Keep up the Calls to
Congress About the Farm Bill
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Thank you to those who have already contacted
their Congressmen and the Committees about the Farm Bill!
Congress needs to know that we do not want NAIS in the Farm Bill, nor do
we want them to pre-empt local and state laws on our food supply.
Calling takes just a few minutes, or you can write just one letter
and send copies of it to each person. That small investment of
time is very important to the survival of independent agriculture!
Protecting our rights is a marathon process, not a
sprint. The more often they hear from us, and the earlier in the
process we get involved, the better. So take a few minutes now, while the Farm
Bill is still in draft form, and make your voice heard! And
stay tuned for future action alerts, as votes occur and other bills come
up.
More information, including talking points and
contact information, is below.
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The House Committee on Agriculture is working on a
draft version of the Farm Bill that includes two sections that pose a
threat to our food supply. The draft language would
link the National Animal ID System (NAIS) to Country of Origin Labeling and
pre-empt local control of our foods.
DRAFT FARM BILL PROVISIONS: Section 121 of
the draft would allow the USDA to use a mandatory animal identification
system in order to implement Country of Origin Labeling (COOL).
This would open the door for the USDA to link the National Animal ID
System (NAIS) to COOL, forcing small farms out of business and harming
our local food supply. Read more about NAIS and COOL at http://farmandranchfreedom.org/content/NAIS-and-COOL
Section 123 of the draft would bar states or
localities from prohibiting any food or agricultural product that USDA
has deregulated. This provision would deny local or state and state
rights to regulate such things as genetically engineered crops or
food. You can read the proposed provisions at http://agriculture.house.gov/inside/Legislation/110/LDP.pdf.
The House Committee needs to hear from you NOW! Below is the contact
information for the Chair and the Ranking Minority Member of the
Committee. Call or write them, using the talking points and a
sample letter that are at the end of this alert. And if one or more
of the members of the Committee are from your state, send them a copy of
your letter as well.
We also need to educate the Senate Committee on
Agriculture and the rest of Congress, to provide protection against
whatever the House Committee may pass. Contact information for the
Senate Agriculture Committee, and your Congressman and Senator, are also
listed below.
TAKE ACTION: Talking points and a sample letter are at the
end of this alert. Please write, email, fax, or call following
members (listed in order of importance):
1) The Honorable Collin C. Peterson
Chairman, House Committee on Agriculture
1305 Longworth House Office Building
Washington D.C. 20515
Phone: 202-225-2171
Fax: 202-225-8510
Email: [log in to unmask]
2) The Honorable Bob Goodlatte
Ranking Minority Member, House Committee on Agriculture
1305 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: 202-225-0029
Fax: 202-225-0917
Email: [log in to unmask]
3) Any member of the House Committee on
Agriculture who comes from your state. All of the members are listed
below, and it's important that the members hear from the people within
their state. The members are listed in order of their states
(starting with Alabama and ending with Wisconsin).
4) Senator Harkin
Chairman, Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition & Forestry
Room SR-328A Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC. 20510-6000
Phone: 202-224-2035
Message: Please strip Sections 121 and 123
from the draft Farm Bill. The law barring the USDA from using mandatory
animal identification to implement COOL should not be changed, and NAIS
should not be put into the Farm Bill. Further, the USDA should not
be able to pre-empt state and local government control over food safety.
As always, if you have any questions, you can
contact us at [log in to unmask] or call 866-687-6452.
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Talking Points
* Please strip Sections 121 and 123
from the draft Farm Bill. I oppose both the National Animal ID
System (NAIS) and pre-emption of state and local control of our food
supply.
*Section 121 / National Animal ID
System: The law barring the USDA from using mandatory animal
identification to implement Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) should not
be changed.
--COOL can be
implemented simply by requiring that all imports of live animals or food
be identified with a country of origin marking. Requiring U.S. livestock
owners to individually identify and track all domestic livestock is not
necessary.
--Using
mandatory animal identification to implement COOL would impose heavy
burdens on American farmers and ranchers, in both time and money. A
National Animal ID System (NAIS) would drive independent ranches and
farms in America out of business.
--The purpose
of COOL is to provide information so that consumers can choose whether to
buy domestic or foreign products and, as a hoped-for result, providing
American farmers and ranchers with economic rewards for raising food in
this country.
--NAIS will
harm American farmers and ranchers, directly contrary to the goal of
COOL.
* Section 123 / Federal Pre-emption:
Section 123 section would pre-empt the rights of state and local
governments to regulate food or agricultural products that USDA has
granted "non-regulated" status. This deprives citizens of
their rights to enact laws to protect health and public safety at the
local level. Local and state governments need to retain their
authority to regulate food and agricultural products, including
genetically engineered (GE) foods and crops.
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Sample letter or email
If you use email, be sure to put a clear subject
line, such as "Keep NAIS and Pre-emption language out of the
Draft Farm Bill"
Dear Chairman Peterson and Members of the
Committee:
I ask that you strip Sections 121 and 123 from the
draft Farm Bill. Section 121 would allow the USDA to use mandatory animal
identification to implement Country of Origin Labeling, while Section 123
would pre-empt state and local laws regulating food and agricultural
products. I strongly oppose both provisions.
I am a _______ (farmer, consumer, ... Tell
them a few sentences about yourself and why you care about this issue)
The law barring the USDA from using mandatory
animal identification to implement Country of Origin Labeling (COOL)
should not be changed, and the National Animal Identification System
(NAIS) should not be added to the Farm Bill. COOL can be
implemented by requiring all imported livestock to be identified with a
country of origin marking, which is already a requirement for cattle
imported from Mexico or Canada. Requiring U.S. cattle producers to
individually identify and track all livestock is not necessary.
