WASHINGTON - Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa today is sending a letter to the Food and Drug Administration to gather information and gain a better understanding about how the United States treats biotechnology imports from other countries.

After contacting five different federal agencies and several trade groups to get more information about U.S. policy for biotech imports for food or feed grains, Grassley said that it appears nobody has a grasp on the policy.

Grassley said that as the number of biotech crops continues to rise, it will be even more important that there is a clear U.S. policy in regards to imports of biotech food and grain products, especially as the United States works with its partners around the world on policies to eliminate trade barriers for these products.

In a letter to Food and Drug Administration Acting Commissioner Stephen Ostroff, Grassley wrote, "Biotechnology offers the world great promise, however we must have a predictable, transparent and science based regulatory framework throughout the world to limit economic disruptions from the trade of genetically modified food and grain."

According to a Congressional Research Service report, 420 million acres were planted to biotech crops across the globe in 2012.  These crops range from corn and soybeans to sweet peppers and tomatoes.  Zero tolerance policies can lead to entire ships of product being rejected in foreign ports because of "small amounts of dust" that include traces of biotech traits.  The dust that tested positive for a specific trait may not even be from the current shipment, but under a zero tolerance policy it does not matter.

A copy of the text of Grassley's letter to Ostroff is below.  A signed copy of the letter can be found here.

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

WASHINGTON - Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Sen. John Thune of South Dakota today introduced comprehensive legislation to improve customer service at the IRS, create new taxpayer protections, and update and strengthen existing taxpayer protections.  The Taxpayer Bill of Rights Enhancement Act of 2015 comes amid gross mismanagement and inappropriate actions by IRS employees that have shaken what little confidence taxpayers may have had in the agency.

"The IRS has never been anyone's favorite agency," Grassley said.  "But it shouldn't repel and mistreat the people it exists to serve.  The IRS' level of customer service might be at all-time low.  Taxpayers are at a disadvantage with an agency that has tremendous power over their money.  The IRS might talk about good customer service.  Too often, talk is all there is.  The IRS needs to walk the walk.  Congress needs to act.  This bill will help swing the pendulum away from agency self-preservation and back to taxpayer service."

"This bill is intended to enact a much-needed culture change at the IRS, an agency whose reputation and trustworthiness has severely deteriorated with the American people over the last several years," said Thune. "No American should have to fear that politics could play a role in their confidential tax information being disclosed to a third party?, that they will be targeted based on their political beliefs, or that the IRS would not properly retain its employees' emails. This bill takes an important step toward restoring this agency to one that the American people both expect and deserve."

The bill is necessary to ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect taxpayer rights by preventing IRS abuses, Grassley and Thune said.  Among other provisions, the legislation:

•    Significantly increases civil damages and criminal penalties for the unauthorized disclosure or inspection of tax return information and significantly increases civil damages for improper IRS collection activities.

•    Imposes an affirmative duty on the commissioner of the IRS to ensure that IRS employees are familiar with and act in accordance with all taxpayer protections.

•    Updates the "10 deadly sins" established by the IRS Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998, those actions by IRS employees that require mandatory termination, to include official actions taken for political purposes.

•    Permits the Treasury Department to provide status updates, and in certain instances require status updates, regarding investigations into misconduct by IRS employees -- or in some circumstances third parties - to taxpayers who are the subject of the misconduct.

•    Puts the bite back into a provision, recently called a "toothless tiger" by Tax Notes, that permits taxpayers to bring a cause of action against the IRS for unauthorized collections actions.

•    Extends the declaratory judgment remedy currently available to 501(c)3 to other 501(c) groups, including 501(c)(4) social welfare organizations, in instances where the IRS fails to act on an application in a timely manner or makes a negative determination as to their tax-exempt status.

•    Prohibits IRS officers and employees from using personal email accounts to conduct official business.

•    Provides additional authority concerning the use of taxpayer information to the IRS for the purpose of locating taxpayers due a tax refund.

•    Requires tax-exempt organizations to file Form 990 electronically and mandates that the IRS make such information available in a timely manner.

•    Imposes new requirements on the IRS with respect to email retention consistent with the existing directive from the Office of Management and Budget and the National Archives.

Grassley is former chairman of the Finance Committee, with jurisdiction over the IRS.  Grassley championed the 1988, 1996 and 1998 taxpayer rights laws currently on the books.  Grassley and Thune serve together on the Finance Committee and are joining forces to make the right to quality service a high priority at the IRS.

The bill contains some provisions passed by the House of Representatives in April and additional provisions to address shortcomings that have come to light since the last taxpayer rights bill.

A section-by-section summary of the bill, S. 1578, is available here.  The bill text is available here.  Video of the news conference is available here.

ST. LOUIS (June 16, 2015) - Trans fats have been an active part of the soy industry's vernacular for decades. And, for the past decade, the industry - including the farmers who grow soybeans - have been working on solutions to meet food-customer needs for a stable oil without partial hydrogenation, which causes trans fats.

The FDA's recent announcement to phase out partially hydrogenated vegetable oils did not come as a shock to soybean farmers. In fact, the United Soybean Board (USB) has been working with industry on two replacement options for partially hydrogenated soybean oil for more than 10 years. And now, those solutions are coming to the forefront.

"The soy industry estimates that 2 billion pounds of partially hydrogenated soybean oil are used in food today," says Jimmy Sneed, a soybean farmer from Hernando, Mississippi and USB farmer-leader. "We're excited to bring solutions like high oleic and interesterified soybean oil to the market and ready to shift the discussion to innovation."  

High oleic soybeans produce an oil that food companies can use for stability without the need for partial hydrogenation. Farmers currently grow high oleic soybeans in nine states, with more acreage being added each year.

