Congress passed the Fiscal Year 2016 Omnibus Appropriations Bill, which funds the federal government. President Obama needs to sign, but here are some key booze points provided by Wine America:

• TTB Funding: The bill features $106,439,000 in appropriations funding for TTB. This is $5,000,000 more than last fiscal year, with that money dedicated to label and formula approval.
• COOL Repeal: The bill repeals the mandatory country of origin labeling requirements for certain cuts of beef and pork. The repeal of the COOL rule will protect the American wine industry from costly tariffs placed on wine exported into Canada and Mexico.
• Tax Filing Requirements: Alcohol producers liable for not more than $50,000 per year in federal excise taxes to file and pay such taxes on a quarterly basis, rather than by month. Additionally, those producers liable for not more than $1,000 per year may pay taxes annually, rather than quarterly. The provision also exempts such producers from IRS bonding requirements.
• Definition of Hard Cider: The provision defines hard cider for purposes of alcohol excise taxes as a wine with an alcohol content of between 0.5 percent and 8.5 percent alcohol by volume, with a carbonation level that does not exceed 6.4 grams per liter, which is derived primarily from apples, apple juice concentrate, pears, or pear juice concentrate, in combination with water. The previous alcohol content limit for hard cider was 0.5 percent to 7 percent.
• Market Access Funding: The bill fully funds the USDA Market Access Program (MAP) at $200 million.  MAP funds are key for states expanding their wine sales into foreign markets.