Thursday, April 14

Registration

Special Seminars for Policy Leaders

Standing Committee Optional Tour -- DC Central Kitchen Breakfast & Site Visit
DC Central Kitchen – 425 2^nd Street NW

The DC Central Kitchen is a multi-faceted community kitchen that conducts food recovery, meal preparation and a job training program.  Participants will see how community kitchens address a variety of community needs, such as hunger and nutrition, and will have an opportunity to interact with clients while contributing to the Kitchen’s meal preparation efforts.  Breakfast will be served.

Speakers:
Senators Elizabeth Dole, North Carolina (invited)
Senator Blanche Lincoln, Arkansas (invited)
Senator Gordon Smith, Oregon

To RSVP, please contact Katie Gigliotti at (202) 624-8691 or Katherine.gigliotti@ncsl.org

Visit to Capitol Hill

The Committee will meet with the Senator’s staff regarding NCSL policies and other issues facing states on agriculture and rural development.  (Meet in the Lobby of the Hyatt at 10:45 to visit Congress).

Presiding:
Senator Steve Morris, Kansas and Chair, Agriculture & Rural Development Committee, NCSL

Meeting with USDA Secretary Mike Johanns

The Committee will meet with USDA Secretary Mike Johanns at his office in the Whitten Building, 1400 Independence Ave., S.W.  (Please meet in the Lobby of the Whitten Building)

Presiding:
Senator Steve Morris, Kansas and Chair, Agriculture & Rural Development Committee, NCSL

Speaker:
The Honorable Michael Johanns, Secretary, U.S. Department of Agriculture

Opening Plenary -- Battling Unfunded Mandates

NCSL estimates that state budgets absorb nearly $30 billion each year in cost shifts from the federal government.  The renewed pressure to reduce the federal deficit means that even more unfunded mandates could be on the horizon for state governments.  A congressional champion will speak about plans to beef up the Unfunded Mandate Reform Act and prevent additional cost shifts.

Speakers:
The Honorable Lamar Alexander, U.S. Senator, Tennessee
The Honorable Michael Turner, U.S. Representative, Ohio

Steering Committee

Standing Committee Chairs, as members of the Standing Committee, should plan to attend. Officers will review the committees' plans for the year, preview any policies anticipated for debate, and make determinations regarding joint and re-referral of the resolutions.

Reception at the Hyatt Regency

Friday, April 15

Registration

Plenary Breakfast -- Medicaid, Medicare and Welfare Reform

The Department of Health and Human Services has responsibility for three major programs of enormous interest to state legislatures - Medicaid, Medicare and welfare.  All three are currently in flux.  HHS Secretary Michael Leavitt will outline the administration's proposals in each area.

Speaker:
The Honorable Michael Leavitt, Secretary, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Standing Committee Session-National Animal Identification System

NOTE: The Standing Committee will be meeting across the street from the Hyatt at the Holiday Inn on the Hill, 415 New Jersey Avenue, NW, in the Executive-Judicial Room, Lobby Level.

The US Department of Agriculture, along with state agencies and industry, is developing a national program to identify certain livestock and record their movement during their lives, from birth until slaughter.  Current identification systems are not consistent among states; this National System will ensure a fast and efficient system for tracking animals, but will require cooperation from state policymakers.

Presiding:
Representative Ben Ferry, Utah and Vice-Chair, Agriculture & Rural Development Committee, NCSL

Speakers: 
Neal Hammerschmidt, National Animal Identification System, USDA, Washington, DC
John Adams, National Milk Producers’ Federation and Secretary's Advisory Committee on Foreign Animal and Poultry Diseases, Washington, DC

Standing Committee Session--Crop Insurance in the Farm Bill

Holiday Inn, Executive-Judicial Room, Lobby Level

Amid international and budgetary pressures to reconsider Title I commodity subsidy programs, many in Washington are talking about what form the 2007 Farm Bill will take.  During this session, the Committee will particularly study the crop insurance provisions of the Farm Bill and consider NCSL policy on the issue.  The Committee will also determine how it wants to approach the new Farm Bill and what issues it needs to study in preparation of potential policy.

