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Cattlemen's Capitol Concerns Archive
Contact:
Bethany Shively,
The Cattlemen's Capitol Concerns (CCC) is a weekly report from Washington, D.C., giving an up-to-date summary of top policy initiatives concerning the cattle industry; direct from the National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA). Please feel free to reprint in full or in part. If you would like to include NCBA's logo, contact us at 303-694-0305. | |
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NCBA Submits Comments, Files Petition for Stay of Action on Enhanced Feed Ban RuleThe National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA) today submitted comments to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regarding theenhanced feed ban. In the comments, NCBA continues to urge the FDA to delay the implementation date of the rule and to seriously consider comments provided by producers and others already living with the direct consequences of this rule. NCBA also requests that the FDA perform a current risk analysis, environmental impact assessment and cost/benefit analysis of the rule. The following is an excerpt from NCBA's comments: "NCBA is submitting comments specifically in regards to the potential delay of implementation date by 60 days. We submit comments supporting our position that a 60 day delay will be of no benefit to the producers who are already suffering because of this rule in that a simple delay will do nothing to address the economic, disposal and environmental problems this rule is already causing. Additionally the rule is not risk based, does not meet the requirements of the Administrative Procedures Act, does not pass a real-time economic cost/benefit analysis and the April 9, 2009 Federal Register notice of proposed delay of effective date does not comply with the terms of the January 20, 2009 Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies from Rahm Emanuel, Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff, entitled 'Regulatory Review.' "Therefore we respectfully request that the rule be delayed indefinitely until solutions to the disposal problems and potential subsequent environmental problems are provided and worked out. As well FDA should have a current risk analysis, environmental assessment and cost/benefit analysis performed. FDA should provide sufficient time to allow affected stakeholders an opportunity to provide more complete 2009 information." Also today, NCBA, along with the American Association of Bovine Practitioners, the American Feed Industry Association, and the American Veterinary Medical Association filed a petition for stay of action with regards to the enhanced feed ban rule. The petition requests that FDA stay the effective date of the final rule and reopen the comment period for 30 days to allow time public comment on the important policy issues involved. It also requests that further FDA action on the final rule be guided by the agency's review of, and response to, the comments received. Last week, NCBA criticized the FDA's decision to solicit public comments solely on delaying the implementation of the enhanced feed ban, rather than soliciting public comment on the ban itself. NCBA has been opposed to the enhanced feed ban since it was originally proposed in 2005 and continues to urge FDA to open the rule to public comment and delay implementation until they have had adequate time to consider the many problems caused by the ban. For more information, visit: www.beefusa.org/NEWSFDAIgnoringEnvironmentalandEconomicImpactsof
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NCBA and PLC Participate in Animal ID Roundtable
On Wednesday, National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA) Executive Director of Government Affairs Colin Woodall and Public Lands Council (PLC) Executive Director Jeff Eisenberg participated in a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) roundtable on the National Animal Identification System (NAIS). According to Secretary Vilsack, this was the first in a series of listening sessions that will take place over the coming months to engage stakeholders and producers in a dialogue about NAIS.
NCBA recognizes and supports the need for a National Animal Identification System for the purpose of enabling state and federal animal health officials to respond rapidly and effectively to animal health emergencies, such as foreign animal disease outbreaks or emerging domestic diseases. Many of NCBA's members already participate voluntarily in numerous animal identification programs as one of many tools to improve their herds, monitor disease, and better market their cattle.
"The private sector plays a tremendous role in the administration of these voluntary programs, and NCBA believes that private sector involvement and the resulting competitive market forces benefit producers while maintaining the objectives of the NAIS," said Woodall. "However, our members continue to have concerns with NAIS, which is why NCBA's policy supports a voluntary -- rather than a mandatory -- system."
NCBA members are particularly concerned about the protection of producers' confidential information, which would be housed in a USDA-maintained database. The federal government has not demonstrated a strong track-record when it comes to preventing the leak of private information, and USDA has not been able to guarantee that the information in a mandatory system would be protected from release under a Freedom of Information (FOIA) request. USDA's own Office of General Counsel has indicated that protection is different between a voluntary and mandatory system.
NCBA is also concerned about the system's ability to move at the speed of commerce. The working, processing, and marketing of cattle cannot slow down in order to be scanned and entered into the system.
It is also important to note that animal ID will not serve to enhance food safety, nor was it intended for this purpose.
"There are many firewalls and inspection procedures in place to keep our beef supply safe," Woodall said. "Animal ID does not prevent animal disease; it is merely a tool to respond to an animal health emergency."
In order to ensure the implementation of an animal identification system that is workable for both animal health and production agriculture, Eisenberg urged the Secretary to consider the following recommendations:
- The structure and requirements of a system should mirror the flow of production and commerce.
- The collection of information about producers must be kept utterly confidential and released only in response to an animal disease outbreak and only to regulatory officials dealing with disease outbreak control and eradication.
- The cost to producers for participating in the system should be minimized to the greatest extent possible.
"We share the Secretary's strong interest in establishing a national identification system that will protect the livestock industry to the greatest extent possible in the event of the outbreak of disease," Eisenberg said. "We believe the most effective system is one that relies on incentives to encourage voluntary participation and that uses the state and private sectors to carry out the function to the greatest extent possible."
NCBA and PLC are committed to working with USDA in recommending continued refinements to NAIS, and we look forward to these discussions in the further development of a workable system.
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Don't Miss NCBA's Cattlemen to Cattlemen!
Don't miss NCBA's Cattlemen to Cattlemen, April 21- 25! We'll spend a day in the life of NCBA's lobbyists in Washington, D.C., and we'll learn more about the importance of belonging to a state cattlemen's association from the president of the Colorado Cattlemen's Association. Plus, we'll have an easy to make beef recipe from Chef Michaele Musel that your family will love!
NCBA's Cattlemen to Cattlemen is now an hour long. The show debuts Tuesdays at 8:30 p.m., and airs again Wednesdays at 10:30 a.m. and Saturdays at 9 a.m. (All times are Eastern). Don't forget, you can watch NCBA's Cattlemen to Cattlemen online anytime by visiting www.CattlemenToCattlemen.org | |
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