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Congress to take up important legislation
Congress is due back this month, and there are many issues important to Ohio farmers that legislators could vote on during the lame duck sessions. Before Congress gets into those issues, though, they must first finish appropriations bills.

Adam Sharp, OFBF senior director of national and regulatory affairs, said Congress first has to approve spending bills before they get into perhaps four key issues, including immigration reform, Water Resources Development Act (WRDA), the estate tax and horse slaughter legislation.

According to Sharp, immigration legislation may come up during lame duck sessions.

A compromise bill passed the Senate that included a guest-worker package for immigrants, but the House-passed bill only dealt with immigration enforcement. OFBF supported the Senate bill but Sharp said there are still some questions about it, adding that the Senate-passed version, although it includes guest-worker provisions, is "not perfect." Sharp said Congress would have to discuss two very different versions of the bills to find a compromise.

WRDA would authorize building much needed locks and dams on the Upper Mississippi and Illinois rivers, which would benefit Ohio corn and soybean growers. It has been passed by both branches but there are major differences in the Senate and House approaches. Sharp said discussions on getting the differences ironed out are on the agenda right now.

Sharp said a November vote on the estate tax is a long shot and is unlikely to come up. He said several different versions passed the House, and the Senate has yet to vote on it. Sharp said Farm Bureau approves of the House versions because the legislation increases the estate tax exemption level.

Key senators are trying to prevent a lame duck vote on a horse slaughter bill. The legislation would make it illegal for old and unwanted horses to be slaughter for human consumption. Groups including OFBF and the Ohio Livestock Commission are against such legislation because of the precedent it would set for on-farm euthanasia for all livestock. Equine groups also say that there are not enough horse rescue operations to take care of such horses. Sharp said a bill passed the House and is now in the hands of the Senate.