Presiding:
Representative Jeff Kropf, Oregon and Vice-Chair, Agriculture & Rural Development Committee, NCSL

Speakers:
Ross Davidson, Administrator, USDA Risk Management Agency, Washington, DC
Russell Redding, Deputy Secretary of Agriculture, Pennsylvania

Joint Session with the Energy and Electric Utilities Committee--National Energy Policy

Discussion of the legislative action surrounding the National Energy Bill as it is developed in the 109^th cycle with emphasis on the prospects for the legislation and an examination of how the Senate and House are approaching the bill.  What is the forecast for such issues as LNG and electric transmission line siting, biofuels and renewable energy?

Presiding:
Sam Burr, Legislative Counsel, Legislative Council, Vermont Legislature and Staff Vice-Chair, Agriculture & Rural Development

Speaker:
C. H. “Bud” Albright, Jr., Majority Staff Director, U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Washington, DC

Joint Session with the Economic Development, Trade and Cultural Affairs Committee-- The Role of Main Street in Economic and Rural Development

Speakers:
Mary Means, Mary Means and Associates, Alexandria, Virginia
Doug Loescher, Director of National Main Street Center, National Trust for Historic Preservation, Washington, DC

Standing Committee Session--Committee Business Session

Holiday Inn, Executive-Judicial Room, Lobby Level

The Committee will review policies expiring this year and determine issues for study at the Annual Meeting in Seattle.

Presiding:
Senator Steve Morris, Kansas and Chair, Agriculture & Rural Development Committee, NCSL
Barry Denk, Director, Center for Rural Pennsylvania and Staff Chair, Agriculture & Rural Development Committee

Standing Committee Session--Tribal Concerns

Holiday Inn, Executive-Judicial Room, Lobby Level

State legislators and tribal leaders face many common challenges in developing the economies and infrastructure of rural communities.  Often times, collaboration between state and tribal government can be beneficial in overcoming barriers to successful development and making the most of scare resources.  This session will identify common goals and identify strategies for implementing mutually-beneficial policies. 

Presiding:
Jim Fry, Director, Legislative Research Council, South Dakota, and Staff Vice-Chair, Agriculture & Rural Development Committee, NCSL

Speakers: 
Alicia Bell-Sheeter, Research Director, First Nations Development Institute
TBD, Native American State Legislator
Andrea Wilkins, NCSL State-Tribal Relations Project, Colorado

Standing Committees’ Steering Committee

Hyatt Regency

Standing Committee Chairs, as members of the Standing Committee, should plan to attend. The Steering Committee will review policy statements reported out of Committee and determine the calendars for the Policy Forum.

6:30 pm - 8:00 pm

Reception at Ronald Reagan Building Atrium

Transportation to and from the reception will be provided. Badges must be worn.

Saturday, April 16

Special Briefings

Hyatt Regency

Seven Reasons Why State Legislators Should Care About Social Security Reform
Your opportunity to hear the good and the not so good about the reform proposals from the states' perspective.

Federal Tax Reform and the States
This session will offer an overview of the leading reform contenders and what they would mean for the states.

NCSL’s Report on No Child Left Behind
We will review the report and highlight suggested changes regarding progress, funding, urban and rural schools, students with disabilities and other elements of the law.

Session on Trade Agreements

Bottom-Up" Oversight and State Engagement  What are states doing on international trade issues?  This session examines the national formal and informal ways in which states are working with the U.S. Trade Representative as well as some more local reactions.

The Legalese of Trade Agreements   At this professional development session, state legal officials will review a few useful skills for parsing the legal language of international trade agreements.

Policy Forum and Business Meeting

Hyatt Regency

Forum delegates will debate and vote on NCSL's policy statements and resolutions passed out of committees.  Legislators are encouraged to attend.

Plenary Lunch--International Trade and Preemption

Speakers: 
Peter Allgeier, Acting U.S. Trade Representative, Washington DC
William Sorrell, National Association of Attorneys General, Vermont

1:30 pm

Adjournment