Washington Insider-- Thursday

By DTN's Washington Insider

Here's a quick monitor of Washington farm and trade policy issues from DTN's well-placed observer.

Hamburg Resignation Should Not Affect FDA's Food Safety Activities

The announcement that Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Margaret Hamburg is resigning effective next month is not expected to cause even a small hiccup in the agency's continuing efforts to overhaul the nation's food safety system and redesign the nutrition labels on food products, according to agency observers.

The largest agenda item that FDA is facing is completing work on the rules that are needed to implement the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), the most expansive law to prevent foodborne illness in more than 70 years. FDA is under court order to complete work on FSMA regulations outlining safety procedures for the produce industry, food processors, importers and transporters by this August.

After announcing her resignation, Hamburg received praise from food safety and nutrition advocates as well as from legislators from both political parties for her performance in the job she held since 2009. In the short term, FDA Chief Scientist Dr. Stephen Ostroff will become acting commissioner. Questions already are being raised about whether the Senate will approve a new FDA commissioner before Obama leaves office in January 2017.

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House Leaders Pressured to Introduce Long-Term Transportation Reauthorization Bill

Nearly 300 House members this week called on House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., to pass a long-term surface transportation reauthorization bill. In a letter to the two leaders, the coalition, which represents more than two-thirds of the House membership, calls for passage of a multi-year surface reauthorization instead of another short-term extension. The current surface transportation law expires May 31.

The letter says the House members in the coalition would support efforts to develop a long-term, sustainable revenue source as soon as possible and "stands ready" to work with Boehner and Pelosi on such a bill.

It is clear that a substantial majority of House members want to nail down a transportation bill that will provide greater certainty for future infrastructure projects. However, it is unlikely that there is agreement among the 300 on how such a measure should be written and how it would be funded. For example, Boehner has signaled he would not vote to increase the federal gas tax to provide transportation funding, but that he is open to overhauling the tax code. Getting the measure approved by the May 31 expiration date of the latest short-term extension will prove challenging.

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Washington Insider: New Ohio Legislative Efforts to Counter Algal Blooms

Congressional lawmakers frequently claim to see new opportunities to limit the reach of the Environmental Protection Agency, both by reducing its budget and forcing additional reviews on any proposed regulations. And, popular as such efforts are in many quarters, evidence continues to grow that when environmental threats develop, legislators are willing to consider tough new rules.

An example is the reintroduction of new legislation directing EPA to tackle harmful algal blooms that could contaminate drinking water supplies in the Great Lakes and its tributaries by members of Ohio's delegation.

As she did in the 113th Congress, Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio, introduced the Safe and Secure Drinking Water Act of 2015 that would direct EPA to publish a health advisory within 90 days of the enactment of the legislation and to submit reports on what level of microcystins in drinking water is expected to be safe.

"We cannot waste any time with the next algae season rapidly approaching," Kaptur told the press.

In addition, Rep. Bob Latta, R-Ohio, reintroduced the Drinking Water Protection Act that would direct EPA to develop a plan to assess and manage risks associated with toxins produced by blue-green algae, also known as cyanobacteria, in drinking water provided by public water systems. EPA would be required to submit the plan to Congress within 90 days of its enactment.

These efforts have significant implications for agriculture, since harmful algal blooms resulting from excessive nitrogen and phosphorus runoff from farms and municipal sources have attracted national attention ever since a ban was imposed on Toledo, Ohio, tap water in August. This action followed discovery of a toxin, a type of microcystin, released during an outbreak of blue-green algae in Lake Erie, the city's drinking water source.

Both bills were directed to the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which oversees regulation of drinking water under the Safe Drinking Water Act.

Latta introduced an identical measure in the waning days of the 113th Congress after a hearing before the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Kaptur introduced the Safe and Secure Drinking Water Act of 2014 in September just before Congress recessed for mid-term elections. At the time, Kaptur pledged to reintroduce the bill in the 114th Congress and to work toward securing its passage if she was unable to gain a vote in the last Congress.

Kaptur said she hopes the bill will prod the EPA into acting on its own to issue the long-awaited standards for drinking water.

There is no question that the anti-big government sentiment in the current Congress has made EPA's efforts more difficult, and even more controversial, observers say. At the same time many EPA proposals and actions are widely unpopular, there is widespread political support for efforts to protect the environment, especially from well-defined health threats such as those that developed in Ohio last year, Washington Insider believes.

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(GH/CZ)

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