Using mandatory animal identification to implement
COOL will impose heavy burdens on American farmers and ranchers, in both
time and money. NAIS will drive independent ranches and farms in
America out of business. The purpose of COOL is to provide
information so that consumers can choose whether to buy domestic or
foreign products and, as a hoped-for result, providing American farmers and
ranchers with economic rewards for raising food in this country.
Mandatory animal identification will harm all Americans' rights and our
economy, canceling out the benefits of COOL.
In addition, state and local government regulation
of our food supply should not be preempted by the USDA. Citizens
across the country have sought local and state regulations to address
critical concerns, including the use of genetically engineered foods and
crops. Section 123 is a back-door means of wiping out state and
local food safety laws. This provision has no place in the Farm
Bill.
Please strip Sections 121 and 123 from the draft
Farm Bill, keep NAIS out of the Farm Bill, and protect local control of
our food supply.
Name
Address
City, State Zip
Email ( if you have it)
Cc: Congressman Goodlatte
Senator Harkin
Senator ___________ (your
Senator)
Congressman __________ (your
Congressman)
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Members of House Committee on Agriculture
Name (State), Phone number, Fax number
Members are listed in order of their states
(alphabetically). Please contact any members who come from your
state. If you want to use e-mail, then go to the Congressperson's
website, which you can find at http://www.house.gov/
Terry Everett (AL), (p) 202-225-2901, (f)
202-225-8913
Michael Rogers (AL), (p) 202-225-3261, (f) 202-226-8485
Jo Bonner (AL), (p) 202-225-4931, (f) 202-225-0562
Joe Baca (CA), (p) 202-225-6161, (f) 202-225-8671
Dennis Cardoza (CA), (p) 202-225-6131, (f) 202-225-0819
Jim Costa (CA), (p) 202-225-3341, (f) 202-225-9308
Kevin McCarthy (CA), (202) 225-2915, (f) 202-225-2908
John T. Salazar (CO), (p) 202-225-4761, (f)
202-226-9669
Marilyn Musgrove (CO), (p) 202-225-4676, (f) 202-225-5870
Timothy Mahoney (FL), (p) 202-225-5792, (f)
202-225-3132
David Scott (GA), (p) 202-225-2939, (f)
202-225-4628
Jim Marshall (GA), (p) 202-225-6531, (f) 202-225-3013
John Barrow (GA), (p) 866-890-6236, (f) 202-225-3377
Leonard L. Boswell, (IA), (p) 202-225-3806, (f)
202-225-5608
Steve King (IA), (p) 202-225-4426, (f) 202-225-3193
Timothy Johnson (IL), 202-225-2371, (f)
202-226-0791
Brad Ellsworth (IN), (p) 866-567-0227, (f)
202-225-3284
Joe Donnelly (IN), (p) 202-225-3915, (f) 202-225-6798
Nancy Boyda (KS), (p) 202-225-6601, (f)
202-225-7986
Jerry Moran (KS), (p) 202-225-2715, (f) 202-225-5124
Charles W. Boustany, Hr. (LA), (p) 202-225-2031,
(f) 202-225-5724
Tim Walberg (MI), (p) 202-225-6276, (f)
202-225-6281
Collin Peterson (MN), (p) 202-225-2165, (f)
202-225-1593
Timothy J. Walz (MN), (p) 202-225-2472, (f) 202-225-3433
Sam Graves (MO), (p) 202-225-7041, (f)
202-225-8221
Earl Pomeroy, (ND), (p) 202-225-2611, (f)
202-226-0893
Mike McIntyre (NC), (p) 202-225-2731, (f)
202-225-5773
Bob Etheridge (NC), (p) 202-225-4531, (f) 202-225-5662
Robin Hayes, (NC), (p) 202-225-3715, (f)202-225-4036
Virginia Foxx (NC), (p) 202-225-2071, (f) 202-225-2995
Jeff Fortnberry (NE), (p) 202-225-4806, (f)
202-225-5686
Adrian Smith (NE), (p) 202-225-6435, (f) 202-225-0207
Kirsten Gillibrand, (NY), (p) 202-225-5614,
(f)202-225-1168
John R. "Randy" Kuhl, Jr. (NY), 202-225-3161, (f) 202-226-6599
Zachary T. Space (OH), (p) 202-225-6265, (f)
330-364-4330
Jean Schmidt (OH), (p) 202-225-3164, (f) 202-225-1992
Frank D. Lucas (OK), (p) 202-225-5565, (f)
202-225-8698
Tim Holden (PA), (p) 202-225-5546, (f)
202-226-0996
Stephanie Herseth Sandline, (SD), (p) 202-225-2801,
(f) 202-225-5823
Lincoln Davis, (TN), (p) 202-225-6831, 9f)
202-226-5172
Henry Cuellar (TX), (p) 202-225-1640, (f)
202-225-1641
Mike Conaway (TX), (p) 202-225-3605, (f) 202-225-1783
Randy Neugebauer (TX), (p) 202-225-4005, (f) 202-225-9615
Nicholas Lampson (TX), (p) 202-225-5951, (f) 202-225-5241
Bob Goodlatte (VA), (p) 202-225-5431, (f)
202-225-9681
Steve Kagen (WI), (p) 202-225-5665, (f)
202-225-5729
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Working together, we can make our voices heard.
Judith McGeary
Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance
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