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Action Alert

June 11, 2007

FARM BILL TO IMPLEMENT NAIS:

Contact Congress. Ask the House and Senate Agriculture Committees to keep NAIS out of the Farm Bill.

FARM BILL PROVISION ON NAIS: The House Committee on Agriculture is continuing to work on the Farm Bill throughout the month of June. Section 121 of the current draft would allow the USDA to use a mandatory animal identification system in order to implement Country of Origin Labeling ("COOL"). Current law prohibits mandatory NAIS for COOL, and this is a move in the WRONG direction! Read Randy Givens' article about the dangers of linking COOL with NAIS.

In the last action alert, we urged everyone to contact the chair and ranking minority member of the subcommittee on livestock. If you haven't done so already, you can find the earlier alert with their contact information at:
www.libertyark.net/articles/aa-052407.html.
These Congressmen have significant input into what happens with Section 121, even though it has gone to the full Committee.

Now, we're asking people to broaden their efforts. The first two targets are the Chair and Ranking Minority Member of the full House Committee on Agriculture. We also need to educate the Chair and Ranking Minority Member of the Senate Committee, to provide protection against whatever the House may pass.

Last, we need everyone to contact any member of the Committee who is from their state. There is no point in contacting all 46 members of the Committee - but those members who are from your state should hear what you think about NAIS. They also need to hear from all your friends and neighbors! Numbers count!!

The fight in Congress is going to be a long and difficult one. Please continue educating your friends and neighbors, and encourage them to sign up as Liberty Ark supporters. Stand ready to write and call at important moments. This first stage of educating the legislators before the actual votes on bills is critical, and we need everyone's help.

A call takes less than a minute. Please call or write whenever a new vote is to be taken, and regularly until NAIS is out of the Farm Bill! We'll keep you updated when important events are happening. And don't forget to educate your Representative and Senators!

TAKE ACTION: Please write, email, fax, or call following members:

  1. The Honorable Collin C. Peterson
    Chairman, House Committee on Agriculture
    1305 Longworth House Office Building
    Washington D.C. 20515
    Phone: 202-225-2171
    Fax: 202-225-8510
    Email: agriculture@mail.house.gov

  2. The Honorable Bob Goodlatte
    Ranking Minority Member, House Committee on Agriculture
    1305 Longworth House Office Building
    Washington, DC 20515
    Phone: 202-225-0029
    Fax: 202-225-0917
    Email: AgRepublicanPress@mail.house.gov

  3. Any member of the Committee who comes from your state. All of the members are listed below, and it's very important that the members hear from the people within their state. The members are listed in order of their states (starting with Alabama and ending with Wisconsin).

  4. Senator Harkin Chairman, Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition & Forestry
    Room SR-328A Russell Senate Office Building
    Washington, DC. 20510-6000
    Phone: 202-224-2035

  5. Senator Saxby Chambliss
    Ranking Minority Member, Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition & Forestry
    Room SR-328A Russell Senate Office Building
    Washington, DC. 20510-6000
    Phone: 202-224-2035

  6. Your Congressman and Senator:
    www.house.gov/writerep/
    www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/
    senators_cfm.cfm

Message: 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 put into the Farm Bill.

A sample letter and talking points are at the end of this alert. As always, if you have any questions, you can contact us at: noah@libertyark.net.

MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE

Name (State), Phone number, Fax number

Members are listed in order of their states (alphabetically). Please contact any members who come from your state. If you want to use e-mail, then go to the Congressperson's website, which you can find at: www.house.gov/

Name (State), Phone number, Fax number

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), (p) (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), (p) 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), (p) 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

TALKING POINTS - To STOP 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 121 from the Draft Farm Bill"

Dear Chairman Peterson and Members of the Committee:

I ask that you strip Section 121 from the draft 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 121 from the draft Farm Bill, and keep NAIS out of the Farm Bill.

Sincerely,

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



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