Lobbying Efforts Reported
to NCBA Policy Division

DENVER (Feb. 3, 2011) — Reporting to the National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA) Policy Division Forum during the 2011 Cattle Industry Convention in Denver, NCBA Vice President of Public Affairs Colin Woodall said lobbying in Washington, D.C., is seldom easy. Tthe political climate has been particularly rough during the last two years. Washington machinations presented a number of potential threats to the beef business during recent months. Yet, said Woodall, lobbying efforts by NCBA resulted in a number of significant victories.

Woodall said NCBA attacked proposed climate change legislation, refuting the misguided notion that a cap-and-trade bill would be a boon for agriculture and explaining to lawmakers that it would have negative consequences for beef producers. NCBA also responded to accusations that overuse of animal antibiotics was running rampant resulting in the tainting of meat and groundwater. Woodall explained how the association’s Beef 101 education program used experts on the subject to better inform congressional members and staff, and kept them from attaching a restrictive amendment to the health care bill.

In the last few hours of 2010, NCBA scored a big win in its opposition to the scheduled return to a 55% “Death Tax” rate for estates valued greater than $1 million.

“We stood firm and achieved an exemption for estates up to $5 million-$10 million for couples,” reported Woodall. “And for estates valued above that, the current 45% rate was reduced to 35%.”

Woodall said that after being short-handed for too long, NCBA’s Washington office is again fully staffed. He introduced staff members who explained efforts to address a wide range of issues ranging from seeking fairness in calculation of public lands grazing fees, to battling overregulation proposed by federal agency bureaucrats. The latter, it was noted, often result from widespread misinformation so NCBA is continuing its education efforts to help agency personnel understand who and what the beef industry is and encourage decision-making based on science-backed facts.