Soybean Policy Initiatives (2004)

Listed below are ASA's priority policy issues. Sections are linked to pages that contain additional information and details about that issue. These are the issues that ASA and state soybean leaders discussed with their Congressional representatives during Hill visits on Tuesday, March  30, 2004. 

View or download 17 page, 49KB PDF file of Issues and Backgrounders.

ASA supports national policy that includes the volumetric excise tax credit for biodiesel and ethanol. The tax credit for biodiesel should be $1.00 per gallon for biodiesel made from virgin oils and animal fats and 50-cents for biodiesel made from recycled oils. ASA urges that the biodiesel tax credit be included in any tax, energy, or transportation legislation Congress passes this year, including the Energy, Transportation, and FSC/ETI bills. ASA also supports the CCC Bioenergy Program that provides a fair and equitable level of support for soy-based biodiesel. [Learn more.] 

ASA supports implementation of 2002 Farm Bill programs that encourage increased use of bio-based products by the federal government. [Learn more.]

View ASA's Corporate Tax Bill Talking Points 

ASA asks Congress to bring federal research funding for soybeans to a more equitable level in relation to federal research investments in other major commodities, and to provide the critical federal research dollars that are necessary for the long-term survival and competitiveness of the U.S. soy industry. We have the following specific requests:

1. Restore $10 million in funding for USDA soybean research projects terminated in the President’s proposed FY05 budget;

2. Add $2.8 million to fund critical soybean rust research needed to prepare and better protect the U.S. soybean industry from soybean rust, a devastating plant disease that has been listed as a bio-terrorism threat;

3. Provide $1.5 million in FY05 for the Legume Crops Genomics Initiative to fund development of molecular markers that can be used across multiple legume species (soybeans, alfalfa, peanuts, dry beans, peas & lentils);

4. Through a collaborative effort called "QualiSoy," soybean producers, processors, seed and food companies have begun work to improve the intrinsic qualities of the soybean, and will be seeking Federal support for our efforts in future years;

5. Support two new projects totaling $250,000 in the President’s budget for controlling Chinese aphids;

6. Support increased funding for biobased products and bioenergy, especially biodiesel and soy-based products research; and

7. Continue multi-commodity efforts that tackle common diseases, such as the Sclerotinia Initiative.

ASA asks Congress to provide $2.8 million in ARS-funded research to develop rust resistance in soybean varieties. ASA also asks Congress to support EPA approval of additional fungicides prior to the prospective introduction of rust in this country. In view of the serious consequences of a rust outbreak, ASA has asked the Administration to initiate a national preemption and response plan.

ASA asks Congress to give schools a choice to offer fortified soymilk to all students as part of a reimbursable meal in USDA’s child nutrition programs. This choice should not be conditioned on unnecessary and intrusive paperwork such as justifications from parents or state agency notifications.

ASA urges Congress to provide $20 million in Pre-Construction Engineering and Design (PED) funding in FY05 for new locks on the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers. Antiquated locks are hurting U.S. soybean farmer competitiveness domestically and internationally. Additionally, ASA urges Congress to authorize the construction of at least seven new 1200-foot locks on the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers in the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA). 

View/download/print (59KB PDF) ASA Lock & Dam Talking Points 

6. Biotechnology [Learn more.]

ASA has led efforts to oppose the EU’s new regulations requiring traceability and labeling (T&L) of food products containing biotech ingredients. These new regulations are not based on science, are discriminatory, and will negatively impact U.S. soy, corn, and food exports to the EU. Worse yet, the EU’s regulations likely will be imposed on many developing countries wishing to export to the EU, and will be copied by other nations just as the EU’s first biotech labeling law was copied. Congress should urge the Administration to challenge these regulations that will damage U.S. commodity and food exports initially to the EU, and potentially to many other countries around the globe.

ASA supports funding USDA conservation programs at levels established in the 2002 Farm Bill, including implementing the Conservation Security Program (CSP) as a national program.

ASA supports carbon sequestration research and related efforts to maximize the benefits of conservation practices that store carbon and other nutrients in the soil. More about Carbon Sequestration.  

ASA supports restarting the Doha WTO negotiations as soon as possible, and achieving a major outcome in liberalizing world trade. We are prepared to see a substantial reduction in trade-distorting domestic support, provided there is substantial improvement in market access for soybeans, soybean products, and livestock products. We insist that developing countries that are major export competitors be subject to the same disciplines on domestic support as developed countries. ASA opposes renegotiation of the Blair House Agreement or reopening of the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Agreement. More about WTO.

ASA supports ratification of the Central America and Morocco Free Trade Agreements. We support immediate tariff elimination for soy products in the Andean FTA. More about Bilateral and Regional FTA's.

ASA supports increased use of soy protein in treatment of HIV/AIDS, including in U.S. government and private sector foreign food assistance programs. More about HIV/AIDS.

ASA supports the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) with 60% of the funding directed toward the livestock industry, and other environmental cost-share funding for livestock producers. ASA supports livestock industry objectives in the WTO negotiations and in bilateral and regional free trade agreements.

FDA-required labeling of the trans fats in foods may drive some food manufacturers to take the unhealthy step of substituting tropical oils for soybean oil. Such action would increase consumers’ overall saturated fat intake. ASA is working with others in the soybean industry to offer trans fat solutions, including new processing methods and changing the composition of soybeans. Legume Genomics and QualiSoy research funding (mentioned above) are key to these efforts.