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TAKE ACTION NOW!
FDA TOBACCO MARKUP APRIL 2nd
The House Energy and Commerce Committee is planning a committee mark-up on April 2nd on a bill granting the Food and Drug Administration with regulatory authority over the manufacture and retailing of tobacco. SIGMA needs you to call your representatives in Congress, and particularly on the Energy and Commerce Committee, TODAY. Tell them that you have no problems with FDA regulating the manufacturing of tobacco, but that the legislation's provisions on retail sales unfairly threaten your livelihood, are unworkable, and are generally inequitable.
Our message is simple: the retail provisions of H.R. 1108 will less effective than the current system of state regulation and are unfair. Every state already regulates tobacco sales and this system has shown improvement every year for the last decade. Urge these Congressmen (or their staffs) to fix the retail provisions or eliminate them altogether. More information on the bill and SIGMA's position can be found in our Legislative Issues Book. Please click on the following links to the House Energy and Commerce Committee Members and their contact information; and refer to these documents (1) talking points for telephone conversations with the Members or their staff (ask for the "health staffer"); (2) NACS' testimony from October on the bill for background; and, (3) the latest "Synar report," firmly establishing that teenage smoking is in decline. If you’d like SIGMA to fax you these documents, please call 703-709-7000.
If you have any operations in the Districts of any Energy and Commerce Committee Members, we urge you to call right away. Since the Congressional recess will continue into next week, make every effort to meet your representative face-to-face. Let them know how devastating this legislation can be to our industry. Our counsel at Steptoe & Johnson (Tim Columbus or Jim Barnette or Doug Kantor -- 202.429.3000) stands ready to help you with questions or if you have any feedback. You can win this one, and SIGMA is happy to help! If this is an important issue to your business, it is imperative you tell members of Congress that directly. Your elected officials respond to constituents. Right now, this is a battle between two sets of paid lobbyists. Constituent contact resolves that contest. If members of Congress hear overwhelmingly from their constituents that they do not favor this legislation, then changes that must be made to the bill to make it a workable program, will be made.
EU FINDS CONTROVERSY IN BIOFUELS PROGRAM
At the World Biofuels Congress on March 14 in Brussels, European Union (EU) member state leaders opened the way for a possible review of the current EU commitment to make biofuels account for 10 percent of all transport fuels by 2020 because of mounting criticism that the target is contributing to the rising costs of food production, mass deforestation, and water shortages while contributing little in the way of greenhouse gas reduction. Some leaders acknowledged that recent studies have raised legitimate questions about biofuels and the issue of whether or not biofuels are causing more problems than they solve. Others insisted the EU biofuels target is a worthy goal because not only will it lead to reduced dependency on oil but it will also lead to the rapid development of second generation biofuels that will not rely on food crops such as corn for production.
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EPA WILL NOT DISCLOSE DOCUMENTS
On Mar. 20, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) declined to provide a number of documents sought by Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA), the chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on EPA's failure so far to propose regulations on greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles or to make a finding on whether the emissions endanger public health or welfare. Waxman had requested unpublished drafts of a proposed vehicle greenhouse gas emissions rule and a draft of the endangerment finding, along with other documents. EPA Associate Administrator Christopher Bliley said the request "implicates very important Executive Branch confidentiality interests." Waxman has been conducting an investigation of EPA's efforts to comply with the Supreme Court decision and to deny California a waiver to implement its own vehicle emissions standards. He has issued subpoenas for a number of EPA documents as part of the investigation. EPA has provided copies, some of them redacted, of thousands of documents related to the two issues. Waxman issued a subpoena March 13 for documents related to the California waiver decision.
