FDA reported this week that sales and distribution of antibiotics for use in food producing animals during 2014 continued an upward trend, according to its annual report on aggregated sales and distribution data for approved antimicrobials.

The report shows 2014 domestic sales grew 4% over 2013, and were up 22% from 2009. Antibiotics approved for use in humans, but with animal approvals, increased 3% in the same period, and increased 23% over 2009. The human antibiotics represent 62% of all antimicrobials used in agriculture, FDA reported.

The Animal Health Institute (AHI), which represents animal drug makers, said "sales data does represent actual use.  It is also important to note that significant progress continues in the effort to implement FDA's judicious use policy, designed to eliminate the use of medically important antibiotics for growth promotion and place all remaining drugs under veterinary oversight."

FY2016 Omnibus: The current continuing resolution (CR) keeping the government operating expires December 11, with no hope that lawmakers will resolve their differences in time.  The House Appropriations Committee produced a five-day CR that will keep the federal machine cranking until December 16, giving negotiators more time and avoiding a threatened weekend session.  The Senate approved the short-term CR on December 10, and the House was expected to follow on December 11.  The White House said the President will sign the CR "only to give Congress enough time to pass a budget, but the GOP must drop ideological riders and compromise."  Appropriators hope to release the full 1,000-plus-page-spending bill early next week.

Spending is not holding up the omnibus - the October budget deal with the White House pumped another $80 billion into the discretionary spending pool - and deals on the 12 individual spending bills are cut and dried.  It's unrelated policy language, either attached to the bill already or in negotiation, that threatens to scuttle the package, leading some House conservatives to push for a six-week CR to take pressure off lawmakers, or as last year, Congress may resort to a "cromnibus," a long-term CR well into 2016.  This option drew an immediate White House veto threat.

There are 40-42 policy riders in play, according to Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D, MD), one of the Senate's lead negotiators, including campaign finance, labor regulations, and abortion.  Most are being negotiated between the two chambers' respective appropriations committees, but some are in the hands of House and Senate leadership.  Among the leadership issues are limits on and certification of Syrian and Iraqi refugees, language related to health care coverage for abortion services, and blocking EPA's controversial "waters of the U.S. (WOTUS)" rule.

 

Among agriculture groups, only the National Farmers Union (NFU) issued a statement calling on lawmakers to pass a clean CR - no policy riders - as issues including country-of-origin labeling (COOL), the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), food labeling and other ag issues are of sufficient importance to be dealt with as stand-alone legislation. 

On the refugee issue, several conservative members are saying this is the make-or-break issue for them and their vote. This one may be avoided as part of the omnibus given strong language included in a bipartisan visa waiver bill passed this week in both chambers, but many conservatives aren't budging.

 A major priority for agriculture is congressionally forcing EPA towithdraw the WOTUS rule, which expands agency and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers authority under the Clean Water Act (CWA).  This rider has a chance as other language attempting to kill off EPA rules on carbon recapture and ozone standards is more difficult for Democrats to swallow, particularly since WOTUS has been halted indefinitely by federal court order.  Democrats also see that getting out of the way of WOTUS may give them bargaining leverage on other issues.

Still in negotiations is language preempting state laws requiring the labeling of foods containing genetically engineered (GE) ingredients. The broad ag/food industry coalition may wind up settling for simple two-year federal preemption to give Congress time to wrestle with a broader bill. The coalition doesn't seem to be able to overcome opposition by a number of Senators who want to see some kind of mandatory label disclosure of or access through scanning to product ingredient information.  While the House approved a broad bill preempting the states, setting up USDA labeling certification programs and other requirements, the food industry wants a fix on the labeling mess by year's end given Vermont's GE labeling law goes into effect in July, 2016 - if it survives a federal court challenge by four separate industry groups - and companies do not want to begin the process of label redesign, warehouse reconfigurations, etc.

With the World Trade Organization (WTO) having approved up to $1 billion in retaliatory tariffs to be levied by Canada and Mexico over U.S. COOL rules, there's a major Senate effort to get language into the omnibus repealing COOL - as the House has already approved its repeal bill - despite opposition from Senate Agriculture Committee ranking member Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D, MI) who believes "voluntary COOL" is the best way to go. 

Language in the House version of the omnibus would resurrect long-dead commodity certificates, a move opposed by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R, IA) in the final omnibus package.  Grassley said this week reinstating the certificate program would allow farmers to avoid payment limits on federal programs included in the 2014 Farm Bill. Some groups are pushing for it, one newsletter reported, but said a senior staffer warned commodity groups they can't oppose cuts in crop insurance and reopening the 2014 Farm Bill, and then turn around and urge appropriators to reopen the omnibus farm package to reinstate certificates.

