Action Alert: Send a Letter to President Trump, Your Two Senators, and Your Congressman or Congresswoman.
We need everyone to send a written letter to President Trump and each of your two Senators and to your Congressman or Congresswoman by the end of next week (by March 6). Yes, we must do this “old school” – written letters sent via U.S. Mail. Read R-CALF USA’s entire Action Alert here.
You may draft your own letter or use all or some of the template letter available here. The important thing is that they all receive a written letter from you stating clearly that you want them to introduce new legislation to restore Mandatory Country-of-Origin Labeling (M-COOL) for beef.
In addition, we would like you to attach the document we prepared that shows them exactly how they can pass a new M-COOL bill without awakening the feared World Trade Organization (WTO). The document we want you to attach is titled Restoring Mandatory COOL for Beef Without Running Afoul of the WTO’s Adverse Ruling and is available here.
Good luck with your letters and thank you for your ongoing support. Share this with your friends, neighbors and anyone you do business with and ask them to send their own letters. We’re going to win this! And please continue with your calls and emails until M-COOL for beef is reinstated!
Updated 2.28.2020
Call And Email Your U.S. Senators and Representative:
Commit to working one-on-one with each of your Senators and Representative. Call them by phone, follow-up with an e-mail, and hold their feet to the fire (meaning you will want to call each of them on a regular basis until these initiatives are complete), as they are being constantly pressured by powerful opposition that wants Congress to vote against you. You can reach each of your congressional members’ D.C. offices by calling 202-224-3121 and asking for your members by name and/or contact them via e-mail in the links below as well as contact your members’ state offices.
- Locate your U.S. Senators’ contact information here.
- Find your U.S. Representatives’ website and contact information here.
Inform your members of Congress or their staff that you are an independent business man or woman that raises cattle (or consumer), that these initiatives are needed despite what other groups have told them, and that these issues are just too important for them not to give their full and immediate support.
Here’s What To Ask:
For Mandatory Country-of-Origin Labeling:
In a cordial but firm way:
1. Ask Congress to sponsor new legislation to fully restore Mandatory Country-of-Origin Labeling (M-COOL) for beef. Ask them to review R-CALF USA’s paper ‘Restoring Mandatory COOL for Beef While Mindful of the World Trade Organization’s (WTO’s) Adverse Ruling’ available here. Let the R-CALF USA office know if one or both of your Senators and/or Representative says they will sponsor new legislation to restore Mandatory COOL for beef.
- Here are whitepapers to provide to your Congressional members to respond to common M-COOL concerns:
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- They say there is nothing they can do because of the World Trade Organization Ruling – Ask them to review R-CALF USA’s paper ‘Restoring Mandatory COOL for Beef While Mindful of the WTO’s Adverse Ruling’ available here.
- They say they support a voluntary COOL program such as the U.S. Beef Integrity Act – Ask them to review R-CALF USA’s ‘Recent History of Failed Voluntary COOL Programs’ available here.
For Beef Checkoff Reform:
In a cordial but firm way:
3. Ask Congress to support H.R. 5563 – Opportunities for Fairness in Farming Act of 2020, to prevent USDA checkoff programs from 1) paying organizations that lobby on agricultural issues 2) prohibit anticompetitive behavior 3) ban activity that involves a conflict of interest 4) require audits to ensure compliance. A full copy of the H.R. 5563 Opportunities for Fairness in Farm Act of 2020 is available here.
Updated 2.24.2020
Submit Comments to the USDA:
R-CALF USA urges every cattle producer to submit public comments by the October 5, 2020 deadline to inform the USDA that it cannot force expensive radio frequency identification (RFID) technology upon the industry without amending current law.
Interested persons can comment on the USDA’s proposal by going to the Federal eRulemaking Portal at https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=APHIS-2020-0022-0001.
Updated 7.6.2020
Spread the Word
Write a letter to the editor of any paper in the U.S.! Links Newspapers in every state available here.