Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Good afternoon-- thank you for inviting me to speak with you today, I always enjoy seeing farmers in our nation's Capital.

I know it's hard to justify getting away from the farm, but I assure everyone it's very important for you to be representing agriculture in Washington.

When people in Washington don't hear from farmers enough, they start doing ill-advised things like creating the Waters of the U.S. regulation.

On our farm in New Hartford, IA, my son Robin was able to get our crops in on time this year. However, I know some of you have grown tired of the rain which has delayed soybean plantings in Southern Iowa and Missouri.

I have heard reports that parts of Missouri have already received 30 of their average 38 inches of annual rainfall, and parts of Illinois have also received double their annual rainfall to date.

I hope my crops will finish strong this year.  Last year it quit raining in our part of Iowa during late summer which really affected our beans. And then about fifty acres flooded before we could get the field harvested.

That happened while most of the country was harvesting a bumper crop which brought back the $8 soybeans and $3 corn none of us wanted to see again.

The good news is, Congress and the Administration are working together to enable new free trade agreements to be adopted.  These agreements will increase export opportunities for our grain and other agricultural products.

Free trade is very important to our country and to our future economic prosperity.  Anyone who doesn't believe that is in denial, in my opinion.  We live in a global economy and the U.S. needs to be a leader on the issue of free trade.

We know that 80 percent of the purchasing power in the world is located outside the United States, along with 95 percent of the world's consumers.

Last year, U.S. exports equaled $2.35 trillion and supported nearly 12 million jobs.  In Iowa alone, 448,000 jobs are dependent on trade, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. And those jobs pay 18 percent higher wages on average because they are tied to trade.

During testimony to the Senate Finance Committee, U.S. Trade Ambassador Froman pointed out that the U.S. is already an open marketplace with tariffs that average just 1.6 percent, some of the lowest in the world.

Yet at the same time, our companies face very high tariffs in other markets.  Some agricultural products face tariffs up to 400 percent, machinery can be up to 50 percent.

According to the Department of Agriculture, fiscal years 2010-2014 represent the strongest five years of agricultural exports in the history of our country.  We exported $675 billion worth of agricultural goods during that period.

To expand on the success of our existing free trade agreements, Congress recently passed Trade Promotion Authority or TPA.  I supported TPA, which after an arduous legislative process, was signed into law by the President on June 29.

TPA serves as a signal to other countries that Congress is serious about taking up free trade agreements.

TPA has two major components.  First, TPA gives the Administration negotiating objectives from Congress.  Essentially, the negotiating objectives serve as the 'to-do' list for our negotiators on issues Congress believes should be addressed in trade agreements.

Second, TPA outlines the process for Congress to consider free trade agreements.  Specifically, it states a final agreement cannot be amended and shall receive a single up or down vote in Congress.

That's important because no other country is going to sign a trade agreement that Congress could change.

With TPA in place, we are hopefully ready to finalize negotiations for the Trans-Pacific Partnership otherwise known as the TPP.

President Obama notified Congress that he intended to enter into TPP negotiations on December 14, 2009.  If anyone tells you the TPP has been rushed, simply point out negotiations started six years ago.

There are currently eleven other countries participating in the TPP negotiations along with the United States.  Collectively, the twelve TPP countries represent nearly 40 percent of global GDP.

Additionally, the middle class is growing faster in Asia than any other area of the world.  Some estimates project the middle class in Asia is going to grow from a half a billion people today, to over three billion in just the next fifteen years.

From a strategic economic perspective-- the TPP makes a great deal of sense.

And regarding agriculture, the TPP offers great economic potential.  According to the Department of Agriculture, the United States exported $5.5 billion of soybeans and soybean products to the TPP region in 2014.

Japan, which is our fourth largest export market for soybeans, buys around $1 billion of U.S. soybeans every year.  Even though tariffs can be up to 20 percent.  Corn also faces tariffs as high as 40 percent in some TPP countries.

Beyond tariffs, the TPP also offers us a chance to reduce non-tariff trade barriers like Sanitary and Phyto-Sanitary or SPS regulations.  An example of a SPS measure that prevents trade is how the European Union intentionally drags their feet when approving our biotechnology traits.

The TPA bill Congress just passed specifically mentions that SPS regulations need to be science based.

I have also been a long-time supporter of efforts to diversify our energy supply with clean-burning, homegrown renewable energy, including biodiesel.

Iowa leads the nation in renewable energy production.  It's the largest producer of alternative fuels.

It has the capacity to produce more than 4 billion gallons of clean-burning ethanol and biodiesel, including 22 million gallons of annual cellulosic ethanol production capacity.

The state of Iowa is proving that our farmers and ranchers can simultaneously produce the food, feed, fuel and fiber that our country needs.

Biofuels are reducing our dependence on finite fossil fuels.  They keep more money at home rather than sending it to Persian Gulf countries that may wish to do us harm.

In 2005 and again in 2007, the federal government made a commitment to homegrown, renewable energy when Congress passed the Renewable Fuel Standard.  The greatly expanded RFS II passed the Senate by a vote of 86-6.

In recent years, I've fought off efforts to undermine homegrown renewable energy by Big Oil and Big Food.

Biofuel proponents have dispelled the myths and misinformation campaigns that have been launched to discredit ethanol and biodiesel.

And once again, biofuels are under attack.

This time the attack has come from President Obama's Environmental Protection Agency.

The EPA's severe misstep with its proposed Renewable Volume Obligations released in November 2013 has been harmful to biofuel producers, to rural economies, our national security and our environment.