The American Seed Trade Assn. (ASTA) opposes language in the omnibus that would allow extension of patent exclusivity for Marshall Ryegrass, a variety used in feeding. While the Plant Protection Act (PPA) gives a patent holder 20 years exclusive control of the variety, there's no provision for extending that protection. Marshall Ryegrass was given a 10-year extension of exclusivity in the 2004 appropriations bill. ASTA says to grant yet another extension shows "a total disregard for intellectual property law and legally binding contracts."

Dodd-Frank regulations are under attack as Republicans try and use the omnibus to exert greater congressional oversight of the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and exempt small banks from Dodd-Frank regulations. Coupled with the Dodd-Frank action is an attempt to overturn the Labor Department's fiduciary rule on retirement and investment advisors.  Democrats say a loud "no" to this GOP move.  House finance lawmakers, however, said late this week most Dodd-Frank language is not likely to make the omnibus cut.

There's also a push by some in the House to impose new limits on who can participate in the federal sugar support program.  In a "dear colleague" letter last month, Reps. Joe Pitts (R, PA) and Bob Goodlatte (R, VA) said giving the sugar program the same eligibility rules as other federal commodity programs makes sense. The lawmakers called the language a "simple extension of existing farm program rules."

Also contentious is language ending the U.S.'s ban on crude oil exports; a move by E-cigarette makers to get out from under FDA regulations and approvals, and a move by Republicans to nullify a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) rule on joint employer status and union negotiations.

Tax Extenders:  A list of 55 federal tax breaks expired at the end of 2014, and as in year's past, Congress is wrestling with how to extend those breaks - retroactive to January 1, 2015 - without breaking the federal bank and while making some of the "temporary" tax breaks permanent.  The Senate passed a two-year extenders package earlier this year; the House, caught up in making some tax breaks permanent, continues to negotiate.

These negotiations, however, are inextricably linked and simultaneous with the FY2016 omnibus spending bill talks given some are pushing to attach any tax extenders package to the omnibus, and concessions on one set of numbers shifts leverage when negotiating the second package.

On the table now is a $108.6-billion two-year extension - covering all of 2015 retroactively and extending into 2016 - of existing list of tax breaks, introduced this week by Ways & Means Committee Chair Kevin Brady (R, TX).  The GOP has a list of several "temporary" tax breaks it wants to make permanent, and is actively horse trading with the Democrats over similar breaks they want to see permanent.  At its highest, the cost of this permanent package could hit $805 billion over 10 years, but negotiators say privately that cost is too high, and ultimately the price tag will be closer to $650-750 billion over a decade.  Still, fiscal conservatives on both sides of the aisle balk at the cost, especially in an election year.

However, as the cost of the package remains a bipartisan concern, discussions late this week shifted to placing some of the extended tax breaks on a five-year phaseout, particularly the wind energy tax credit and two foreign business breaks, including active financing for foreign business loans and a U.S. tax break that protects foreign corporations dividends and other income from immediate taxation.  Another action to control the package's price tag is to shrink some of the permanent tax break candidates or delaying the effective date of other shifts to permanent tax status.  These actions could lower the price tag to $600 million or so.

More than 50 agricultural groups this week sent House and Senate negotiators a letter saying a tax extenders package approved by the end of the year is imperative to restore certainty to business planning for farmers, ranchers and their suppliers.  In sharp focus for the ag groups is Sec. 179 depreciation, capped currently at $25,000, but under the extended tax break would be capped at $500,000 at is was in 2014.  Also in play for the ag groups is the 50% bonus depreciation tax benefit, a break allowing farmers and ranchers to immediately depreciate 50% of the cost of capital investment.  Both of these are also important for ag equipment manufacturers and other input suppliers.

Another section of the extenders package carries bioenergy tax breaks, including a $1-per-gallon blenders' tax credit for biodiesel and renewable diesel, which industry groups are hoping Congress will convert to a domestic producers' tax credit in 2016. The Senate bill carries the producer tax credit language on biodiesel, and Sens. Maria Cantwell (D, WA) and Charles Grassley (R, IA) introduced a bill last week further clarifying the biodiesel producers' credit, and the National Biodiesel Board (NBB) is pushing for the Cantwell-Grassley language in the final extenders package. 

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R, UT), chair of the Senate Finance Committee, is pleased the House is using a two-year bill as its basis for negotiations.  For the last couple of weeks, some in the House have hinted at a one-year bill, if only to control costs.  Hatch's committee earlier this year approved a $96-billion two-year extension, and Hatch sees the ultimate product of the House-Senate negotiation including some permanent tax breaks, while the majority remain "temporary." 

The agency said in October it was proposing to revoke tolerances for the pesticide, but also asked for public input on uses where no human health risk was involved.  Comments are due by January 5, 2016.