A very broad coalition of 100 food and agriculture organizations, including 30 research universities and anti-hunger organizations, have sent a letter to World Food Prize Foundation in Iowa commending them for a focus on biotechnology this year. The letter says, in part, “Feeding a world population of nine billion people by 2050 in the face […]
No, it is not time to face the Christmas shopping crowds, the kids have their back to school supplies, and we have made our fantasy football selections. So what is it I am supposed to be dreading? Oh yes, final days for government budgets, continuing resolutions, and possible government shutdowns. What does this mean, how
It Is “That” Time of Year Read More »
Former Congressman and OFW Law Senior Policy Advisor Charlie Stenholm (D-TX) greets six-time Major League Baseball Gold Glove Award winning catcher Jim Sundberg, who spent 12 years with the Texas Rangers, at the American Meat Institute’s (AMI) Annual Hot Dog Lunch on Capitol Hill. The 2013 Hot Dog Lunch was co-hosted by House Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank
Hot Dogs on the Hill Read More »
After two years of not passing a Farm Bill out of the House, it should be obvious to everyone that Farm Bills, as we have known and passed them, are over. This time around, a majority wanted to end direct payments; the Farm Bill did that. Most Members wanted to make producers more dependent on
A Farm Bill by the Boot Straps Read More »
The Obama Administration (HHS’s Office for Civil Rights) promulgated its new HIPAA Privacy Rule ostensibly to strengthen consumers’ medical privacy rights. The result, however, is likely to harm patients by restricting clinicians’ and pharmacists’ ability to provide them with compliance and persistence messages – so-called “refill reminders” (about currently prescribed drug therapy). In fact, as
New HHS Privacy Rule Conflicts With Congressional Support for Refill Reminder Programs Read More »
The House of Representatives and Senate have now given final approval to the FY 2013 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill (the Bill) as part of a combined multi-Department omnibus measure, clearing it for the President’s expected signature. The current Continuing Resolution expires on March 27, 2013. The Bill
Congress Clears Final Agriculture/FDA Spending Measure for FY 2013 Read More »
The 2013 Economic Report of the President, an annual report written by the Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, was released on Friday, March 15. An important vehicle for presenting the Administration’s domestic and international economic policies, the report provides an overview of the nation’s economic progress. This year, it includes a chapter on agriculture,
The Economic Report of the President on Agriculture Read More »
Click here for the explanatory statement accompanying the agriculture portion of the Senate’s Continuing Resolution (CR), which was released Monday night and includes the Agriculture appropriations bill. It contains language similar to a Conference Report in that it incorporates by reference items from the House and Senate reports, while highlighting certain items. The Senate CR is a
Ag Portion of FY 2013 CR: Explanatory Statement Read More »
Congress did not complete three significant budget matters in 2012: an alternative to sequestration, full federal fiscal year appropriations legislation, and a budget resolution. Each of these items is interrelated, and expected to be taken up over the course of the next several months. They are likely to have significant implications for the FY 2014
Federal Budget Process Outline and Outlook Read More »
The fiscal cliff is behind us, or over us, depending on your point of view. But with deadlines looming for extension of the debt limit, for avoiding the across-the-board cuts required by sequestration, and the need to extend the Continuing Resolution to keep the federal government operating, it certainly looks like we have weeks of
More Budget Cliffs – Get Ready for Weeks of Bungee Jumping Read More »
Now that that the Christmas stockings, Hanukkah menorahs and Kwanzaa harvest symbols have been put away until year end, and resolutions for 2013 have been written (and hopefully not broken yet!), it’s time for a little reflection. What follows is my month-by-month list of noteworthy events of 2012 in the food, drug, medical device and
2012 in the Rear View Mirror Read More »
By Marshall L. Matz, as published in Agri-Pulse Look at a map of the 2012 election results by county and you quickly see the urban-rural divide in America. The vast swath of the heartland, much of the West and most of the South are red, while the urban areas, the East and West Coasts are blue. The
Talking Agriculture to Democrats Read More »
Today, the FTC adopted final amendments to the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) Rule to increase privacy protections and give greater parental control over the personal information that websites and online services may collect from children under 13. A summary of the rule’s changes is here. The amended rules should be of interest to
FTC Releases Final COPPA Rule Read More »
By Mark L. Itzkoff A new bill introduced into the U.S. House of Representatives last month could eventually result in new labeling for food and other consumer products. H.R. 6601, The Carcinogen-Free Label Act of 2012 (CFLA) introduced last month by Rep. Theodore Deutch (D-FL) and Rep. Sue Myrick (R-NC), would require the U.S. Food and
New Bill would Authorize Voluntary “Carcinogen-Free” Labeling of Food and Consumer Goods Read More »
Today, the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) released its Report to the President on Agricultural Preparedness and the Agriculture Research Enterprise. The report outlines the importance of agricultural research as well as the top seven scientific challenges facing agriculture: The need to manage new pests, pathogens, and invasive plants; increase the
By Marshall L. Matz, as published in Agri-Pulse The first Americans are still last in America, especially in the Northern Great Plains, where the disparity is the greatest. The unemployment rate on Indian reservations in the Dakotas, Montana and Wyoming exceed seventy and eighty percent. Unemployment on the Rosebud Sioux Reservation in South Dakota is at
The First Americans Are Last Read More »
By Kenneth D. Ackerman, as published on The Huffington Post So, President Obama, you need a new Secretary of State to replace Hillary Clinton, but you don’t like any of the choices sitting on your desk? You think Susan Rice deserves it and would do a great job, but she comes with too much controversy? You feel
An Idea for Barack Obama: Why Not Pick Sen. Dick Lugar as Secretary of State? Read More »
By Marshall L. Matz and Roger R. Szemraj, as published in Agri-Pulse There has been a lot of discussion lately about converting various food assistance programs from their current status as entitlement programs into a block grant. This is not a new idea. It was part of the “Personal Responsibility Act” included in Speaker Newt Gingrich’s 1995-1996 Contract
Block Grants: Over Sold – Under Thought Read More »
On November 14th, the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) unanimously elected Congresswoman Marcia Fudge (D-OH) to serve as Chair during the 113th Congress. Rep. Fudge is the first member of the House Agriculture Committee to serve as CBC chair. The Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), for whom we are the U.S. representative, is delighted by the election of
Marcia Fudge, Member of House Ag Committee, to Chair Congressional Black Caucus Read More »
By Kenneth D. Ackerman, as published in Bloomberg News. The “fiscal cliff,” a combination of tax increases and severe spending cuts scheduled to kick in next year, is a product of multiple deceptions. Both the expiration date on the Bush-era tax cuts and the trillion-dollar “sequesters” that were enacted as part of last year’s debt- ceiling
History Suggests Grand Bargain to Avert Fiscal Cliff Read More »
Among the casualties on election day this year was California Prop 37, defeated by a vote of 53% to 47%. Proposition 37, the California Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act, was a ballot initiative that would have required special labeling of foods that have been genetically engineered or contain genetically engineered ingredients. According to
California Prop 37 Fails to Pass Read More »
It’s been a weird week. The “Frankenstorm” also known as Sandy blew through Washington, closing everything from the stalwart federal government to the Metro system. OFW Law weathered the storm pretty well, though the view outside my window of the muddy, debris-filled Potomac is an ever-present reminder that our problems pale in comparison to those
There has been an outpouring of emotion and praise mourning the loss of Senator George S. McGovern. While he was a liberal Democrat, he is being recognized as a great humanitarian by both Republicans and Democrats. From President Obama and Vice President Biden, to the Secretary General of the United Nations and Senator Bob Dole,
George S. McGovern Read More »