Biofuel producers have responded to the call for more homegrown, renewable energy.  But, the proposed rule released by the EPA undermined that commitment.

I'm glad the EPA decided to scrap its proposal and put forward a new proposal to set the Renewable Volume Obligations for 2014, 2015 and 2016.

Unfortunately, in most respects, the new EPA proposal isn't much better than the previous proposal.  While it is a positive step for biodiesel, I remain concerned with the biodiesel volumes for 2016 and 2017.

EPA's new proposal fails to adequately recognize the domestic biodiesel industry's production capacity and its ability to increase production.

I'm currently circulating a letter among my colleagues in the Senate to express our concerns with the new EPA proposal for biodiesel.  We're asking EPA to increase the volume obligations in 2016 and 2017 to reflect the capability of the domestic biodiesel industry.

The letter currently has approximately 20 signatures.  With your help and advocacy, we can get the support of even more Senators.

The lapse of renewable energy tax incentives has also created a lot uncertainty and slowed growth in the renewable industry.

That's why I'm also working to extend the credit for biodiesel and renewable diesel.  The tax incentive helps biodiesel compete with petroleum diesel.

The lapse of the credit serves only to hamper the strides made toward a viable self-sustainable renewable energy and fuel sector.

I'm pleased it appears the Senate Finance Committee, of which I'm a member, will consider a tax extenders package next week.

All indications are that the package will include a straight extension of all expired tax provisions for 2015 and 2016.  This is certainly good news.

Please know that I will continue to fight for homegrown renewable fuels, whether with the EPA over volume obligations, or to reinstate the tax incentive for biodiesel.  I appreciate all your help on these issues.

Washington, D.C. - Congressman Dave Loebsack released the following statement today after the P5+1 group of nations (China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States, plus Germany) reached an agreement with Iran on nuclear weapons.

"From the beginning I have said that the most important aspect of these talks must be to ensure that Iran is not able to develop nuclear weapons. Now that the P5+1 has come to an agreement with Iran, it is time for Congress to perform its constitutional duty of oversight and carefully look at the final product. I look forward to analyzing the agreement and will continue to discuss the details with folks in my district, my colleagues and arms control experts."

Q: How does Social Security measure up 80 years after being signed into law?

A: Generations of Americans have been protected against poverty thanks in large measure to this social safety net signed into law 80 years ago on August 14, 1935. Without question, Social Security is tightly woven into the social fabric of America. The fundamental foundation of the program hasn't changed in the last eight decades. Payroll tax revenues are collected on wages (12.4 percent is evenly divided between employee and employer) that finance retirement and disability benefits. Any excess revenue not used to pay current benefits is invested in interest-bearing government securities. The Social Security trust funds reflect payroll taxes plus interest accrued. The 15-year bonds are managed within the U.S. Treasury. These IOUs are redeemed to pay current benefits.

Although the foundation of Social Security hasn't changed in 80 years, the nation's demographics have changed considerably. Today 58 million people collect Social Security benefits funded by payroll taxes collected from 163 million workers. In 1945, the worker to retiree ratio was 40 to 16.  That ratio has declined to fewer than three workers per beneficiary today. This downward decline presents a challenging situation to policymakers, especially considering the retirement of the baby boom population. When more people exit the workforce than enter or stay in the labor pool, benefits will outpace revenue. In 1983 policymakers took big steps to restore financial solvency to Social Security. Bipartisan reforms were put in place 35 years ago to help strengthen this retirement safety net for millions of Americans to help protect the nation's elderly from impoverishment in retirement.

As Social Security observes an 80-year milestone this summer, it has outlasted plenty of political demagoguery. Those who use the nation's public's retirement program to score political points undermine the public trust. Although plenty of myths and misunderstandings may fray the edges of the safety net, the reality is that Social Security is a social contract among Americans that was built in 1935 and intended to last for generations yet to come.

Q: What are some of the most common myths or questions you are asked about Social Security?

A: With the rapid spread of rumors that circulate on the Internet and ripple across the spectrum of social media outlets, the durability of some misunderstandings is not surprising. The one I hear quite often is posed during town meetings and call-in programs. People believe members of Congress don't pay into Social Security and ask why not. As the lead Senate author of the Congressional Accountability Act, I am a long-time champion for holding lawmakers accountable to the same workplace laws that apply to Main Street.  And the fact is that federal lawmakers do pay Social Security taxes just like everyone else covered by the program. Since the 1983 reforms, all members of Congress pay into Social Security no matter how long they have been in office.

Another common question concerns Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI). The Social Security Administration also manages this public insurance program for workers who have a medical disability that is expected to keep them from being able to work for at least 12 months. This program has experienced dramatic growth in recent years and it has put a financial toll on the disability trust fund. Nearly nine million workers now qualify for SSDI benefits. Recipients who receive monthly cash benefits are required under federal law to meet strict eligibility standards that are medically determinable physical or mental impairments.  Iowans who have questions about eligibility requirements, backlogged applications or the appeals process often contact my office for assistance navigating red tape.

As the former chairman and a senior member of the Senate Finance Committee, which has legislative and oversight jurisdiction of Social Security, I have worked to weed out fraud in this important program to keep it intact. That includes calling attention to application fraud and backlogs that are choking the system from functioning effectively and hindering the disability insurance program from serving those it was intended to serve. Wrongdoers who game the system weaken the solvency of the cash-strapped SSDI trust fund and foster dependency at the expense of those truly in need of this lifeline.