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To: Everyone
From: Bill Bullard, CEO
Date: June 23, 2024
Background: Senator Mike Rounds (R-SD) has extended the deadline for including more Senators on his letter (copied below) urging Congress to include MCOOL in the 2024 Farm Bill. The deadline is tomorrow, June 24!
Action: This is Urgent! We need to flood the following targeted Senate offices with calls and emails urging them to join the Rounds letter supporting MCOOL in the Farm Bill. (Some of you may have an email address but please call the office as well.)
Key Senators who have Not Yet joined the Rounds’ letter:
Colorado
Michael Bennet 202-224-5852
John Hickenlooper 202-224-5941
Indiana
Todd Young (202) 224-5623
Montana
Steve Daines 202-224-2651
Nebraska
Pete Ricketts 202-224-4224
New Mexico
Ben Ray Lujan 202-224-6621
Ohio
Sherrod Brown 202-224-2315
J.D. Vance 202-224-3353
Oklahoma
Markwayne Mullin 202-224-4721
North Dakota
John Hoeven 202-224-2551
Kevin Cramer 202-224-2043
South Dakota
John Thune 202-224-2321
Wyoming
John Barrasso 202-224-6441
Even if your Senator is not on this list, please keep calling them until they tell you they will join the MCOOL letter. You can reach all other Senators by calling the Capitol Switchboard and asking for them by name: 202-224-3121. Track who has cosigned the letter at www.rounds.senate.gov/mcool2024.
Your Senators can join the letter by contacting:
Lucas Heitkamp
202-224-5842
Lucas_Heitkamp@rounds.senate.gov
Remember: Deadline is tomorrow, Monday, June 24!
Thank you for your help!
Here is Senator Rounds’ letter:
June X, 2024
The Honorable Debbie Stabenow
Chairman
Senate Appropriations Subcommittee
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510
The Honorable John Boozman
Ranking Member
Senate Agriculture Committee
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Chairwoman Stabenow and Ranking Member Boozman:
American farmers and ranchers produce the highest quality beef products in the world. Consumers and producers across the nation recognize this fact and are in search of additional market integrity. Therefore, we believe it is past time to reinstate mandatory country of origin labeling (MCOOL) for beef. As the Senate Agriculture Committee develops a new Farm Bill, we believe it is necessary to work towards a feasible MCOOL solution.
For almost a century, U.S. trade law has required the majority of imported products to bear a country of origin label. Americans recognize the clear benefits of consumer labeling laws and regularly use this information when making important purchasing decisions. Yet as you know, a number of agricultural commodities have been excluded from country of origin labeling requirements. In response, a broad coalition of producer and consumer groups worked to incorporate retail-level MCOOL in the 2002 Farm Bill.
Following the successful implementation of MCOOL, producers and consumers enjoyed a short-lived period of marketplace transparency. This change applied the same country of origin labeling standards to beef as the majority of other consumer goods sold in America. Unfortunately, a coalition of large meatpacking companies and foreign beef interests worked to repeal MCOOL. After Canada and Mexico filed a dispute with the World Trade Organization (WTO), Congress officially rescinded the law in 2015.
Since the repeal of MCOOL, American cattle producers have experienced significant market fluctuations. Concurrently, the largest meat packers have realized immense profits through the use of forward contracting and formula-based sales. While cattle prices are currently on the rise, it is evident producers will again encounter market disruptions. As farmers and ranchers deal with a volatile market, it is imperative the federal government work to provide a level playing field. This can be achieved through supporting additional transparency in our beef labeling system.
Our American farmers and ranchers work hard to provide the safest and best tasting beef in the world. Producers of foreign beef should not receive an unfair advantage when engaging in our domestic markets, especially as our competitors do not always meet American animal health and consumer safety standards. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s recent “Product of the USA” final rulemaking is a step in the right direction, but there is more work to be done.
Without a reasonable solution to the MCOOL question, hardworking American farmers and ranchers will continue to be put at a disadvantage. It is our hope Congress will use the Farm Bill to address this pressing issue. This would entail using the legislation to require U.S. trade leaders to develop a WTO compliant means of reimplementing MCOOL.
Thank you for your consideration. We look forward to working with you as we move closer to finalizing the upcoming Farm Bill.
Sincerely,
# # #
Ranchers Cattlemen Action Legal Fund United Stockgrowers of America (R-CALF USA) is the largest producer-only lobbying and trade association representing U.S. cattle producers. It is a national, nonprofit organization dedicated to ensuring the continued profitability and viability of the U.S. cattle and sheep industries. For more information, visit www.r-calfusa.com or call (406) 252-2516.
