“Senate Passes Health Care Reform”
By a vote of 60 to 39 the United States Senate has passed the controversial health care reform bill. Cost of the bill is estimated by the Congressional Budget Office to be 871-billion dollars. The bill is expected to go to conference with the House version o the bill as early as next week.
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“Democratic Senators Ready to Sell Health Care Bill”
Senate Democrats are now focused on selling the bill to their constituents. They will have to convince Americans that the health care overhaul bill is good for them. With President Obama staying largely above the fray, rank-and-file Democrats are busily scripting narratives portraying the public as net winners in a reconfigured medical marketplace.
Pennsylvania Democrat Bob Casey says- we not only have to talk about it, we have to make it work. According to the Congressional Budget Office, – the 871-billion dollar legislation would expand health insurance coverage to more than 31 million Americans who would otherwise lack it. CBO says the federal budget deficit would also decrease over time.
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“Grassley-Republicans Have Problem With Health Care Reform”
Republicans say they still have a problem with the health care reform bill. During a speech on the Senate Floor this week, Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley said the bill still raises taxes on middle-income Americans – the Reid modification did nothing to reverse this fact. According to Grassley, – the bottom line is this. My Democratic friends cannot say that all taxpayers receive a tax cut and they cannot say that the Reid bill does not raise taxes on middle-income Americans.
Grassley noted, – the Joint Committee on Taxation projects that in 2019 a little more than 13 million individuals, families, and single parents would receive the government subsidy for health insurance. That same year there will be 176 million tax filers – meaning that 163 million individuals, families, and single parents or 93% of all tax returns receive no government benefit under the Reid bill.
Also, JCT figures indicate that 42 million tax filers with income under 200-thousand dollars will see their taxes go up. This is even after taking into account the subsidy for health insurance. Grassley says, – if we were to identify those Americans who are not eligible to receive the tax credit and those whose taxes go up before they see some type of tax reduction from the subsidy, this number climbs to 73 million.
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“Politicians Escape Effect of Health Care Reform”
Senator Chuck Grassley has again been rebuffed in his efforts to include the staff of Senate leadership and committees, as well as the President, Vice President and White House staff, in a requirement that members of Congress and congressional staff get their employer-based health insurance through the same exchanges that would be created for the rest of the country under pending health care legislation. Grassley asked for unanimous consent to allow his amendment to be offered. A Democratic senator objected on behalf of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.
According to Mr. Grassley, – careful examination by the Congressional Research Service of the bill that Senator Reid brought to the floor revealed that one of the things that happened behind closed doors was that leadership and committee staff ended up being carved out from having to live under the new health care exchanges that this legislation would create and impose on the rest of the country. Grassley claims – this creates a double standard that’s inexcusable.
Grassley’s interest in having policy makers participate in the exchange is consistent with his long-held view that Congress should live under the same laws it passes for the rest of the country.
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“Andean Pact Extension Approved”
The Senate has sent President Obama legislation that would extend two trade agreements, the Andean trade preference program and the generalized system of preferences, until December 31, 2010. Both programs are set to expire at the end of this year. The Andean preference program provides trade benefits to Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. The generalized system of preferences program offers reduced duties on varied goods from many developing countries, including Brazil.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus of Montana applauded passage of the bill and said it was a prelude to an overhaul of trade programs in 2010. The House passed the bill by voice vote on December 14.
Passage of the measure had been held up by New Jersey Senator Frank Lautenberg. The move was to place pressure on the Brazilian Supreme Court to rule in favor of New Jersey father David Goldman, who has fought a five-year custody battle in the country to win the release of his 9-year-old son. The Brazilian Supreme Court did rule in the father’s favor.
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“ASA ‘Action Alert’ Issued”
The American Soybean Association has issued an “Action Alert” – urging its members and supporters to – continue pressing your Senators for quick action to extend the biodiesel tax incentive as soon as Congress returns in the new year. The biodiesel tax credit will lapse at the end of 2009 and, according to ASA, – will deal a severe blow to the U.S. biodiesel industry.
While legislation to extend the biodiesel tax incentive and other expiring tax provisions passed the House of Representatives, the Senate’s singular focus on health care legislation prevented action on a tax extenders package.
