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Agriculture & Energy Committee
Update for the Agriculture & Energy Committee & the Environment CommitteeOctober 9, 2008
PRESIDENT SIGNS CR & THE GOVERNMENT REMAINS IN BUSINESS. President Bush signed H.R. 2638, the Consolidated Security, Disaster Assistance, and Continuing Appropriations Act of 2009 (P.L. 110-329), on September 30, thus funding the federal government until March 6, 2009. The $600 billion continuing resolution, or CR, funds most of the federal government at FY 2008 levels and was passed by the House on September 24 by a vote of 370-58 and by the Senate on September 27 by a vote of 78-12. Included in the bill:
TAX EXTENDERS HELP PASS $700 BILLION ECONOMIC RESCUE/BAILOUT PACKAGE. On October 3, the President signed into law H.R. 1424, the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act (P.L. 110-343), the revamped version of the $700 billion economic rescue/bailout bill that failed in the House of Representatives on September 29 and sent the Dow Jones industrial average on its worst one-day loss in history. One of the changing factors in this version of the bill was the inclusion of the renewable energy tax extenders that have been touted by both sides of the aisle since the beginning of 2008, but had not yet been enacted. The House voted on October 3 to pass the bill by a vote of 263-171, and the Senate passed the bill on October 1 by a vote of 75-25. There are $150 billion in tax cut extensions in H.R. 1424, which will go towards mental health treatment, disaster relief for areas of the country affected by hurricanes and flooding, a continuing "patch" for the alternative minimum tax (AMT), and new tax incentives for the renewable energy industry in production and use. The renewable energy tax credits, which are $18.5 billion of the $150 billion package:
The tax credits for the renewable energy industry are fully offset by increasing tax revenues from oil and gas companies. This includes:
UPDATE ON LEGISLATION TO SUSPEND THE 10 ACRE RULE FOR THE 2008 CROP YEAR. The House and Senate have now each passed by unanimous consent the Senate amendment to H.R. 6849, originally sponsored by Congressman Bob Etheridge of North Carolina, that makes a technical correction to the permanent crop disaster program included in the 2008 Farm Bill. H.R. 6849 would temporarily reverse the U.S. Department of Agriculture guidance regarding the 10 base-acre provision that would have prohibited producers from aggregating small base acreages and becoming eligible for farm program benefits. As previously reported, on September 24 the House passed a version that would have suspended the 10 base acre provision for two years. The Senate amended the bill to provide a one year fix and passed the legislation by unanimous consent. The Senate's version was then approved by the House, also by unanimous consent, on September 29. The bill now heads to President Bush for his signature.
SIX-MONTH INFORMED COMPLIANCE PERIOD BEGINS FOR COOL REQUIREMENTS. On September 30, the Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) begin its six-month informed compliance period before requiring the mandatory country of origin labeling (COOL) for meat and produce as announced in their July 29 interim final rule. This six-month period allows the U.S. government to educate those responsible for COOL requirements and for those entities to conform to the regulations. AMS will do this through an industry education and outreach program. The USDA has stated that enforcement will cost around $9.6 million. State departments of agriculture are officially partnered with the USDA in order to assist in the enforcement. COOL requirements apply to commodities produced and packaged after September 30. While there is no specific label that needs to be used, consumers must be able to tell the country of origin of the product upon purchase. For more information, please see the story in our August 7 newsletter, found at http://www.ncsl.org/standcomm/scagen/AEEV1N1.htm, or go to http://www.ams.usda.gov/. DINGELL-BOUCHER DISCUSSION DRAFT BILL ON CLIMATE CHANGE RELEASED. Chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce John Dingell (Michigan) and Chairman of the Energy and Air Quality Subcommittee Rick Boucher (Virginia) released a discussion draft bill on climate change on October 7, setting up the climate change conversation for the 111th Congress. The bill would cap 88 percent of greenhouse gas emissions by creating an economy-wide cap-and-trade program designed to lower current emissions levels mid-century by 80 percent. The authors recognize that parts of their plan will need work, including allotment of emissions allowances, and therefore included four options for allocations and multiple cap-and-trade options. Under the bill, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) would handle the regulations for small and mid-sized emitters, or those who emit less than 25,000 tons of greenhouse gases per year. The bill would preempt state and regional efforts by definitively banning the development of emissions caps by states and regional agreements, as stated in Section 733: "no state, local, or regional authority may adopt or enforce a program that caps the amount of greenhouse gases that may be emitted or sold, and that uses tradable emission allowances for the purpose of meeting the cap." To access the discussion draft and related materials, please visit http://energycommerce.house.gov/.
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