Keep Telling the House Committee on Agriculture
to Take Mandatory Animal ID Out of the Farm Bill!!

The House Committee on Agriculture has delayed consideration of the Farm Bill yet again, until July 17-19. So if you haven't called them yet, you still have time! And if you have called, feel free to call again!!

Chairman Peterson has released a new Chairman's Mark for Full Committee Consideration. The section linking NAIS to COOL has been re-numbered as Section 11101. Like the previous Section 121, Section 11101 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 here.

First, contact Chairman Collin Peterson:
Phone: 202-225-2171
Fax: 202-225-8510
Email: agriculture@mail.house.gov

Second, contact any member of the House Agriculture Committee who comes from your state. They are all listed below, in order of their states, starting with Alabama and ending with Wisconsin.

Third, contact Senator Harkin and any member of the Senate Agriculture Committee who comes from your state. They are listed after the House Committee below. The Senate Committee will be starting work on the Farm Bill at the end of July, and this may be our best hope for getting NAIS taken back out of the Farm Bill.

Last, contact your own Representative and Senator, or call the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121. Ask your Congressman and Senators to speak with the Chairs of the Committee, and any members of the Committee from your state, on your behalf.

MESSAGE: Please strip Section 11101 from the 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.

If you have any questions, email us at libertyark@freedom.org.

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE

Name (State), Phone number, Fax number. If you want to use e-mail, then go to the Congressperson's website, which you can find here.

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, (f) 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. If you want to use e-mail, then go to the Congressperson's website, which you can find here.

Chair: Tom Harkin (IA), (p) 202-224-2035, (f) 202-224-9369

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

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: senator@stabenow.senate.gov

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

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 TO STOP NAIS

• Please strip Section 121 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 added to the Farm Bill.
• Country of Origin Labeling can and should be implemented without mandatory animal identification
• Requiring all imported livestock to be identified with a country of origin marking is enough to implement COOL
• Requiring U.S. cattle producers to individually identify all domestic cattle to prove their eligibility for a USA label is not necessary for COOL.
• Using mandatory animal identification to implement COOL would 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 would harm American farmers and ranchers, contrary to the goal of COOL.
• The right to know where our food comes from will be an empty right if it is purchased at the price of a mandatory animal identification system, such as the National Animal Identification System (NAIS). If mandatory animal ID is implemented, consumers would be fooled into believing that they were supporting American farmers and ranchers through the "Made in the USA" label. Yet more and more of the food labeled that way would be raised by international corporations that are willing and able to comply with NAIS.

SAMPLE LETTER OR EMAIL -- Personalize for the greatest impact

If you use email, be sure to put a clear subject line, such as "Strip Section 11101 from the Farm Bill - Keep NAIS out of the Farm Bill"

Dear Chairman Peterson and Members of the Committee:

I ask that you strip Section 11101 from the Farm Bill. 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.

I am a _______ (farmer, consumer, - . Tell them a few sentences about yourself and why you care about this issue)

COOL can be implemented simply 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 all domestic cattle to prove their eligibility for a USA label is simply 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. Mandatory animal identification will cancel out the goals of COOL.

The right to know where our food comes from will be an empty right if it is purchased at the price of a mandatory animal identification program such as the National Animal Identification System (NAIS). If NAIS is implemented, consumers will be fooled into believing that they were supporting American farmers and ranchers through the "Made in the USA" label. Yet more and more of the food labeled that way would be raised by international corporations that are willing and able to comply with NAIS.

Please strip Section 11101 from the Farm Bill, and keep NAIS out of the Farm Bill.

Sincerely,

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