Policy Updates and Issue News November 2017

The National Grange 151^st annual convention was held November 7-11, 2017 in Spokane, Washington.  As has been the tradition of the Grange for 150 years, policy development was the centerpiece of the national meeting.  State Grange delegates from around the country served on seven committees that considered resolutions passed by state Grange conventions and forwarded to the national committees. Resolutions passed by the national committees were forwarded to the delegate body business sessions as recommended new or amended policy positions for 2018.  The delegate body adopted 34 public policy resolutions and eight internal policy resolutions from the seven committees.  The adopted resolutions now become official National Grange policy. Grange policy development is truly a grassroots bottom-up process that must pass scrutiny at local, state and national levels.

Congress returned to Washington following their Thanksgiving recess to face a daunting December agenda.   The House of Representatives passed its version of tax reform earlier in November, but the Senate just began its floor debate on tax reform after Thanksgiving.  The final tax package will be a compromise between Senate and House-passed versions hashed out by a Senate-House conference committee and sent back to each body for approval.  Their target of is to have tax reform wrapped up and to the President’s desk by Christmas.  That could be a challenge since Congress will be in session roughly 15 days before leaving town until January.  Meanwhile the continuing resolution that funded the federal government since the fiscal year began October 1 expires December 8.  A budget agreement to fund the government for the next ten months is a top priority but it could face a fight from House Democrats if it fails to include legalization of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) or immigrant “Dreamers” recipients.

Reforming the tax code under any circumstance is extremely difficult but this time around there are so many interlocking issues that cannot be ignored.  Several Republican senators are concerned about the impact the tax plan could have on the deficit by adding up to $1.5 trillion to the national debt over the next decade.  The Senate plan would repeal ObamaCare’s individual mandate which requires most Americans to buy health insurance or pay a penalty, but not all Republican senators are sold on the idea; neither are the Democrats.  The Senate will attempt to pass its tax package before attempting a budget deal to fund the government past December 8.

The National Grange is advocating for its adopted tax policies as tax reform moves through Congress.  Some of the key provisions are:

• Simplify the entire code and close corporate loopholes, complexities and unfair practices so everyone pays fair share
• Lower the personal income tax rates to allow individuals and families to keep more of their hard earned pay
• Preserve cash accounting for small and mid-sized farms and family businesses so they are taxed only on what they produce and bring to market, not on their production inventory.
• Allow interest deductions for land purchases and production inputs
• Reduce capital gains tax rates so aging landowners have an incentive to sell to young and beginning farmers
• Repeal the death tax so families who have built businesses over several generations of hard work are not forced to sell to developers and others just to pay estate taxes
• Reduce the corporate business tax rate so American companies can compete in a globalized world and have the incentive to bring off-shore taxes back home
• Preserve the Section 199 deduction to allow farmer cooperatives to continue to reinvest in agriculture and rural communities

Tax reform has passed the House and is pending in the Senate.  The Senate is debating tax reform and will attempt to pass its bill by December 1.  The two bills have several major tax policy differences.  A House-Senate conference committee will hash out these differences behind closed doors and will try to present a compromise package to both the House and Senate before Christmas for a final vote.

ACA/ObamaCare Signup

Initial signup surged during the first weeks of open enrollment, more than the same period in past enrollments.  However, open enrollment ends December 15, much earlier than the past.  With such a shortened period, signup numbers could actually drop behind past years.  The Children’s Health Insurance Program expired September 30 leaving nine million in limbo.  Congress has yet to come to a bipartisan agreement to reauthorize it so this will be another year-end scramble on Capitol Hill.

Opioids in Farm Country

A just-released survey by Morning Consult sponsored by the American Farm Bureau and National Farmers Union  indicates the opioid crisis has struck farm and ranch families much harder than the rest of rural America.  In the survey, 74 percent of farmers and farm workers say they have been directly impacted by opioid abuse.  Three in four farmers and those who work around agriculture say it would be easy to access large amounts of prescription drugs or pain killers without a prescription.  Rural adults overwhelmingly understand that abuse can begin accidentally by using what are deemed to be safe drugs.         

Restoring Internet Freedom

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is proposing to repeal a set of regulations that have slowed broadband deployment in recent years.   Known as “net neutrality”, these regulations moved from a market-based approach to a regulatory framework two years ago that was designed in the 1930’s to combat telephone wire-line monopolies.  Repealing the net neutrality rules as proposed by the FCC should stimulate investment in building and expanding broadband networks in rural and low-income areas.  With this proposal, the FCC should move to require increased transparency from internet service providers to allow start-ups, small businesses and consumers to make informed decisions.  The National Grange will continue to follow these proposed regulatory changes closely.

Lifeline

The National Grange has long supported the Lifeline program that makes wireless, landline and broadband services available at affordable discounted prices to qualified low-income households.  Now the FCC is proposing to eliminate funding to telcom companies which reach about 75 percent of Lifeline subscribers.  A GAO report found examples of waste, fraud and abuse in some Lifeline service locations but there was no evidence in the GAO report that rural America was part of the problem.  Some in the telcom industry suggest the money could be better utilized for broadband expansion.   However, broadband expansion in rural areas is slow and in the meantime, isolated, elderly, disabled and low-income citizens still need a Lifeline connectivity to the rest of the world.    Unfortunately, rural America was not adequately considered as this proposal was being drafted.  The National Grange will continue to advocate for fixing the problems but keeping  Lifeline as an essential service.

Legislation to rebuild America’s ailing infrastructure could become a casualty of tax reform legislation moving through Congress.  Many of the available options for funding infrastructure repair may be used instead to pay for tax reform.   As an example, it appears Congress is poised to eliminate the deduction on tax-exempt private activity bonds which are used by public-private partnerships to build roads, highways, airports and other such projects.

Last summer, Senate and House agriculture committee members were hoping to begin the farm bill legislative process before Christmas.  That didn’t happen of course.  Everything in Washington, especially on Capitol Hill, is backlogged and bogged down.   But the agriculture committees have been quietly negotiating and drafting farm bill language behind the scenes and in a bipartisan manner.  Leadership of both committees say they’ll be ready jump-start the farm bill process in January. 

The committees will have limited budgets and increased demands from new players in the farm bill arena.  Groups representing organic, natural, local, fresh, sustainable, specialty crops, young and beginning farmers, veteran farmers and more are clamoring for a piece of the farm bill pie.  Crop insurance and SNAP (food stamps) will be targeted for reductions to pay for new programs.  Oregon Democrat Representative Blumenauer and several colleagues have already introduced an alternative farm bill that trims the more traditional farm programs and highlights numerous small and new programs.

When a major carrier dropped family-owned RFD-TV from its lineup last year, the response from rural and small town America was immediate.  RFD-TV headquarters in Nashville were swamped with hundreds of thousands of letters, emails and notes from fans.  Most major TV channels are based on the coasts.  By inauguration time, networks were wondering if voters who felt forgotten by politicians also felt forgotten by television networks.  Advertisers began to notice RFD-TV’s programming that includes Ag Day, Market Day Report, the Cowboy Channel, FarmHer, Dude Ranch Roundup, Opry Encore, Home Improvement, classic reruns (Gunsmoke, The Virginian, Hee Haw, Larry’s Country Diner, etc,) and more.  Another major carrier has now picked up RFD-TV and the network continues to expand.  RFD-TV will soon be available in U.S. House of Representatives offices.

“A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both.”

Dwight D. Eisenhower

“Education without values, as useful as it is, seems rather to make a man a more clever devil.” 

C.S Lewis

“Open your arms to change but don’t let go of your values. “

                                                                               Dalai Lama