Congress is on its Presidents Day recess, and that means this will be the only scheduled Morning Take this week. But we’ll continue reporting as news occurs and will resume regular morning reports Feb. 27. More importantly, the recess also means it’s Outlook week. The Agriculture Department’s annual Agricultural Outlook Forum is Thursday and Friday. It’s fitting, given that Congress is looking at making the most significant changes in farm policy since 1996, that the plenary panel Thursday morning is set to feature eight former secretaries of Agriculture going all the way back to the Carter administration. The current holder of the office, Tom Vilsack, will give his traditional keynote speech first thing Thursday and later moderate the panel with his predecessors. It will be interesting to see how much he lets the predecessors wax nostalgic about farm policy, since the theme of this year’s conference is: “Moving Agriculture Forward.”
Lawmakers Spar Over Food Stamps. Republicans are zeroing in on the growing cost of food stamps as lawmakers begin work on USDA’s 2013 budget (PDF). Food stamps and other mandatory spending programs account for 83 percent of USDA’s $155 billion proposed budget. The cost of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which topped $75 billion in 2011, has doubled since President Obama took office, Alan Nunnelee, R-Miss., noted at a House Agriculture Appropriations subcommittee hearing Friday. Vilsack and House Democrats defended SNAP spending as a boon to retailers such as Wal-Mart. “We’ve got to get people back to work and then the cost of these programs will go down,” said Norm Dicks of Washington, the top Democrat on the full House Appropriations Committee.
Subcommittee Chairman Jack Kingston, R-Ga., expressed interest in expanding a small pilot program that USDA is running in Massachusetts to test an idea for encouraging SNAP recipients to buy more fruits and vegetables. The program lets SNAP recipients buy produce at a discount, while retailers are reimbursed for the full price. “We may want to try that in areas that have a higher rate of obesity,” Kingston told Vilsack.
Democrat Criticizes Planned Cut in Produce Testing. Connecticut Rep. Rosa L. DeLauro, a longtime Democratic member of the Agriculture Appropriations subcommittee, criticized Vilsack’s plan to shut down produce testing at USDA. The Microbiological Data Program is vital to food safety and its $5 million funding amounted to mere “budget dust the ways dollars are thrown around here,” she told Vilsack, adding, “I would like to have your assurance that you’re going to find someplace to deal with this or to keep it going, to find a willing partner.” Vilsack said the program fit more within the Food and Drug Administration, which regulates produce safety, than within his department’s Agricultural Marketing Service. DeLauro said the administration’s requested spending increase for food safety at FDA was too small to cover the program, and she doubted Congress would provide additional money.
Vilsack said he was doing his best to cut costs at USDA. “Everyone likes to say there’s waste, fraud and abuse. The reality is we’re at a point where you have people like me make decisions in terms of priorities, in terms of core competencies,” he said. DeLauro said she would look through his budget. “I’ll find a place where we can get (money) to potentially save lives.”
USDA Won’t Take Over Crop Insurance. Vilsack has ruled out having his department take over the job of managing crop insurance policies, a task private companies and agents are now paid to do. The National Association of FSA County Office Employees, which represents employees in USDA’s Farm Service Agency field offices, commissioned a study that estimated the government could save as much as $2.5 billion if USDA took over managing the policies. “I haven’t had that conversation. I don’t expect to have that conversation,” Vilsack said when asked about the employees’ proposal. (PDF)
Don’t Cut Deals With The Enemy, Livestock Group Says. CQ’s Shawn Zeller reports on the dispute roiling the livestock industry over the agreement the United Egg Producers forged with the Humane Society of the United States to establish federal standards for housing hens. “We do not support procuring agreements with organizations or individuals who work in opposition to our mission and with intent to limit consumer choice and access to safe, healthy, wholesome and affordable food,” said Sarah Hubbart, a spokeswoman for the Animal Agriculture Alliance. Bob Krouse, chairman of the United Egg Producers, says the national standards are far superior to a patchwork of state laws and regulations. Last month, a bipartisan group of representatives, led by Democratic Rep. Kurt Schrader of Oregon, introduced a bill (HR 3798) to implement the egg industry standards. It would supersede state laws such as those in Arizona, California, Michigan and Ohio and preclude other states from regulating hen cages.
FDA Moving Forward on BPA Issue. The chemical industry is trying to enlist FDA in an effort to reassure the public that BPA is no longer being used in baby bottles and sippy cups. FDA has opened a 60-day comment period on a request by the American Chemistry Council to formally ban the use of polycarbonate resins in such products. FDA says it does not want comments on the safety of PC resins. “FDA action on this request will provide certainty that BPA is not used to make the baby bottles and sippy cups on store shelves, either today or in the future,” said the chemical group’s Steven G. Hentges.
Obama Official Defended. Leading consumer advocates have come to the defense of FDA’s top official on food safety, Michael Taylor, who has been repeatedly attacked for past ties to Monsanto Co. A letter (PDF) to MoveOn.org says a petition drive the group is facilitating is based on false and outlandish statements.
Cooking With Kass. The Associated Press profiles Sam Kass, the White House chef and food policy adviser. Best anecdote: Kass once spent a sleepless night fretting about hosting a group of schoolchildren for a summer harvest of broccoli, kale and other vegetables. Kass knew a large press corps would be there, and he worried about what would happen if just one child announced a dislike for the veggies. Instead, a little girl tried to sneak off and gorge on some fresh cauliflower. Elsewhere on child nutrition, The New York Times notes that USDA is due to come out soon with regulations on what can be sold in school vending machines.
Getting the Salt Out. Dutch scientists may have figured out how to reduce the sodium content of breads without harming the taste, foodnavigator.com reports. Breads are the leading source of sodium in the U.S. diet, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported recently.
Food Safety Update. The Office of Management and Budget is reviewing proposed new safety rules and guidelines for produce, The Packer reports. Vilsack, meanwhile, told lawmakers last week that USDA continues to work on long-delayed rules for catfish.
Quote Of The Day. “Their real long-term future is in attracting private sector entities,” Vilsack said of communities unhappy about losing USDA field offices that are slated for closing.
