Policy Updates and Issue News April 2022

Competition/Supply Chain Bill Moves Forward

In April, Congress formally created a conference committee to resolve differences between the House and Senate versions of a bill designed to tackle supply chain issues and focus on areas of competition between the US and China. The bill as it stands is an omnibus bill including a wide variety of provisions which generally focus on supply chains as relates to trade with China. Both the House and Senate bills include provisions which would provide $50.2 billion to support domestic semiconductor manufacturing, significant funding for supply chain resilience programs, and billions of dollars in high-tech research and development funding. However, the two versions of the bill differ significantly with regard to what foreign and trade policy changes they would mandate.

Along with resolving policy differences, the conference committee is likely to have members try to tack on new provisions which were not included in either the House or Senate bill in the hopes that they can use this package as an opportunity to move other priorities through Congress. One bill that may be added into the final bill is the Ocean Shipping Reform Act (OSRA). OSRA is a bill which the National Grange supports, that would reform the way that the Federal Maritime Commission operates to allow it increased authority to combat unfair shipping practices and increase American exports. It will likely take many more weeks before the House and Senate can agree on and pass a final version of the competition bill, and the National Grange will be monitoring the development of the bill closely.

Ukraine, COVID-19 Funding, and Title 42

Both parties in Congress have agreed on the general contours of another package of military and economic aid for Ukraine to support it in resisting Russia’s invasion. Of interest to American farmers, some portion of this additional package may also include incentives for American farmers to increase production of commodities which will see decreased global supplies due to disruptions of both Ukrainian and Russian agriculture this year.

However, Democrats in Congress have sought to tie this package of aid to Ukraine to another round of funding for the federal government’s COVID-19 response, including funds to continue government purchases of vaccines, tests, and therapeutics. While many Republicans agree that more funding is needed to continue support for key COVID-19 programs, they disagree as to the size, scope, and method of funding which Democrats have proposed for this round of funding.

Yet more, some Republicans have declared their intention to tie any vote on new funding for COVD-19 to a vote on a provision known as Title 42. Title 42 gives authority to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) to limit immigration in response to a public health emergency, and the CDC has used this authority to limit immigration from Mexico under both the Trump and Biden administrations. However, with the pandemic abating the CDC is poised to end Title 42 immigration limits sometime in the near future. In response, Congressional Republicans are pushing for a vote to extend Title 42 immigration limits which would be a difficult vote for many Democratic incumbents who face reelection this fall.

So, with Ukraine, COVID-19, and Title 42 all tied together nothing is currently moving on any of those fronts for the time being while Democrats and Republicans both seek ways to get exactly what they want from the deal. Congress is likely to spend significant time in the coming weeks trying to unravel this mess of urgent legislation, leaving little time for many other issues.

Farmers and Ranchers Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Agriculture’s greenhouse gas emissions fell more than 4% from 2019 to 2020 according to EPA.  The EPA report emphasizes how voluntary, market-oriented and incentive-based conservation practices produce results. The largest emissions source is the transportation sector representing 27.2% of total emissions.  Next largest is electricity generation with 25% of total emissions.  Following as third largest is the industrial sector with 23% of total emissions.  Agriculture represents 9.9% of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.

Farmers and Ranchers Challenge the SEC

The Securities and Exchange Commission has proposed a major rule change and provided only 39 days for public comment.  The National Grange and the agricultural sector have petitioned the SEC for a 180- day extension from May 20 until November 16 to draft a meaningful response.  The proposed SEC rule would:

• Require companies registered with the SEC to provide certain climate related information including potentially invasive and burdensome information about farms and ranches.
• Farmers and ranchers are not ‘registrants’ or otherwise subject to SEC jurisdiction. The proposed rule changes this.
• The required reporting of greenhouse gas emissions creates new sources of substantial costs, technical challenges, and the risk of crippling legal liabilities.

House Bill Caps Insulin Cost

The House has passed legislation to cap the cost of insulin at $35 a month for more than seven million diabetes patients.  However, the bill does not lower the overall cost of insulin or solve the problem of skyrocketing drug prices.  These costs would shift to insurers and employers.

Cancer Test Held Hostage by Merger

A cutting-edge multi-cancer early detection test cannot be widely available at a reasonable cost until the Federal Trade Commission allows a company merger to move forward.  GRAIL has developed a test that can detect over fifty cancers with a simple blood draw, but the out-of-pocket cost is around $1,000.  Illumina has the infrastructure, scientists, institutional knowledge and funds to facilitate widespread access to the test.   The National Grange and a large group of patient groups are asking the Federal Trade Commission to allow the merger to proceed so this test can be widely available at an affordable cost as soon as possible.

More on Drug Pricing

The Federal Trade Commission is seeking public comment on how pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) impact patients.  The National Grange joined numerous patient groups to respond with a detailed discussion on how PBMs impact the health and well-being of patients with private insurance plans.  It appears PBMs have evolved into one of the largest drivers of drug costs and access restrictions between the manufacturer and the patient at the drug counter.