhoun, Grundy, Hamilton, Hardin, Ida, Sac, Webster and Woodbury, and additional counties in Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota also qualify for some form of assistance. Details.
• Contingent with the new USDA emphasis on local production and consumption, USDA announced that 28 organizations in 21 states have been selected to receive $4.8 million in rural development grants. The grants will go to activities such as developing cooperative business models to supply locally-produced food to consumers. Details.
• Secretary Vilsack announced this week that producers may begin applying for benefits under the provisions of the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-Raised Fish Program and the Livestock Forage Disaster Program. Details.   

If you have not paid your dues please submit them online through the secure NACIA website or print out the membership renewal form and mail in your check. Your support is vital to insure that the interests of crop insurance agents are heard by decision-makers in Washington.

As always, if you have any questions or comments please contact us.

Brent W. Gattis
NACIA Washington Representative

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