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Group Calls Joint Senate Letter Petty, Unbecoming of Congress September 1, 2010 Billings, Mont. – In an Aug. 25, 2010, news release issued by U.S. Senator Pat Roberts, R-Kan., titled “Senator Roberts Questions USDA Objectivity with GIPSA Proposed Rule and Competition Workshops,” Roberts states that he led a group of Senators – Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., Mike Johanns, R-Neb., Sam Brownback, R-Kan., and Tom Coburn, R-Okla., in writing to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack regarding what they called “questionable behavior leading up to a USDA competition workshop and continued objectivity concerns with the recent Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration’s (GIPSA) proposed rule.” To support their allegation, the five Senators cited media accounts regarding a USDA employee who allegedly passed along a message from an interest group soliciting attendance for the joint U.S. Department of Justice (Justice Department) and USDA competition workshop scheduled for August 27 in Fort Collins, Colo. In an Aug. 27, 2010, article by meatingplace.com titled “GIPSA proposals cause much ado about an email,” the e-mail that was supposedly passed on by the USDA employee was reportedly an e-mail that R-CALF USA had distributed to encourage all livestock producers and rural Americans to attend the joint Justice Department/USDA competition workshop. “R-CALF USA’s public invitation to U.S. livestock producers and rural Americans urging all of them to participate in a government-sponsored meeting open to the public was an effort to encourage public participation in the government’s decision-making process. “Thus, the open invitation we issued could not be construed as an effort to limit any segment of the livestock industry from participating in the event,” said R-CALF USA CEO Bill Bullard. “Indeed, everyone was invited.” Bullard said he would expect the dominant meatpackers and their allied trade associations – all of which are vehemently opposed to the proposed GIPSA Rule – to exploit the government employee’s decision in order to further their own self-interests, but such an action is unbecoming of Congress, he said. Bullard said the joint Senate letter accusing USDA of bias was immediately accompanied by a news release from the Senators and was a shameful display of authoritative abuse. “It was a petty effort to dissuade Rural Americans from participating in the joint Justice/USDA workshop by attempting to disparage the very agencies that were seeking the public’s input,” said Bullard. “This is not what we should expect from elected officials. “We certainly do not condone infractions of government employee policies, but we also can’t condone Congress’ exploitation of government employees to promote the financial interests of multinational meatpackers,” Bullard continued. “Congress has procedures for addressing complaints involving government employees, and they certainly don’t include publicity stunts such as this. Fortunately, U.S. livestock producers ignored this charade and an estimated 2,000 of them attended the joint Justice/USDA workshop in Fort Collins, Colo. It was the largest public meeting of the U.S. cattle industry in recent memory, if not in all of history.” # # # R-CALF USA (Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund, United Stockgrowers of America) is a national, nonprofit 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 directors and committee chairs are extremely active unpaid volunteers. 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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