ASA officials say they will – continue to work to reinstate the credit retroactively in 2010. ASA, state soybean associations, and the biodiesel industry will press for quick action – the sooner that Congress returns and enacts the tax credit, the better chance that biodiesel producers will have to return to operation.
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“EPA Encourages Using Power Plant Waste on Farm Ground”
The Environmental Protection Agency believes that the use of flue gas desulfurization gypsym in agriculture is safe in appropriate soil and hydrogeologic conditions. In fact, the federal government is encouraging farmers to spread the chalky waste on their fields to loosen and fertilize soil. The material is produced by power plant “scrubbers” that remove acid-rain-causing sulfur dioxide from plant emissions. A synthetic form of the mineral gypsum, it also contains mercury, arsenic, lead and other heavy metals.
The EPA says those toxic metals occur in only tiny amounts that pose no threat to crops, surface water or people. But some environmentalists say too little is known about how the material affects crops, and ultimately human health, for the government to suggest that farmers use it. Jeff Ruch, executive director of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, says – this stuff has materials in it that we’re trying to prevent entering the environment from coal-fired power plants, and then to turn around and smear it across ag lands raises some real questions.
EPA is expected to announce its proposals for regulation for coal waste early next year, setting the first federal standards for storage and disposal of coal wastes. According to the EPA, – field studies have shown that mercury, the main heavy metal of concern because it can harm nervous-system development, does not accumulate in crops or run off fields in surface water at “significant” levels.
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“Spring Corn Harvest Expected”
The slowest harvest in 35 years is not yet complete. The final U.S. Department of Agriculture Crop Progress report for the 2009 growing season indicated that 95 percent of the corn harvest is completed nationally. Despite dogged determination, some areas of the Northern Corn Belt are still well behind at this time.
National Corn Growers Association President Darrin Ihnen, a farmer in Hurley, South Dakota, says – this is the most challenging harvest I can remember. Fortunately, yields are high. Unfortunately, so is moisture. Many are beginning to realize they will be conducting a spring harvest in 2010.
Only Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee and Texas report a completed harvest. The harvest is only 68 percent complete in North Dakota. NCGA Firs Vice President Bart Schott of Kulm, North Dakota says – we have been blessed with decent harvest weather over the past week. However, moisture levels of more than 30 percent are still common in the northern part of the state.
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“Fight Begins to Supply Wheat to Saudi Arabia”
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has decided to end domestic wheat production by 2016 and may eventually need to import more than 2.5 million metric tons, or about 9-million bushels of wheat per year. According to Dick Prior, U.S. Wheat Associates Regional VP, Cairo, Egypt, – competition for this market is intense.
To help meet the competition, USW conducted a seminar in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to introduce U.S. Wheat and the U.S. marketing system to the Saudi Arabian wheat buying organization, Grain Silos and Flour Mills Organization. The seminar was the first ever held exclusively with this new international wheat buyer. The seminar was designed to build confidence in U.S. wheat crop quality, handling, and commercial reliability.
Competition for this market is tough, especially from north of the U.S. border. The Canadian Wheat Board monopoly is allowing select traders to offer comparable quality Canadian wheat at delivered prices well below what U.S. exporters can offer. Prior says, – establishing the value of U.S. wheat with GSFMO is critical. Saudi Arabia purchased almost 60-thousand metric tons or 2.2 million bushels of U.S. hard red winter wheat in marketing year 2008-2009.
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“Plant Health Problem Can Be Solved With Hot Water”
Rhizoctonia web blight is an annual problem found in many ornamental plants grown in containerized nursery production in the southern and eastern United States. The fungus lives on plant surfaces and in the pine bark soil throughout the year, yet only causes plant damage in July and August, when heat and humidity peak. Undetectable to the human eye, Rhizoctonia can be carried on stem cuttings used to propagate new plants and circulated within a nursery.
Researchers, working at the Agricultural Research service’s Southern Horticultural research laboratory in Poplarville, Mississippi, have found that placing the cuttings in water at 122 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes is the most effective method to eliminate Rhizoctonia without damaging the plant. Doing so eliminates the need for fungicide treatment.
According to ARS plant pathologist warren Copes, there is still potential for the cuttings to be re-contaminated in other areas of the production process. He is trying to identify which steps pose the most risk for re-contamination, with the goal of maximizing control of this fungal disease with the least amount of effort and expense for producers.
