CropLife America Legislative Achievements on Federal Issues

- Clean Water Act - "Oceans 21" - Clean Water Trust Fund - Endangered Species Act -

- Climate Change - Chemical Site Security - NASS Chemical Use Surveys - Tobacco-

Clean Water Act (CWA)

• CropLife America worked closely with USDA and Secretary Vilsack, as well as with House and Senate Agriculture Committees, to communicate to EPA the impacts of the Sixth Circuit Court’s ruling in National Cotton Council v. EPA  on American agriculture. 
• The CLA Government Relations Department led a coordinated effort to reach out to the stakeholder community impacted by this ruling, including agriculture commodity organizations and non-agricultural entities. 
• The State Affairs Committee also played an integral role in advocacy efforts surrounding the National Cotton Council v. EPA case, generating more than 50 letters from 25 states to EPA, the U.S. Department of Justice and Members of Congress requesting a rehearing in this matter.
• The State Affairs Committee worked especially closely with the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA), an important ally for demonstrating the enormous obstacles to implementing the Sixth Circuits' ruling, and this work continues.

"Oceans 21"

• The Government Relations Department has taken the lead on behalf of the agriculture community, addressing concerns with the proposed H.R. 21 (“OCEANS 21”) as introduced by Rep. Sam Farr (D-CA).  The legislation is designed to implement a national oceans policy, which would have a significant impact on inland regulated activity in the name of protecting ocean ecosystems.  At a minimum, OCEANS 21 would create an ESA-like regulatory program across all federal agencies to address “ocean health,” and would also codify a version of the precautionary principle in federal statute. 
• CLA met with Rep. Sam Farr during our Winter Board Meeting and Legislative Rally, and were assured that the legislation was not intended to affect agriculture. 
• CLA subsequently met with Rep. Sam Farr to continue to the conversation and ensure that this well-intentioned legislation does not negatively impact agriculture as an unintended consequence.

Clean Water Trust Fund

• CLA staff met with the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to provide industry perspective on a proposed excise tax on pesticides and fertilizers to fund, in part, a Clean Water Trust Fund. 
• Members of the House of Representatives requested that GAO consider various new taxes to establish revenues for the repair and maintenance of national waste water treatment facilities that have been neglected over the decades. 
• Legislation has since been introduced to enact the proposed new taxes, and while initial drafts did include a new tax on pesticides and fertilizers, the current version under consideration has dropped pesticides and fertilizers from the bill. 
• CLA Government Relations has successfully argued, supported by the use of U.S. Geological Survey data, the minimal impact that pesticides have on our nation’s water bodies and waste water treatment facilities. 

Endangered Species Act

• President Obama affirmed the Administration’s commitment to sound science when the White House issued the Presidential Memorandum on Scientific Integrity shortly after he was sworn-in as the 44th President of the United States. 
• CLA responded to the call for public comments on this policy, and have engaged the Obama Administration and the Congressional Science Committees to establish working relationships based on a common commitment to sound science as the foundation of good public policy.

Climate Change

• Efforts to advance climate change legislation and to enact a cap-and-trade regime for reducing greenhouse gas emissions occupied much of the early months of the 111th Congress. 
• CLA has worked closely with the American Farm Bureau Federation, National Council of Farmer CoOps, and other agriculutural stakeholders to ensure that the cost impact on agriculture is taken into consideration and that existing conservation benefits/practices are factored into any potential legislation that ultimately makes its way to the President’s desk for his signature. 
• Climate change legislation cleared the House in the spring- on a vote of 219-212 and faces an uncertain fate in the Senate.

Chemical Site Security

• While implementation of the Department of Homeland Security’s Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) rule continues, the Congressional leadership has determined that additional layers of regulation are necessary to protect citizens from threats of terrorist attacks. 
• Provisions including an Inherently Safer Technology (IST) mandate and new authority for citizen action suits are of concern to CLA and our members. 
• As legislation advances in multiple Congressional committees, CLA has coordinated with the American Chemistry Council (ACC) and the American Petroleum Institute (API) to consider legislative options in the House and develop legislative strategies for eventual Senate consideration regarding chemical site security. 
• CLA is a leading member of the Agriculture Security Working Group that includes the American Farm Bureau Federation, National Council of Farmer Cooperatives, Chemical Producers and Distributors Association, National Agriculture Aviators Association, The Fertilizer Institute, National Corn Growers Association, and Agriculture Retailers Association.

NASS Chemical Use Surveys

• CLA Government Relations led a stakeholder coalition to ensure USDA-NASS Chemical Use Surveys funding was successfully restored following elimination of funding for this important program in fiscal year 2008. 
• In fiscal year 2009, $2.45 million was secured to restart this data collection, and the current appropriations cycle has included the remaining $5.75 million to fully fund program operations.  We expect final action on fiscal year 2010 appropriations to conclude later this year.

Tobacco

• Legislation that has been signed into law granting the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) new regulatory authority over tobacco products captured pesticides as a “smoke constituent.”  Under this law, FDA has the authority to establish tobacco product standards, including the establishment of a tolerance for pesticides used in the production of tobacco. 
• CropLife America has concerns regarding duplicative regulation of pesticides, and worked with the Senate Agriculture and HELP Committees to establish a legislative record of congressional intent with respect to dual regulation. 
• The colloquy that was made part of the official record attempted to clarify the roles of the FDA and EPA with respect to pesticide tolerances. 
• We continue to work with the Congress, FDA and EPA during implementation of this legislation to ensure that EPA remains the action agency with respect to pesticide tolerances.