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This is a near final opportunity for you to indicate your opinion regarding the farm bill.

 

 

 


From: Judith McGeary [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Thursday, June 21, 2007 12:51 PM
To: Vicki Morrone
Subject: House Committee has delayed the vote on the Farm Bill

 

 

More Time to Take Action On the Farm Bill!

 

The House Committee on Agriculture has delayed the vote on the Farm Bill until July 10-12. This gives us more time to educate people and rally support! 

 

Take action:

 

(1)  Educate your community about NAIS.  Post this flyer at your local feed stores, auction barns, co-ops, etc.  http://farmandranchfreedom.org/content/files/Farm-Bill-NAIS-generic.doc.  This Texas-specific version includes information on both NAIS and the federal preemption provision: http://farmandranchfreedom.org/content/files/Farm-Bill-flyer-6.15.07.doc

 

(2) Call any member of the Committee who is from your state. Committee members are listed below. Call both the members of the House and Senate Committees, because the Senate will probably start work on its version of the Farm Bill the same week the House Committee votes.  Call NOW.

 

(3)  Contact your Congressman and Senators: go to http://www.house.gov/writerep/ and http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm or call the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121.   Ask them to speak with the Chairs of the Committees, and any members of the Committees from your state, on your behalf.  Call NOW.

 

(4) Between JULY 5 and JULY 10, call Chairman Peterson and as many members of the House Committee as you can.  We're asking that people focus their calls on those specific days to maximize the impact.  If you've already called - call again on those days!

 

Background on the Farm Bill provisions: Section 121 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 would bar states or localities from prohibiting any food or agricultural product that USDA has deregulated.  This would stop local control over such things as genetically engineered crops or hormones in our food.

 

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.

 

Listed below:
Members of the House Committee on Agriculture
Members of the Senate Committee on Agriculture
Talking Points
Sample Letter/E-mail

 

 

 House Committee on Agriculture

 

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/

 

Chair: The Honorable Collin C. Peterson
1305 Longworth House Office Building
Washington D.C. 20515
Phone: 202-225-2171
Fax: 202-225-8510
Email: [log in to unmask]

 

Members:

 

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

 

 

 

 Senate 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.senate.gov/

 

Chair: Senator Harkin
Room SR-328A Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC. 20510-6000
Phone: 202-224-2035

 

Blanche Lincoln (AR), (p) 202-224-4843, (f) 202-228-1371
Ken Salazar (CO), (p) 202-224-5852, (f) 202-228-5036
Saxby Chambliss (GA), (p) 202-224-3521, (f) 202-224-0103
Mike Crapo (ID), (p) 202-224-6142, (f) 202-228-1375
Tom Harkin (IA), (p) 202-224-3254, (f) 202-224-9369
Charles Grassley (IA), (p) 202-224-3744, (f) 515-288-5097
Richard Lugar (IN), (p) 202-224-4814, (f) 202-228-0360
Pat Roberts (KS), (p) 202-224-4774, (f) 202-224-3514
Mitch McConnell (KY), (p) 202-224-2541, (f) 202-224-2499
Debbie Stabenow (MI), (p) 202-224-4822, e-mail: [log in to unmask]
Norm Coleman (MN), (p) 202-224-5641, (f) 202-224-1152
Amy Klobuchar (MN), (p) 202-224-3244
Thad Cochran (MS), (p) 202-224-5054
Max Baucus (MT),  (p) 202-224-2651, (f) 202-224-0515
E. Banjamin Nelson (NE), (p) 202-224-6551, (f) 202-228-0012
Kent Conrad (ND), (p) 202-224-2043, (f) 202-224-7776, E-mail: https://conrad.senate.gov/...
Sherrod Brown (OH), (p): 202-224-2315, (f) 202-228-6321
Robert Casey, Jr. (PA), (p): 202-224-6324, (f) 202-228-0604
Lindsey Graham (SC), (p) 202-224-5972
John Thune (SD), (p) 202-224-2321, (f) 202-228-5429
Patrick Leahy (VT), (p) 202-224-4242

 

 

 

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.

 

 

 

 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.

 

Sincerely,

Name
Address
City, State Zip
Email ( if you have it)

 

Cc:  Senator Harkin
       Senator ___________ (your Senator)
       Congressman __________ (your Congressman)

 

 

 

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Working together, we can make our voices heard.

 


Judith McGeary
Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance

(p) 512-243-9404

(toll free) 866-687-6452

 


 

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