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.

Senators Urge Full Funding for FDA Food Safety Efforts

Following several well-publicized food recalls over the couple of weeks, seven senators have called on the Senate Appropriations Committee to fully fund the Food and Drug Administration's food safety activities authorized by the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). Since it was signed into law in 2011, FSMA has received less than half the amount it needs for full implementation, the group says.

FSMA was enacted to bring the U.S. food safety system into the 21st century by enabling federal agencies to prevent food contamination rather than reacting once illnesses have occurred, says the letter. Prevention is key, they senators say, given that foodborne pathogens cause an estimated 48 million illnesses and 3,000 deaths annually.

The senators say that FDA needs significant additional resources and that providing the president's requested increase of $109.5 million would enable the agency to take a number of steps needed to boost the nation's food safety efforts. That being said, for many members of Congress, underfunding food safety efforts is an annual event. There is little reason to believe that this year will be any different.

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McConnell Plans Floor Action this Month on Iran Nuclear Agreement, TPA

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., says he is taking steps to ensure that the Senate finishes work on bills addressing the proposed nuclear agreement between the United States and Iran and Trade Promotion Authority for the Obama administration before the end of the month. His comments indicate that those two measures could consume much of the remaining time between now and when senators are expected to leave May 22 for the week-long Memorial Day recess.

A vote on the Iran bill could come as early as today, thus freeing the Senate to do more than work on trade legislation. However, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., wants the Senate to use the next two weeks to pass legislation to protect federal transportation programs. A stop-gap measure to ensure the solvency of the Highway Trust Fund expires May 31 and Congress has to act on that matter before the Memorial Day break, Reid said.

Reid and a number of Senate Democrats are expected to try to block the TPA bill from advancing. Whether they can succeed remains unclear. However, with 44 votes in the Senate, Democrats can make things challenging for Majority Leader McConnell. (Also see longer item below.)

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Washington Insider: The Trade Policy Fight Intensifies

Earlier this week, a senior Japanese official told a Brookings Institute seminar that passage of Trade Promotion Authority legislation — fast track — is essential for the conclusion of the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement. In addition, he warned against attempts to "renegotiate issues that have consensus agreement," which is one of the key protections that fast track offers and one of the reasons for its development, observers note.

Yasutoshi Nishimura, state minister of the Cabinet Office and a member of Japan's House of Representatives, said early passage of the TPA legislation would accelerate the TPP negotiations.

Nishimura's comments were seen as both good and bad news. The evaluation of TPP progress was seen as good news, but he sent a warning, too. He said that "there is no room for us to renegotiate on what we once agreed," he said. "I have explained this to congressmen and government officials during this visit to Washington."

Following Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's April 28 meetings with President Obama and his April 29 joint address to Congress, the United States announced that the final meeting of the TPP chief negotiators would take place May 15-25 in Guam. TPP trade ministers will meet on a bilateral basis on the margins of the May 23-24 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting of the "ministers related to trade."

Ahead of the comments of the Japanese officials, U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman told the press that unresolved issues in TPP negotiations among 12 Pacific Rim countries "have been whittled down to a reasonable number." This includes progress on so-called 21st century trade issues such as state-owned enterprises and the digital economy. He added that progress over the past year has been "dramatic," and that the United States is now focused on transitions and exceptions in the state-owned enterprises chapter.

While there are open areas in the pending TPP agreement, all 12 partners are focused on finding compromises that they can support, he said.

Froman reiterated the view that the talks are at the end game stages but added that this is where the most difficult issues will need to be addressed. "Everybody is very much in the closing mode," he said.

Froman characterized the TPP as a renegotiation of areas where the North American Free Trade Agreement fell short, such as labor and environmental commitments which NAFTA addressed in side letters. In contrast, the TPP will contain labor and environmental commitments in the core of the pact that will be fully enforceable, he said.

Meanwhile, the internal dispute among Democrats over TPA has Republicans amused and a number of Democrats concerned. Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid of Nevada says he will continue to try to hold back President Obama's push for the TPP, and for fast track as well. Reid told The Huffington Post he now wants the Senate to put the trade bid on hold until the chamber first deals with an infrastructure bill and proposed surveillance reforms.

White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest, responding to Reid on Tuesday, questioned the notion that the Senate could not tackle all those issues at once. "We're setting the bar awfully low if we think the Senate can only do one thing over the next month," Earnest said, while citing the measure's "strong bipartisan support."

Also on Tuesday, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky pushed back, urging his colleagues to support the trade measures.

"Of course we've already heard of an attempt to stand in the way of the bipartisan effort to debate this legislation. We already heard of yet another effort to make a partisan stand against a bipartisan accomplishment that would help grow opportunities for our constituents," McConnell said. He said he still plans to turn to the trade issue shortly.

So, we will see. Trade opponents, especially union members and their lobbyists, have been adamant against both TPA and the TPP deal, and the current displays seem to be pure, bare knuckles politics. A main difference between this and other congressional fights is the fact that the administration is on same side as the Republican leadership.

Still, many see the outcome as up for grabs, although the smart money seems to favor the leadership position for the deals. Thus, the fight continues to be bitter, complicated with much opaque posturing that basically involves an advanced form of name-calling. Still, the issue is important and should be watched carefully by producers as it proceeds, Washington Insider believes.

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(GH/CZ)

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