2013 CHS Legislative Positions At the CHS Annual Meeting in December 2012, delegates approved resolutions addressing a broad range of agricultural, energy and cooperative policies. Among the highlights were these resolutions. • Making it a top congressional priority to pass a multi-year Farm Bill that includes provisions to cover multi-and single-year losses, such as drought and fl ood assistance, and strengthen risk management tools. • Urging Congress to consult with rural America to develop and fund a federal transportation plan that prioritizes effi ciency improvements in agricultural and rural American infrastructure, including water transportation; pipeline, rail and truck operations; and energy distribution. • Asking the U.S. government to expand market access and pursue policies that help ensure fair competition and a level international playing fi eld for U.S. producers, exporters and other value-added businesses. • Urging Congress and the administration to reduce the number of specialty-formulated gasolines, also known as “boutique fuels.” • Asking the U.S. government to refuse to sign an international global climate treaty or to pass national legislation that could cause economic damage to the U.S., including severe hardship for the agricultural sector or that excludes developing countries from compliance. • Supporting continuation of Section 199 domestic production activities deduction to the Internal Revenue Code. • Asking Congress to continue supporting collective activity by farmer cooperatives and the right of cooperative associations to act for and on behalf of their members as set forth in the Capper-Volstead Act. For the full slate of 2012 adopted resolutions, visit tinyurl.com/9wt9zy9. > The result is a persistent issue that has become a pressing matter, Engelen says. CHS joined with other Mississippi River shippers and barge operators to urge the Obama administration and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to immediately begin removing river obstacles near Thebes, Ill. The president agreed and the Corps advanced the project by more than four months. range of cooperative, energy and agricultural organizations on issues of mutual interest. Providing the Voice One eff ective tactic used by the CHS Washington, D.C., offi ce is to leverage its cooperative and producer ownership — strengthened by the voices of members and the CHS Board of Directors — to help illustrate how proposed policy changes play out in real life. CHS Director Steve Riegel, a Ford, Kan., farmer and chairman of the board’s Government Relations Committee, says his visits to congressional offi ces have confi rmed the impact of the cooperative and producer voice. “We absolutely make a diff erence. We don’t always get what we want, but we have the opportunity to inform our elected offi cials about who we are and how we diff er from the rest of the corporate world,” Riegel says. “We have direct contact with the acre and it’s important for them to understand why, as American farmers, we need the Farm Bill Focus Also topping the 2013 “urgent” list for CHS and others in agriculture is passage of a new Farm Bill. As part of its early 2013 actions to avoid the so-called fi scal cliff , Congress extended the 2008 farm program through Sept. 30, 2013. “What we value in a Farm Bill is a fi ve-year perspective,” Engelen says. “It provides the stability that allows us to plan with a long-term view. Simple extensions and other short-term measures make it diffi cult for producers and cooperatives to look past the current growing season.” By not acting before Jan. 1, 2013, Congress ensured that, “This Farm Bill will now be considered under extreme fi scal constraints and fewer available baseline budget dollars, so growers and commodity groups will see some signifi cant budget battles ahead,” Engelen explains. He and the CHS Government Aff airs team in Washington, D.C., also will be tracking tax and accounting issues with potential repercussions for cooperatives and producers. And they’ll be responding to increasingly strict federal regulatory enforcement, particularly from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Engelen anticipates a vigorous congressional debate on climate change issues. He adds that beyond proactive eff orts by CHS, the company will also continue to collaborate with a broad ability to operate as cooperatives to succeed in the global marketplace. “Hearing about our presence in their state — in my case that includes the CHS Refi nery at McPherson, Kan. — really makes an impression on legislators,” he says. Eff orts of the CHS Government Aff airs staff are bolstered by targeted congressional visits from CHS directors and business unit leaders and through formal policy positions approved by the co-op’s owners at the CHS Annual Meeting. “These resolutions are a powerful tool for laying out a clear, concise agenda that allows the company to assume a leadership voice with policy makers for CHS and cooperatives,” Engelen says. Riegel agrees. “We’re able to tell policy makers that we represent 350,000 American farmers and that really makes an impact. We’re here for American farmers, our member-owners. They realize we’re one of the top voices.” At a recent visit to CHS, Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) talked Washington policy with Carl Casale, president and CEO, CHS. 24 MARCH/APRIL 2013 CHSINC.COM