WASHINGTON - Senator Chuck Grassley made the following comment after the Senate passed the farm and nutrition bill.  The final vote was 66-27.  The bill keeps intact Grassley's provisions to focus farm payments on small- and medium-sized farmers and close loopholes that allow non-farmers to game the farm program system.

"The bill that cleared the Senate tonight is a step in the right direction.  Having responsible payment limits on the commodity program is crucial to the defensibility of the farm safety-net.  We need payment caps on our commodity programs, and we need to close loopholes that have allowed non-farmers to game the system.  I hope the House takes notice at the reforms in the Senate-passed bill and sees the positive changes we made to the farm payment system.

"And, while the inclusion of my payment limits plan is very reform-minded, the target price program that is included in the final bill will take us back a step.  Target prices distort planting decisions, and I hear opposition to it from Iowa farmers all the time.  We've tried it before and it doesn't work.

"While I continue to have concerns about the potential impacts of the shallow loss and target price programs created in this farm bill, I would also agree with the overwhelming sentiment from Iowa farmers that they need to have certainty.  A five-year farm bill that includes my payment limit reforms, maintains the crop insurance program, and streamlines conservation programs gives that certainty."

Background information:

Grassley has long sought reform of the farm payment system.  His provisions that were included in the bill are nearly identical to legislation he introduced earlier this year that would place a hard cap on the farm payments an individual farmer can receive in a year and close long-abused and well-documented loopholes in the farm payment program.   The legislation would establish a per farm cap of $50,000 on all commodity program benefits, except those associated with the marketing loan program (loan deficiency payments and marketing loan gains), which would be capped at $75,000.  Thus the combined limit would be $125,000, or, for married couples, $250,000.  The $50,000 cap would apply to whatever type of program is developed as part of the new Farm Bill. The bill also closes loopholes that currently allow non-farmers to qualify for federal farm payments and would allow one off-farm manager, but only one.

Follow up to May 7 letter to USDA, USTR

WASHINGTON - JUNE 6, 2013 - Senator Chuck Grassley is asking the nominee to be the next U.S. Trade Representative, Michael Froman, for his thoughts on making it a higher priority when negotiating with U.S. trading partners to resolve the regulatory barriers facing biotech seeds.

Grassley's written questions are a follow-up to a letter he wrote with Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow and 24 other senators about the need for the administration to engage U.S. trading partners in high-level discussions on breaking down barriers to biotechnology.  Grassley was not able to attend the entire nomination hearing in person, so he is asking his questions in writing to be answered for the hearing record.

"American farmers have adopted biotechnology seeds to increase production as they help feed this world.  They need to be able to get their products to market, and they need to have the confidence they can adopt the technology available to them without fear our trading partners will erect barriers," Grassley said.

Here is the text of Grassley's questions on the subject.

o   How does USTR intend to work with trading partners to improve market access for U.S. crops derived from biotechnology?

o   In regards specifically to the European Union, can you commit to me that if the United States and European Union move forward with a formal trade agreement negotiation, USTR will work to remove the regulatory barriers to U.S. biotechnology derived seeds?

Here is a copy of the text of the May 7 letter.  A signed copy of the letter can be found by clicking here.

 

May 7, 2013

Secretary Thomas Vilsack

U.S. Department of Agriculture

1400 Independence Avenue, SW

Washington, DC 20250

 

Ambassador Demetrios Marantis

Acting United States Trade Representative

600 17th Street NW

Washington, DC 20508

 

Dear Secretary Vilsack and Ambassador Marantis:

American agriculture has made significant advancements in the last 100 years. We have seen vast improvements in how farmers grow crops, raise livestock, manage risk, and conduct their operations. American farmers are constantly looking for new tools to maximize efficiencies and productivity.  Biotechnology has been one of these tools.  Biotechnology helps farmers better manage droughts, pests, and weeds with fewer resources.  Biotechnology provides a major boost to American farmers that face an increasingly competitive international market.  Biotechnology has also helped feed a growing world population with abundant, nutrient rich crops.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that as much as 90 percent of commodity crop acres utilize seeds improved through modern biotechnology. Trade disruptions caused by barriers to biotechnology derived crops hurt both American farmers and the international customers they serve. Regulatory asynchrony, zero tolerance policies, and re-registration requirements are among the most prevalent and costly regulatory hurdles.

We know and appreciate how both of you and your offices have given priority to these international regulatory challenges, and work extensively with our trading partners to find long term solutions.  For instance, USDA has been engaged in efforts to launch a pilot project with China which aims to address, bilaterally, some asynchrony issues.  We also understand that the U.S. government is engaging trading partners in multilateral efforts to discuss how to best address other critical issues, including unintended low-level presence.

Given the widespread adoption of biotechnology by American farmers, it is imperative you further raise the priority of these regulatory issues in discussions with our trading partners, emphasizing the importance of facilitating robust international trade.  We appreciate your attention to this important matter, and we look forward to working with you to address these important and complex issues.

Sincerely,

WASHINGTON - Senator Chuck Grassley is continuing his effort to help find a humanitarian solution to pending cases for as many as 230 American families trying to adopt orphans in Russia.

Grassley joined a group of 154 members of Congress in a letter to President Barack Obama urging him to raise the adoption issue directly with President Vladimir Putin when the presidents meet at the G8 nation summit later this month.  Click here to see the letter.

"Russia's about face at the end of last year is painfully personal for families who were already matched with children," Grassley said.   Parents and children have met and bonded.  Many of the kids need medical care.  They need permanent homes."

In December, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law to stop Americans from adopting Russian children.  Earlier in the year, the Russian Parliament had simplified American adoptions.  The new law was a reaction to U.S. sanctions against human rights violators in Russia.

The State Department and Citizenship and Immigration Services have identified options for getting the children to the United States despite the ban.

Grassley said he hopes that having a coalition of senators speaking up can help President Obama find a way out of the political morass for these orphaned children.

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WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., say that despite a recent federal ruling affirming that Medicare data should be available to the public and federal efforts to make some data publicly available, much more still needs to be done to make Medicare claims data fully transparent.

"Medicare is a $500 billion program with billions of dollars going out in error each year," Grassley said. "The bad actors get bigger and bolder all the time. They stay out of law enforcement's reach all too often. It's time to try new things. More transparency about billing and payments increases public understanding of where tax dollars go and foster accountability. The bad actors might be dissuaded if they knew their actions were subject to the light of day."

"Medicare claims data transparency seems to be moving in the right direction, but we're just not there yet," Wyden said. "Aggregated data and statistical averages can hide differences between providers and settings, and don't allow Americans to truly compare their health care choices. In order to enjoy the benefits of full transparency, Medicare claims data should be readily available to the public."

Grassley and Wyden plan to reintroduce the Medicare Data Access for Transparency and Accountability Act (Medicare DATA Act). The bill would require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to issue regulations to make available a searchable Medicare payment database that the public can access at no cost. The bill also clarifies that data on Medicare payments to physicians and suppliers do not fall under a Freedom of Information Act exemption.

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