November 3, 2005 Phone: 406-672-8969; e-mail:
[email protected]
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U.S. Cattle Producers Praise Efforts of Senators
Who Voted Against Ag Appropriations Bill
in Effort to Keep M-COOL Law Intact
(Billings, Mont.) – With regard to today's U.S. Senate vote of 81-18, which puts into effect the FY06 agriculture appropriations bill, please attribute the following statement to Danni Beer, a South Dakota rancher who also chairs R-CALF USA's COOL Committee:
"R-CALF USA wants to offer enormous thanks to the U.S. senators who voted against the ag appropriations bill to show their support for the Mandatory Country-of-Origin Labeling (M-COOL) law passed in the 2002 Farm Bill. Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont., Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, Sen. Tim Johnson, D-S.D., Sen. Craig Thomas, R-Wyo., and Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., each publicly stated they were voting against this bill largely because it effectively kills country-of-origin labeling.
"These senators took serious note of last week's secretive conferee meeting, where participants – behind closed doors, with no debate and no vote – effectively killed Mandatory COOL by delaying the program until 2008.
"Mandatory COOL was originally to have been implemented on Sept. 30, 2004, but immediately after the 2002 Farm Bill was signed into law, the multi-national meat packers and big-business grocery retailers successfully lobbied for a delay until Sept. 30, 2006.
"Now these same special interests groups – supported by the same handful of congressional leaders led by Rep. Henry Bonilla, R-Texas, used the same underhanded maneuvers to once again delay Mandatory COOL, this time until Sept. 30, 2008.
"The conference committee tried to spin this development as a simple two-year delay, but because farm bills run for a period of five years, and the programs established in each farm expire when a new farm bill takes effect, this congressional action effectively kills Mandatory COOL.
"Today's vote is a setback for Mandatory COOL, but R-CALF will not waver from its goal of working with members of Congress who understand the importance of this program and the importance of seeing to it that Mandatory COOL is implemented on or before Sept. 30, 2006.
"R-CALF USA wants to thank the senators who expressed their disdain for the covert conference committee action that killed Mandatory COOL, as these individuals – both Republicans and Democrats – recognize this not only as a pro-competition issue, but also as a pro-consumer issue.
"Without Mandatory COOL, U.S. cattle producers are without the tools necessary to effectively compete in a global marketplace. We must have the ability to differentiate our superior products from among the growing volume of foreign beef products being imported into the United States.
"Consumers want and deserve the right to know where their beef comes from, and there is a growing recognition by consumers around the country that Mandatory COOL is the best way to provide such information. The U.S. cattle industry is going to get it for them."
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R-CALF USA (Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund, United Stockgrowers of America) represents thousands of U.S. cattle producers on domestic and international trade and marketing issues. R-CALF USA, a national, non-profit organization, is dedicated to ensuring the continued profitability and viability of the U.S. cattle industry. R-CALF USA's membership consists primarily of cow-calf operators, cattle backgrounders, and feedlot owners. Its members – over 18,000 strong – are located in 47 states, and the organization has over 60 local and state association affiliates, from both cattle and farm organizations. Various main street businesses are associate members of R-CALF USA. For more information, visit
http://www.r-calfusa.com or, call 406-252-2516.
