The Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) should continue to press to eliminate the European Union (EU) ban on U.S. exports of live, fresh, frozen or processed products containing molluscan shellfish, echinoderms, tunicates, or marine gastropods, said Rep. Mike Michaud, D-Maine, and 15 other House members in a June 20 letter to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack and FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg. The lawmakers sent the letter as Vilsack wrapped up a multiple-day trip throughout Europe. The EU imposed the ban in 2009, and since then officials from both sides have been crafting an equivalency agreement to ensure product safety, said the letter.
House Democrats introduced on June 24 a bill to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank for seven years at a $5 billion annual increase, topping off at a $175 billion reauthorization mandate in fiscal year 2021. House Financial Services Committee member Denny Heck, D-Wash., led the introduction, but 200 Democrats co-sponsored the bill. The legislation would authorize the bank from Oct. 1, following its Sept. 30 expiration. Industry officials have recently ramped up pressure to reauthorize the credit agency, and 41 Republicans expressed support for reauthorization in a June 23 letter (see 14062405).
Recent trade-related bills introduced in Congress include:
Rep. Charlie Rangel, D-N.Y., reportedly faces a tough reelection bid in his June 24 primary, election analysts say (here). Rangel, formerly the chairman of the full House and Ways Committee, is currently the ranking member on the House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee. Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., is the next highest ranking Democrat on the subcommittee. Neal is a member of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership caucus (see 14040803).
The State Trade and Export Promotion (STEP) Grant is a critical lifeline for small businesses to expand exports to new markets abroad, said Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship Chairwoman Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., during a June 18 hearing. Cantwell vowed to introduce legislation to reauthorize the program. The STEP program’s authorization expired at the end of fiscal year (FY) 2013, but the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2014, signed into law on Jan. 17 appropriated $8 million for the program in FY14.
More than 40 Republican House members urged Speaker of the House John Boehner, R-Ohio, and Majority Leader-elect Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., to pass a multi-year Export-Import (Ex-Im) reauthorization prior to the looming Sept. 30 expiration of the credit agency’s charter, in a June 23 letter. Boehner has been a staunch proponent of the bank throughout his tenure in office, but McCarthy in recent days rejected reauthorization (see 14062301).
The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security approved fiscal year 2015 funding legislation on June 24 without amendment, a committee spokesman said. The text of the bill has not yet been released. The House Appropriations Committee advanced counterpart legislation on June 11 (see 14061218).
Correction: The House Appropriations Committee advanced on June 18 fiscal year 2015 Energy and Water Development, and Related Agencies appropriations legislation, after the Energy and Water Development subcommittee approved the measure on June 10 (see 14061017). The full House has not yet considered the measure (see 14061909).
The House Financial Services Committee will examine Export-Import Bank reauthorization in a June 25 hearing, the committee announced. The committee has not yet released the names of witnesses. Lawmakers are continuing to debate the credit agency program’s merits as its expiration approaches at the end of the fiscal year (see 14061804).
The Senate adjourned consideration on June 19 of the omnibus fiscal year 2015 appropriations legislation for Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies, Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies (CJS), and Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and Related Agencies (THUD). The Senate did not vote on the bill. Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., adjourned the markup because he was unable to broker compromise with Senate colleagues over planned amendments to the legislation, according to reports. Reid's office did not respond for comment.