Washington Insider - Tuesday

By DTN's Washington Insider

Here’s a quick monitor of Washington farm and trade policy issues from DTN’s well-placed observer.

NGFA, Others Urge Funding, Not Fees, to Finance FSMA Implementation

Food safety programs and inspections that are conducted by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) should not be financed by new food taxes or regulatory fees, the National Grain and Feed Association (NGFA) and 63 other groups said in a letter to Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Silvia Burwell and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director.

Higher food costs for food makers from the proposed fees would be passed on to consumers, the groups said, asserting that the most vulnerable consumers would be hit hardest by such price increases.

New regulatory powers granted by the Food Safety and Modernization Act (FSMA) of 2012 authorizes rulemaking by the FDA, with implementation affecting food, animal feed, and pet food industries. New funding, however, is needed to fund the implementation of the new powers.

Recommendations to finance FSMA implementation through new fees on food facilities and inspections have been included in each FDA budget request since Fiscal 2012, but rejected by Congress each time, the groups pointed out. The fees were also proposed in the budget submitted for Fiscal 2016, for the fiscal year which starts October, 1.

Funding for implementation of the FSMA should be provided through congressional appropriations, rather than new taxes, the groups said, and they urge the budget for Fiscal 2017 abandon the request for new taxes.

Implementation of the rules has been given varying price tags of $45 million for the Senate Appropriations Committee plan, $41.5 million via a House plan while the administration’s Fiscal 2016 request was for $109 million. However, the source of funding remains the primary sticking point as it has been since the FSMA was put into place.

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Carly Fiorina: EPA Strangling Life Out of Ag Industry with Overregulation

Republican presidential candidate Carly Fiorina on Aug. 30 said the EPA is strangling the life out of many agriculture industries with overregulation.

“I have seen the agriculture industry almost destroyed in the state of California by bad policies and bad politics,” Fiorina told listeners at the Iowa Corn Growers Associations’ annual meeting in Des Moines, according to a report from The Des Moines Register.

“We have seen industry after industry after industry decimated,” the Republican presidential candidate added. “We are seeing the most productive agricultural land in the world – in the central valley of California – being destroyed by the Environmental Protection Agency.”

Fiorina also argued that she would uphold the EPA’s Renewable Fuels Standard until its scheduled end in 2022, but vowed she would not extend the guideline past that date.

“Let us establish 2022 as the end point – let’s have a level playing field from now until 2022,” she said. “But in 2022, the government needs to get out of all this. Fossil fuels, sugar, corn subsidies – government needs to get out of all of it.”

“In the spirit of complete honesty and transparency, I’m also going to tell you this: I don’t think government should be in the business of setting prices and guaranteeing access to markets,” Fiorina added. “I think the government has to be even-handed.”

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Washington Insider: Public Support for Healthy School Meals

With the Sept. 30 deadline for the reauthorization of the school nutrition standards established by the Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act of 2010 looming, the debate over proposed changes continues to intensify.

On one side are advocates who want the standards to remain in effect and continue to develop as laid out in the legislation. They are opposed by those who want the standards related to whole grain and reduced sodium to be eliminated.

As this year’s appropriations bills have been debated, opt-out language has been proposed for many aspects of the program, with many of these supported by the School Nutrition Association. It says that, “The current mandate that all grains offered be whole grain-rich has increased waste and cost, while contributing to the decline in student lunch participation. Students are eating more whole grain bread and buns, but schools are struggling with limited availability of specialty whole grain items and regional preferences for certain refined grains such as bagels or tortillas.”

USDA, which implements and enforces the school nutrition standards, has sought to show that they are working. It says that some 95% of schools are successfully meeting the updated meal standards.

As the debate has intensified, it has become difficult to interpret poll numbers when they appear. For example, a recent survey found such strong support for the controversial “healthy” meals it surprised some observers. The survey was commissioned by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and took place last May. It found that nearly 90% of respondents across the United States support current efforts to keep school meals healthy, along with 88% support for government-funded “farm to school” programs which help supply school cafeterias with local, fresh produce.

La June Montgomery Tabron, president and CEO of the Kellogg Foundation said the survey found that people in the US “overwhelmingly” support strong nutrition standards and believe school meals are healthier and on the right track.

“Today, 67% of Americans say the nutritional quality of food served in public school cafeterias is excellent or good, which is up 41% from a national survey we conducted in 2010, before the standards were adopted,” she said.

The survey indicated strong support for healthy practices both in and out of school settings. For example, nine out of 10 people surveyed said the federal recommendations known as the Dietary Guidelines for Americans should promote water as a preferred beverage choice. “We’re learning that kids’ need for water is often overlooked or taken for granted,” Montgomery Tabron said. “It shouldn’t be. Good hydration improves cognitive function, and recommending water as the beverage of choice can help in the fight against childhood obesity.”

Additionally, 84% of those surveyed said they strongly or partly agree that sustainable agriculture should be part of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

The survey included 1,200 randomly selected adults across the US using landline or mobile phones during May, 2015. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.9%.

So, it will be interesting to see the reaction to this survey in the continuing fight over school nutrition rules and funding. Opponents of the new program say it boosts costs, pushes kids toward foods they do not like much, sometimes fails to provide the necessary calories for moderately strenuous activities—and that it risks undermining the program as some schools drop the program.

This survey surely tells a very different story, one of very strong support for the program. As a result, it may well be challenged in the continuing debate on school nutrition policy. This is an important issue for producers, and one that should be watched carefully as the debate continues, Washington Insider believes.

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