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COOL: 31 Senators Stand Up to USDA for Cattle Producers, Consumers Washington, D.C. (September 25, 2008) – R-CALF USA wishes to publicly thank a bipartisan group of 31 U.S. Senators who have formally written to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to request Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer to make substantive improvements in the agency’s Interim Final Rule (IFR) on mandatory country-of-origin labeling (COOL), scheduled to take effect Sept. 30. Original co-sponsors of the letter were Sen. Tim Johnson, D-S.D., and Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo. Other signors include: Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa; Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa; Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D.; Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo.; Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M.; Sen. Pete Dominici, R-N.M.; Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo.; Sen. John Thune, R-S.D.; Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb.; Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont.; Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y.; Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore.; Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo.; Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio; Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill.; Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn.; Sen. John F. Kerry, D-Mass.; Sen. Robert Casey, Jr., D-Pa.; Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis.; Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif.; Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D.; Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash.; Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del.; Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash.; Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont.; Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn.; Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn.; Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y.; and, Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev. “This 7-page letter accurately reflects the improvements needed in USDA’s COOL Rule and emphasizes how important it is for this legislation to be properly implemented,” said R-CALF USA CEO Bill Bullard. “It is great to see this strong contingent of Senators stand up for the interests of the many U.S. livestock producers, farmers and consumers who have worked so hard and for so long to finally see COOL implemented. With this many Senators joining together to express their collective concerns on COOL, we would expect USDA to consider their recommendations very carefully, and to actually modify the IFR to ensure proper implementation of the COOL law.” Among their numerous recommendations, the Senators requested the Agriculture Secretary to correct a particularly serious problem before the Sept. 30 effective date of the law – the loophole in the IFR that would allow meat products derived from animals exclusively born, raised and slaughtered in the United States to be mislabeled as a product from the United States, Canada, and Mexico. “This interim final rule, if left without clarification and proper guidance on this issue, has the real possibility of undermining the program, defying Congressional intent and the agreement between producers and the packing industry,” the letter states. “Consumers and producers are expecting to see exclusively U.S. origin product labeled as such.” The Senators requested the Agriculture Secretary “clarify this issue before September 30th, providing details of how you intend to ensure exclusively U.S. product is labeled correctly in its own category, ensuring consumers are afforded choice in the grocery store aisle.” COOL passed Congress and was signed into law in the 2002 Farm Bill and again in the 2008 Farm Bill. More prescriptive statutory language was included in the 2008 Farm Bill to ensure that USDA observed Congressional intent with respect to program implementation. Note: To view or download this letter, please visit the “Country of Origin Labeling” link at www.r-calfusa.com, or contact R-CALF USA Communications Coordinator Shae Dodson to request a copy. # # # R-CALF USA (Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund, United Stockgrowers of America) is a national, non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring the continued profitability and viability of the U.S. cattle industry. R-CALF USA represents thousands of U.S. cattle producers on trade and marketing issues. Members are located across 47 states and are primarily cow/calf operators, cattle backgrounders, and/or feedlot owners. R-CALF USA has dozens of affiliate organizations and various main-street businesses are associate members. For more information, visit www.r-calfusa.com or, call 406-252-2516. |
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This page was last updated on Wednesday, December 24, 2008. |
