Pressure for Farm Bill Ahead
The recent fiscal cliff tax vote also extended the 2008 Farm Bill for another year, but leaves the need for a five-year farm bill unmet. “Our mantra was farm bill…
DetailsSwipe Fee Ruling Expected This Week
Several important new swipe fee developments are upon us. First, class counsel may begin sending out notices of the settlement to the approximately 8 million merchants in the class, perhaps…
DetailsOhio Tapping Fracking’s Potential
New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania stand to become the next North Dakota with fracking, Stateline.org reports. Overall, the U.S. will likely rank first in the world for producing oil and…
DetailsCordray Appointment Ruled Unconstitutional
The D.C. Court of Appeals ruled last week that President Obama’s January 2012 recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) were unconstitutional, thereby throwing into doubt a significant…
DetailsSNAP’s Critical Role in Improving Health
A new brief from the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC)—SNAP and Public Health: The Role of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programin Improving the Health and Well-Being of Americans—walks readers…
DetailsEPA Proposes 2013 Renewable Fuel Standards
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing the 2013 percentage standards for four fuel categories that are part of the agency’s Renewable Fuel Standard program (RFS2). The proposal—announced last…
DetailsFDA Seeking Comments on Harsher Warning Labels on Smokeless Tobacco Packages
The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) is establishing a public docket to obtain comments, supported by scientific evidence, regarding what changes to smokeless tobacco product warnings, if any, “would…
DetailsSenate Democrats Take on Tobacco Taxes
Last week, U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin (D-IL), Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) introduced the Tobacco Tax Equity Act (S.194), a bill that seeks to make taxes on pipe…
DetailsEthanol Battle Continues
The American Petroleum Institute (API) is “strongly considering” petitioning the Supreme Court to review an appeals court decision that preserved the EPA’s decision to allow E15 fuel in the marketplace,…
DetailsAdvisor Alert: Visa® and MasterCard® to Begin Allowing Surcharging on Select Credit Transactions
Visa and MasterCard have announced that as a result of a November 2012 federal district court settlement ruling, they will be able to provide merchants in the US and US…
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