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Where NFIB Stands: Current Agriculture Legislation in Congress

Where NFIB Stands
 
Agriculture & Rural Policy
 
There are four major bills generating a lot of debate in Congress. NFIB continues to lobby on all four proposals. 
 
1) Food Safety Act
On July 30th, the House passed H.R. 2749, the Food Safety Act. The bill had failed passage on July 29th.  H.R. 2749 would give greater authority to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to implement ‘food safety’ programs, mostly in response to recent salmonella outbreaks. NFIB greatly values the public’s safety, however, we are concerned that this legislation will do little to improve food safety but impose significant costs on small farms and food producers. NFIB is strongly opposed to H.R. 2749 because of its severe civil penalties, new regulatory burdens and broad FDA inspection authority.
  • The minimum fine for an individual is $20,000 per day; the maximum is $50,000.
  • The minimum fine for an incorporated farm is $250,000 per day; the maximum is $1 million.
  • It would require the FDA to develop traceability standards – such as a system requiring computerized records to be uploaded at regular intervals to the FDA.
  • FDA inspectors would be given free reign to surprise farmers with unlimited inspections.
2) Cow Tax
NFIB strongly supports S. 527, sponsored by Senators Thune (SD) and Schumer (NY). S. 527 would exempt livestock from certain regulatory requirements under the Clean Air Act. NFIB strongly opposes efforts to regulate greenhouse gases (for example, methane) attributed to livestock operations under the Clean Air Act.

  • S. 527 will prevent the Environmental Protection Agency from imposing any new fees.
  • NFIB strongly supported Rep. Tihart’s (KS-4) amendment to the House Interior Appropriations bill that added language identical to S. 527 to the annual funding bill. The House passed the bill and the Senate is expected to act on it this fall.
Background: In April 2007 the Supreme Court concluded that greenhouse gases (GHGs) meet the Clean Air Act (CAA) definition of an air pollutant giving the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) the authority to regulate GHGs for new motor vehicles. This means the EPA could regulate other sources of GHG emissions, including those generated by livestock operations. Livestock that could be regulated include, but are not limited to, beef and dairy cows, hogs and pigs.
 
3) Clean Water Restoration Act
The bill, S.787, seeks to remove the word “navigable” from the phrase “navigable waters of the United States,” exerting federal control of virtually all sources of water in the United States - far exceeding the original intent of the Clean Water Act. NFIB opposes S. 787.
  • S. 787 would require businesses to obtain federal permits instead of state or local permits.
  • This new mandate would create even more paper work and government bureaucracy for small business owners. Added paper work and delays in obtaining these permits will slow the progress of implementing and carrying out future projects. According to independent research, on average, it takes 313 days to obtain a nationwide permit at a cost of $28,915. For individual permits, it takes an average of 788 days with costs of over $271,596 -- more than many small businesses gross in one year.

4) Animal ID
Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture began the regulatory process to mandate the National Animal Identification System (NAIS). Instead, NFIB supports a voluntary NAIS.

  • USDA conducted a cost-benefit analysis concluding that the cattle industry would incur the highest cost on implementation – to the tune of $200 million in increased costs.
  • Additionally harmful to small business, mandating NAIS will only create another layer of government bureaucracy, forcing ranchers and farmers to take time out of running their business to create new business practices, including filing more paper work, which slows down operations.  
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