We Need Co-sponsors for U.S.A. Beef Act

To:  R-CALF USA Members, Affiliates and All

From:  Bill Bullard, CEO

Date:  July 28, 2021

Subject:  We Need Co-sponsors for U.S.A. Beef Act

 

Background:  Since 2015, R-CALF USA has pushed Congress to reinstate mandatory country of origin labeling (mCOOL) for beef. We continue pushing today. In 2019, South Dakota Senators Mike Rounds and John Thune introduced a bill to preserve the “Product of USA” label only for beef born, raised, and slaughtered in the United States. We and other cattle groups urged an amendment to that bill to convert it into a mCOOL bill. That did not happen back then.

Right now, and until close of business on Wednesday, August 4, Senator Rounds is seeking bipartisan cosponsors on a new bill he will be introducing on August 5. The new bill again focuses only on the voluntary “Product of USA” label, and again preserves that label only for beef born, raised, and slaughtered in the United States.

The new bill is called the “U.S.A. Beef Act” and we fully support it for this reason:

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is planning to conduct a rulemaking on the use of the voluntary “Product of USA” label.  We are concerned that USDA may want to allow the beef from the 2 million head of imported cattle to be voluntarily labeled as “Product of USA.”  Senator Round’s new bill will prevent that from happening, again because the U.S.A. Beef Act only allows the Product of USA label for beef born, raised, and slaughtered in the United States.

Action: Please call your two U.S. Senators as soon as possible and urge them to cosponsor Senator Rounds’ “U.S.A. Beef Act” by August 4. They can call Senator Rounds’ office to get more information and to join on as a cosponsor.

You can reach your two U.S. Senators by calling 202-224-3121 and asking for your Senators by name.

Note: There is no bill number yet because it won’t be introduced until August 5.  Therefore, you should refer to it as “Senator Mike Rounds’ U.S.A. Beef Act.”

Thank you for your help! And, stay tuned for more information.

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R-CALF USA (Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund, United Stockgrowers of America) is the largest producer-only lobbying and trade association representing U.S. cattle producers. It is a national, nonprofit organization dedicated to ensuring the continued profitability and viability of the U.S. cattle industry. Visit www.r-calfusa.com or, call 406-252-2516 for more information.