As required by law, the Federal Reserve recently released its bi-annual report on swipe fees and determined to keep the interchange fee standards (capped at 21 cents plus 5 basis points) and fraud prevention adjustment (1 cent) the same. The Merchants Payments Coalition (MPC) has noted that the Fed has refused to protect consumers and…
DetailsThe U.S. ethanol mandate could force gasoline prices to rise this summer, two U.S. Republican senators warned yesterday in a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The ethanol mandate, incorporated under the Congressional Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), requires biofuels to be blended into the U.S. fuel supply each year through 2022. The mandate, administered…
DetailsCongress is home for a two-week Passover/Easter recess. Before members left, the House sent a stopgap spending bill (H.R. 90) for the remainder of FY2013 to the President for signature, and both chambers passed separate (very different) FY2014 budget resolutions. As proposals to weaken SNAP continue, take action this recess to push back on the…
DetailsFDA has released proposed rules on preventive controls for human food. The rule requires firms that manufacture, process, pack, or hold human food to have written plans to identify hazards, specify steps to minimize or prevent those hazards, identify monitoring procedures, record results, and specify corrective action. The proposed rule published on January 16, 2013.…
DetailsMany MIRA members received a Settlement Notice regarding the MasterCard/VISA lawsuit settlement. In fact, all retailers who accepted VISA and/or MasterCard at any time between January 1, 2004, and November 27, 2012, are affected by the proposal. The notice requires each individual to take action to object and/or opt-out before the May 28 deadline. After…
DetailsSNAP Participation Takes Small Drop in January 2013. SNAP national participation in January 2013 decreased by 19,948 people over the month to 47,772,108 people—1.3 million persons higher than in January 2012. USDA Secretary Battles Attacks on SNAP/Food Stamps. Speaking at an event, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack said the SNAP/Food Stamp Program and other federal nutrition…
DetailsPresident Obama’s budget plan would increase taxes by $1 trillion over the next decade, reported the Associated Press, including a new tax on cigarettes and familiar proposals to increases taxes on the wealthy and some corporations. Obama’s proposal would increase the federal tax on cigarettes from $1.01 per pack to $1.95. The new cigarette tax…
DetailsWith nearly one in five Americans saying they struggle to afford enough food for their households, President Barack Obama’s FY2014 budget, released last week, protects and proposes to further strengthen federal nutrition programs. “President Obama’s budget recognizes the crucial role the federal nutrition programs play in helping low-income people afford and access healthy food. By…
DetailsAt a U.S. Senate Appropriations hearing on the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) proposed FY2014 budget last week, Senators Roy Blunt (R-MO) and Thad Cochran (R-MS) asked Commissioner Margaret Hamburg about menu labeling. The exchange is transcribed below. Senator Blunt: Where are you on the topic of menu labeling? When do you expect the FDA…
DetailsCalling electronic cigarettes a possible pathway to traditional cigarettes and other tobacco products, five U.S. senators are calling on the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) to issue “deeming regulations” asserting regulatory authority over tobacco products such as cigars, pipe tobacco, e-cigarettes, and dissolvable tobacco products—and to restrict the sale, distribution, and marketing of e-cigarettes…
Details