Farming, Saturday, March 15,1980
a:
Legislative roundup
(Continued from Page Al)
Wednesday morning’s
breakfast hour.
The 50 Grangers, mostly
members of the legislative,
agricultural, dairy and
energy committees, had
their congressional
breakfast Tuesday morning.
Both Schweiker and
Senator John Heinz at
tended.
Grangers learned that
President Jimmy Carter’s
proposed across-the-board
budget cuts may hurt USDA
research programs. One
program facing a cutback is
research on strains of wheat
and com which can fix
nitrogen. Indication was that
the wheat project is nearing
a major breakthrough.
Also facing the axe is the
school milk program.
Funding may have to come
for such programs from the
local level.
The CNI dairy order
hearings, which many dairy
leaders seem to consider
nearly dead received new
life, Grangers learned.
Alfred Kahn, Carter’s
inflation advisor, seems to
have taken an interest in the
CNI proposal so now it
seems certain that CNl's
ideas will get as far as the
hearing stage, at least.
Congressman Ertel’s
remarks to PFA at Wed
nesday morning’s breakfast
began with the windfall
profits tax measure which he
said would definitely be law
within the next few weeks.
Although aimed primarily at
the oil industry, the measure
contained a number of
provisions that would be felt
directly by farm families,
Ertel said.
The measure would repeal
the carry-over basis method
of calculating inheritance
taxes. With this method
estate taxes would be
figured not on the value at
the time of death, but on the
Legislative scorecard page C-18
Congressman Alien Ertel, of Dauphin County,
explained his views on trucking regulation of 260
PFA members in Washington Wednesday and
Thursday to visit their Congressmen
Make TMR work
(Continued from Page A2l)
rate of TMR program is
increasing because it is a
sound concept, supported by
effective research and
technical leadership. He
pointed out that it is being
used increasingly in con
finement bam situations
aci
value at the time of a
property’s acquisition. For
many farmers, the carry
over basis would be not only
expensive, but almost im
possible to figure for farms
that have been in the same
families for generations.
While the carry-over basis
became law in 1976, with the
backing of the IRS, pressure
from the public and from
Congress has prevented its
use so far.
Another provision of the
windfall profits bill would
change Social Security
regulations to allow farmers
harvesting wheat the year
before their retirement, but
not selling it until the year
after, to collect the income
from the sale without har
ming their Social Security
status.
And a small savers’
provision in the next tax
mea r ore would exempt from
taxes the first $lOO in interest
payments on bank savings
accounts.
Ertel spent most of his
time talking about trucking
regulatory reform. He
pointed out that while
consumers’ food prices have
risen very little, or in some
cases dropped, over the last
12 months, the cost of
transporting food to market
has gone up 20 percent.
Transportation costs
account for some 10 percent
of the cost of food, so any
increases in retail food
prices would be eaten up by
truckers before it reached
fanners, Ertel pointed out.
A vigorous supporter of
deregulating the trucking
industry, Ertel is convinced
that freight costs would go
down if the Interstate
Commerce Commission was
given less power over the
industry.
The hidden costs of
regulation add up to $35 to
$lOO billion a year, Ertell
said. That figure includes
the salaries and other ex-
Braund said, “TMR will
play a major role in the
design of dairy feeding
programs and housing
systems in the future.” He
said the concept is
economically sound and will
be successful with good
management.—Sßß
tuixime
penses of the 2000 ICC ad
ministrators, and the even
higher price tag of lawyers
who specilize in appearing
before the ICC in rate review
cases.
If any truck could go by
any route to any town
hauling any commodity,
jncaster County’s delegation to the PFA Con
gressional visit included, left to right, seated:
Helen Wivel, -Phyllis Enslow, Tom Plank
(Congressman Bob Walker’s staff assistant), Jim
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neither the ICC ad
ministrators nor the lawyers
would be needed.
As an example of wasteful
truck routes, Ertel cited a
northern Maryland trucker
with rights to serve Pitt
sburgh The trip to Pitt
sburgh, by the most direct
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sending his trucks to New
Jersey, a wrinkle which adds
nearly 300 miles to the round
trip
Unfortunately, according
to Ertel, the confusion m
Hess, Ginny Hess, and Marian Brenneman. Stan
ding: Richard Haas, Bill Enslow, Elvin Brenneman,
Mary Ann and Michael Grove.
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tales makes this situation
tar from unusual in the
trucking industry.
Since everything that
tanners sell and buy is
hauled by truck, Ertel said
the agricultural community
has a big stake in pushing for
trucking reform.
*■4 *9*
(B
*4
dealer.