Commodity soybean farmers can help with the solution, as well. By interesterifying commodity soybean oil, processors produce a hard fat, similar to the consistency of margarine, which helps meet needs for some baking customers.

"The U.S. food industry continues to be an important customer to soybean farmers and the entire soybean industry," adds Sneed. "High oleic soybeans and interesterified soybean oil are solutions brought online to help food companies maintain the taste consumers prefer, while using a domestically sourced, sustainable oil."

The FDA has been considering removing the Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) status of partially hydrogenated oils since late 2013. After an open comment period in 2014, it announced this week intentions to phase out partially hydrogenated oils over the next three years.

Farmers interested in helping bring the solutions to the market sooner through high oleic soybeans should talk to their local seed or processing representative, or visit soyinnovation.com.

The 70 farmer-directors of USB oversee the investments of the soy checkoff to maximize profit opportunities for all U.S. soybean farmers. These volunteers invest and leverage checkoff funds to increase the value of U.S. soybean meal and oil, to ensure U.S. soybean farmers and their customers have the freedom and infrastructure to operate, and to meet the needs of U.S. soy's customers. As stipulated in the federal Soybean Promotion, Research and Consumer Information Act, the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service has oversight responsibilities for USB and the soy checkoff.

For more information on the United Soybean Board, visit www.unitedsoybean.org
Visit us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/UnitedSoybeanBoard
Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/unitedsoy
View our YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/user/UnitedSoybeanBoard

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This proclamation would offer an additional option to assist affected producers in disposal of safe, virus-free manure and compost from affected sites

(DES MOINES) - On Monday, June 15, 2015, Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad signed a disaster emergency proclamation for 18 Iowa counties adversely affected by highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), which would assist with disposal and clean-up efforts on affects sites.  The disaster proclamation can be viewed here.

The state of disaster emergency proclamation temporarily allows impacted chicken and turkey producers to dispose of manure and compost generated at a premise infected with HPAI as a Bulk Dry Animal Nutrient under Chapter 200A of Iowa Code. The material can only be moved off-site if the United States Department of Agriculture has certified that the material is virus-free. Normally, only un-manipulated animal manure qualifies for distribution under this code section.

This proclamation only applies to impacted chicken and turkey producers in the 18 counties with confirmed cases of HPAI. Counties included in this proclamation are: Adair, Buena Vista, Calhoun, Cherokee, Clay, Hamilton, Kossuth, Lyon, Madison, O'Brien, Osceola, Palo Alto, Plymouth, Pocahontas, Sac, Sioux, Webster and Wright.

The proclamation is effective until July 15, 2015.

The proclamation of disaster emergency can be read below:

WHEREAS, beginning on April 13, 2015, and continuing thereafter, there have been seventy-six confirmed cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza in the State of Iowa; and

WHEREAS, highly pathogenic avian influenza is a contagious and economically devastating disease that has threatened turkeys, chickens, and other poultry in our state; and

WHEREAS, the spread of this highly contagious disease continues to threaten the public peace, health, and safety of the citizens of the State of Iowa and has the potential to quickly destroy private property and exhaust local resources and capacities unless its spread is stopped.  These facts provide legal justification for the issuance of this Proclamation of a State of Disaster Emergency. Iowa Code §§ 29C.1, 29C.2 (1), 29C.6 (1); and

WHEREAS, Iowa poultry producers typically dispose of animal manure generated by their facilities under the provisions of Iowa Code Chapter 200A, and

WHEREAS, Iowa Code § 200A.3 (6) requires that animal manure must be "unmanipulated" and composed of "primarily of animal excreta" in order to be considered "dry animal nutrient product" to come under the regulation of Iowa Code Chapter 200A.  As defined, Iowa Code § 200A.3 (6) creates a particular hardship for turkey and chicken producers on sites infected by highly pathogenic avian influenza by making them ineligible to dispose of their animal manure under the authority of Iowa Code Chapter 200A, and

WHEREAS, producers with sites infected with highly pathogenic avian influenza in the following eighteen (18) Iowa counties are adversely effected by the definition of "dry animal nutrient product" in  Iowa Code § 200A.3 (6): Adair, Buena Vista, Calhoun, Cherokee, Clay, Hamilton, Kossuth, Lyon, Madison, O'Brien, Osceola, Palo Alto, Plymouth, Pocahontas, Sac, Sioux, Webster and Wright County.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, TERRY E. BRANSTAD, Governor of the State of Iowa, by the power and authority vested in me by the Iowa Constitution Art. IV, §§ 1, 8 and Iowa Code §§ 29C.6 (1), 163.3A (2) and all other applicable laws, and in conjunction with the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, and the authority granted to it under Iowa Code § 163.3A, do hereby proclaim a State of Disaster Emergency specifically for the following eighteen (18) Iowa counties: Adair, Buena Vista, Calhoun, Cherokee, Clay, Hamilton, Kossuth, Lyon, Madison, O'Brien, Osceola, Palo Alto, Plymouth, Pocahontas, Sac, Sioux, Webster and Wright and do hereby ORDER and DIRECT the following:

SECTION One. I temporarily suspend the regulatory provisions of Iowa Code § 200A.3 (6) requiring that animal manure be "unmanipulated" and composed of "primarily of animal excreta" in order to be considered "dry animal nutrient product" as defined by this section.  This suspension shall be effective only to manure and compost generated at a premise infected with highly pathogenic avian influenza and quarantined by the Iowa Department of Agriculture, in the counties delineated above, provided said material has been released for application in writing by the United States Department of Agriculture and the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship.  All other provisions of Iowa Code Chapter 200A shall apply to the above-described material.