Overnight Regulation: US poultry industry devastated by bird flu outbreak

Welcome to OVERNIGHT REGULATION, your daily rundown of news from Capitol Hill and beyond. It’s Tuesday evening here in Washington and lawmakers are trickling into town after a long weekend. 

Here’s the latest.

 

THE BIG STORY

The United States has faced its largest animal health emergency in the country’s history, an Agriculture Department administrator said Tuesday.

Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), otherwise known as bird flu, is wreaking havoc on the U.S. poultry industry, John Clifford, deputy administrator of USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), said during a Senate Agriculture, Nutrition & Forestry Committee.

The outbreak, which started in December 2014, has affected more than 48 million birds in 15 states with the highest tolls taken on turkeys and egg-laying chickens in Minnesota and Iowa. 

{mosads}”All told USDA has committed over $500 million, an amount more than half of APHIS’ yearly discretionary budget, in addressing this outbreak,” Clifford said. “We can and will request additional funds should we need to.”

Chairman Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) said it’s important to point out that this outbreak of bird flu poses no food safety risk or public health risks.

“The virus itself does not cause any particular concern at this time for the Centers for Disease Control and Health and Human Services,” Clifford said. “We monitor this very closely with them.”

As a result of the outbreak, he said USDA eradicated 7.5 million turkeys and 42 million chickens and young hens, representing approximately 3 percent of U.S. annual turkey production and approximately 10 percent of the egg-laying chicken population.  

“As a sign of the difficulties producers are facing, this year is the first year in more than a decade that the United States will import eggs from European markets to help make up the shortage from the millions of birds lost to the outbreak,” Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) said.

Clifford said the U.S. needs to find a better way to control the disease and save the animal protein by developing new strains of vaccines.

Both Clifford and Dr. David Swayne, laboratory director of the Southeast Poultry Research Laboratory of USDA’s Agriculture Research Services, said personnel and funding cuts have impacted their ability to respond to the outbreak.

“The question is how much do you want to pay for,” Clifford said when Sen. Bob Casey Jr. (D-Pa.) asked how much funding the department needs. “You pay for what you get.”

Clifford said his appropriated budget for veterinary services under APHIS is around $250 million for 1,800 people. The department, however, he said has been approved to hire 460 temporary workers, of which 300 will be health technicians and veterinarians responding directly to the outbreak throughout the U.S.

Casey asked Swayne if it’s possible to eradicate the current outbreak without the use of a vaccine.

“We have not had an outbreak flock in about three weeks,” he said. “Which, at this point, suggests we are at that point of eradication of the current outbreak virus that began in December.”

But he said the next question is whether the flu will come back with migratory birds in the fall, which would probably start in late August in Minnesota.

“That will be the big question,” he said. “Will we be prepared for a potential onslaught of another wave of outbreaks?”

 

ON TAP FOR WEDNESDAY

The House Homeland Security’s Oversight and Management Efficiency Subcommittee will hold a hearing examining the Department of Homeland Security’s misplaced focus on climate change. http://1.usa.gov/1S6jZFA

The House Agriculture Committee will hold a hearing on the economic impact of exporting crude oil. http://1.usa.gov/1RUommN

The House Financial Services Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit Subcommittee will hold a hearing to examine the designation and regulation of bank holding-company SIFIs (systemically important financial institutions). http://1.usa.gov/1CYKRjH

The Senate Judiciary’s Crime and Terrorism Subcommittee will hold a hearing on cyber crime and modernizing our legal framework for the information age. http://1.usa.gov/1U0Mzfd

The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee will hold a hearing on stopping the avian influenza threat to animal and public health. http://1.usa.gov/1NJFHh6

The Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee will hold a hearing to discuss the role of the Financial Stability Board in the U.S. regulatory framework. http://1.usa.gov/1HKQfN3

 

TOMORROW’S REGS TODAY

The Obama administration will publish 163 new regulations, proposed rules, notices, and other administrative actions in Wednesday’s edition of the Federal Register.

Here’s what to watch for:

–The Surface Transportation Board (STB) will propose to move up the filing deadlines for certain reports that railroads must submit to the agency.

The reports include: “Quarterly Condensed Balance Sheet Forms (CBS); Quarterly Revenue, Expenses, and Income Reports (RE&I); Quarterly and Annual Wage Forms A&B; Quarterly Reports of Fuel Cost, Consumption, and Surcharge Revenue; Quarterly and Annual Freight Commodity Statistics Report Forms (QCS); Annual Report of Cars Loaded and Terminated (Form STB-54); and Monthly Report of Number of Employees.”

The public has until Aug. 7 to comment. http://bit.ly/1MchaB8

–The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) will finalize a review of designs for physical security systems. 

Changes to the standard review plan go into effect in 30 days. http://bit.ly/1S6Ecer

–The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) will propose a new index level for measuring annual changes to oil pipeline rate ceilings.

This comes as part of a five-year review by FERC.

The public has 45 days to comment. http://bit.ly/1ClU5vA

–The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will consider changes to the disclosure rules for auditors. 

The public has 60 days to comment. http://bit.ly/1gmjPOw

 

NEWS RIGHT NOW

Marijuana: Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) is facing pressure to back reforms to marijuana laws from advocates in her home state. http://bit.ly/1UxpyRm

Immigration: The Obama administration is reuniting tens of thousands of migrant children with their illegal immigrant parents once they arrive in the United States, government officials say. http://bit.ly/1He7kgL

School lunches: Michelle Obama’s signature school lunch rules are coming under fire from Republicans who want to roll back the controversial nutrition standards. http://bit.ly/1dJxkGf

Smoking: The majority of adults say the smoking age should be raised to 21 years. http://bit.ly/1JMRFJ1

Climate change: The Environmental Protection Agency is determined to press ahead with climate change regulations, despite a recent Supreme Court defeat. http://bit.ly/1G5His0

Campaigns: Payday lenders spent more than $15 million trying to influence top Republicans ahead of the 2014 congressional elections, according to a new report. http://bit.ly/1CnURs0

Campaign finance: Government contractors should not be allowed to make political contributions, a federal court ruled Tuesday, in a win for proponents of stronger campaign finance laws. http://bit.ly/1floGiV

 

BY THE NUMBERS

$11M: Amount payday lenders spent lobbying lawmakers ahead of the 2014 congressional elections.

$4M: Amount payday lenders contributed to lawmakers and their independent political committees ahead of the 2014 congressional elections.

$300,000: Total received by the National Republican Congressional Committee and the National Republican Senatorial Committee from payday lenders.

$210,500: Amount that House Financial Services Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) and political groups supporting him received from payday lenders ahead of the 2014 congressional elections.

(Source: Americans for Financial Reform.) 

 

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“To force you to serve food that hungry kids throw out maybe tops the list of things the federal government shouldn’t be doing,” Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-Wis.) said at a recent hearing on whether the school lunch regulations under the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act are working for students and schools.

 

We’ll work to stay on top of these and other stories throughout the week, so check The Hill’s Regulation page (http://digital-staging.thehill.com/regulation) early and often for the latest. And send any comments, complaints or regulatory news tips our way, tdevaney@digital-staging.thehill.com or lwheeler@digital-staging.thehill.com. And follow us at @timdevaney and@wheelerlydia.

Click here to sign up for the newsletter: http://bit.ly/1pc6tau