ECONOMIC IMPACT OF CAP-AND-TRADE BILL
The Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) recent cost analysis of the Lieberman/Warner cap-and-trade legislation has raised new concerns that the bill may have a disproportionate effect in raising energy costs across regions such as the Midwestern plains states that rely largely on coal-fired power plants. According to EPA's analysis released March 14, the cap-and-trade would cost the U.S. economy between 0.9 percent and 3.8 percent of projected gross domestic product by 2030. While the bill’s emissions cap is expected to have more of an impact on electricity prices than on fuel, gasoline prices are still expected to increase by 53 cents per gallon by 2030 and as much as $1.40 per gallon by 2050, according to EPA's analysis. Supporters of cap-and-trade efforts argue that EPA's overall findings suggest the Lieberman-Warner bill, which could be taken up by the full Senate as early as June, would have relatively modest impacts on the U.S. economy while reducing emissions linked to global warming.
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CARB TO REVISIT ZERO EMISSION VEHICLE PROGRAM
At a March 27th public hearing, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) will revisit its zero-emission vehicle regulations to weigh proposed amendments designed to reflect the pace of technological advances and encourage the introduction of new vehicles. If approved, the revisions would reduce from 25,000 to 2,500 the number of "pure" zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) major automobile manufacturers would be required to sell from 2012-2014. Under the proposed revisions, automobile makers would be able to meet the 2012-2017 requirements with gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles and natural gas-fueled vehicles. CARB also would create a new category offering automakers credits for selling "enhanced" advanced technology vehicles, such as plug-in hybrids and internal combustion engine vehicles powered by fuel cells. If finalized, the proposal would mark the fifth round of changes to the landmark program CARB adopted in 1990, which Massachusetts, New York, Vermont, and other states also have put in place.
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API LAUNCHES CREDIT EXCHANGE
The American Petroleum Institute (API) has launched an Internet database that petroleum refiners can use to buy and sell renewable fuel credits. The new API Credit Exchange, which will be known as ACE, will allow market participants to more easily identify buyers and sellers of renewable fuel credits. ACE will serve as a clearinghouse of data to help companies find trading partners. In addition to the posting service, ACE gives subscribers, who will pay an annual fee, access to an online database that allows them to track their trades and create data reports to submit to EPA. Summary reports are available through ACE to help companies with federal and state filing requirements. Information on the API service can be found at: http://www.api.org/ace.
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EMISSIONS REDUCTIONS FROM MARINE DIESEL ENGINES
On Mar. 14, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a final rule designed to make significant reductions in particulate matter and nitrogen oxide emissions from locomotives and marine diesel engines. When the regulations take full effect in 2015, EPA estimates they will result in a 90 percent reduction in particulate matter emissions from the engines and an 80 percent reduction in nitrogen oxides. By 2030, EPA projects that the emissions limits will reduce particulate matter emissions by 27,000 tons per year and nitrogen oxide emissions by 800,000 tons. The rule applies to all line-haul, passenger, and switch locomotives that operate extensively within the United States, including newly manufactured locomotives and remanufactured locomotives that were originally manufactured after 1972. Among many other provisions, the rule will require ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel for locomotives and marine diesels after 2012. After 2012, sulfur content in engines will be capped at 15 parts per million.
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SPRING MASTERS PROGRAM
SIGMA is teaming up with FCStone to present "Effective Hedging Strategies." Happening just prior to SIGMA's Spring Convention, this 2-day program will be held May 17-18 at the Westin Resort Hilton Head in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. This course is designed to provide attendees with practical knowledge of all of the steps necessary to implement a successful hedging and risk management program. Attendees will learn how to manage price risk on pipeline barrels, protect retail margins, explore ways to buy and sell physical forward contacts, discover customizable business strategies, in-depth options coverage, and plan for future capital needs of hedging. Register today!
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SIGMA SHARE GROUPS: IT AND HR
IT unite and join your peers on June 18-19 in New Orleans, LA, and address the strategic issues around IT, including planning, outsourcing, optimizing applications, network security and how to buy solutions effectively. As an option, arrive a day early and join other volunteers and work on a Habitat for Humanity house in New Orleans and assist in their efforts to rebuild New Orleans. In September there will be an HR Share Group-- HRCI certified for up to 8.25 CE's. Details can be found at www.sigma.org. Click on the Share Group link.
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SIGMA Weekly Report March 24, 2008 © Copyright SIGMA, 2008
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