House Appropriations Clears $21.3 Bil. Ag-FDA Bill

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The House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday approved on voice vote a $21.3 billion FY 2017 discretionary spending measure that contains provisions on GIPSA, swaps, school lunches, tobacco and GMO labeling regarding sodium levels. The FY funding level is $451 million lower than the FY 2016 enacted level and $281 million less than President Barack Obama’s request for FY 2017. It would fund the CFTC at $250 million, the same amount as enacted in FY 2016. The bill now moves to the full House.

Amendments adopted included:

• Preventing CFTC from applying stricter regulations to smaller swaps dealers, on a vote of 30 to 19; another one prevents the lowering of the threshold from $8 billion to $3 billion.
• Blocking FDA from applying stricter regulations on e-cigarettes reserved for new forms of tobacco products. The amendment would effectively shield e-cigarette vapor products currently on the market from the FDA’s pre-market approval process. It could potentially allow future e-cigarette products to use a less stringent pre-market pathway. The amendment passed 31-19.
• Blocking USDA’s Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) rule aimed at aiding poultry farmers in contract talks with meat processors on a 26 to 24 vote. The amendment was from Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.). It would reinstate a ban on USDA regulations that would aid contract chicken farmers in their dealings with big poultry companies. Harris, who represents the poultry-rich Eastern Shore, said the rules would disrupt an efficient poultry industry.

Background. Policy riders in Fiscal 2012, 2013 and 2014 blocked funding for GIPSA to complete marketing and contract regulations for poultry and hog farmers as well as cattle producers with small to medium-sized operations. The Fiscal 2015 omnibus also ordered GIPSA to rescind rules that became final before the policy riders took effect. The FY 2016 omnibus did not include the previous policy riders because appropriators “thought the administration had gotten a clear message” not to proceed. However, USDA Sec. Tom Vilsack said in early 2016 that the department would revisit the issue. On Monday, he said the plan for acting on the proposals is at the Office of Management and Budget for review. Poultry farmers have received the most attention because the industry is vertically integrated. The American Farm Bureau Federation, National Farmers Union and the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition opposed the Harris amendment, which some observers said may have helped narrow the vote. Five Republicans joined 19 Democrats in voting against the amendment. One Democrat joined 25 Republicans in voting for the proposal.

• Delaying FDA from moving forward with guidance to the industry on sodium levels in food until the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Academy of Medicine issue their recommendations.

House appropriators voted 25-23 to renew the ban on horse slaughter in the US for meat sales overseas. Bipartisan supporters said the ban protects horses. Opponents said horses will continue to be shipped to Mexico for slaughter and wild horse populations will not be managed.

The panel defeated a Democratic biofuels amendment aimed at eliminating a provision providing funding to promote acceptance of biotech fuels on a 20 to 29 role call vote.

Public education campaign funding on GMO foods. The committee failed to adopt another Democratic amendment blocking funding for an FDA program to create a public education campaign on genetically modified food.

NOTE: This column is copyrighted material; therefore reproduction or retransmission is prohibited under U.S. copyright laws.