Portrait of Congressman Mike Ross
Representing the 4th District of Arkansas
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Volume 4, Issue 34,
January 21, 2004
Weekly Newsletter
 
 
MIKE'S WEEKLY MESSAGE
 
Responding to Mad Cow Disease
 
This week in Congress, the House Agriculture Committee held a hearing with U.S. Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman.  During the hearing, I praised Secretary Veneman for the efficient and effective way the USDA responded to the recent discovery of mad cow disease. I also shared with the Secretary many of the concerns local producers in my district have concerning mad cow disease, some of the concerns of which I learned in a meeting I held recently with local producers in Texarkana.

During the hearing, my colleagues and I shared our concerns with the Secretary regarding USDA's recent regulatory changes concerning "downer" animals. A "downer" or "non-ambulatory" animal is defined as livestock that cannot rise from a recumbent position or that cannot walk, including, but not limited to, those with broken appendages, severed tendons or ligaments, nerve paralysis, fractured vertebral column, or metabolic conditions. After the discovery of a cow infected with mad cow disease, the USDA took swift, necessary action and heightened the policies toward handling down animals. But for the long-term, the USDA’s current rules toward downer animals are too restrictive, and will hurt our small farm families. If a healthy cow breaks its leg, under current regulations that were put into place immediately after the recent mad cow discovery, that cow is labeled as a downed animal and cannot enter the food supply, even though it may otherwise be a healthy animal. To small producers, this strict requirement can be the difference between a profit and a loss for the year.

It is important that we address this issue in a common sense way that protects consumers and maintains their confidence that that the beef they consume is safe, while also protecting our cattlemen from unnecessary loss.

Congress and the USDA must also work together to encourage the 50 trading markets that have banned U.S. beef products to re-open their markets. We must work with foreign markets to rebuild their confidence. The U.S. beef supply is safe.

During the hearing, I joined with my colleague Rep. Collin Peterson in calling for the USDA to re-examine the National Farm Identification and Records (FAIR) program. The FAIR program is a pilot animal identification system designed to support the health of the U.S. animal agriculture.

I believe a national identification program can help USDA quickly identify cattle across the country that have come into contact with an infected animal. Utilizing today’s technology can ensure a more timely and efficient response to potential mad cow discoveries, and will further protect consumers while at the same time, help to prevent our cattle producers from suffering unnecessary economic harm from a single-diseased cow. However, the cost to implement any identification program must be affordable to all cattle producers, both large and small. 

I am proud to be the ranking member of the Agriculture’s Subcommittee on Livestock and Horticulture. In this position, I have the ability to develop policies that truly help America’s cattlemen. I will continue to fight to make sure our beef is safe, and continue to protect our rural producers. 
 

 
Ross Statement Regarding State of the Union Address
 
(WASHINGTON D.C.) - Fourth District Rep. Mike Ross (D-Ark.) issued the following statement Tuesday night in response to the President's State of the Union Address: 

“I do not believe the President’s priorities for 2004 reflect the priorities of America’s children, working families, and seniors. Our economy is suffering, and America’s working families are struggling more and more every day to make ends meet. At a time when 8.4 million Americans are out of work, our country is $7 trillion in debt, and we are spending a billion dollars a week in Iraq with no end in sight, we must prioritize our spending -- not treat our federal budget like a credit card with no spending limit. 

"I have long believed that we must restore fiscal responsibility to our government, and the President has severely neglected to do this. In 2001, at a time when our country was running a budget surplus, I supported the President‘s tax cut.  However, since then while our Nation has suffered the 9/11 terrorist attacks on our people, fought  two wars, lost 3 million jobs, and experienced its largest budget deficit ever, the Administration has continued to enact reckless tax cuts that have had dire consequences on our economy. The combination of large budget deficits and large trade deficits, are having severe impacts, and causing huge threats, to our economy and our working families. 

“Tonight the President proposed a new job-training program that, he says, will prepare Americans for the growing number of technology-sector jobs. I look forward to seeing his plan. But again, the Administration must deliver on its promise. We cannot play games with America’s working families. This Administration has continued to try to spin its losing record on jobs into something positive, when the reality is, America has lost 3 million jobs in the past three years, including a million jobs to China.  And in Arkansas, we’ve lost 31,000 manufacturing jobs since this Administration came to power, and have seen some of the highest unemployment rates in a decade. 

“There is no question our world has changed since September 11. While I supported the President's request to authorize force in Iraq nearly a year ago, I did so with the understanding -- and trust -- from the Administration that Saddam possessed weapons of mass destruction, and the President would enlist the help of other countries if Congress authorized force. But that has not been the case. As a result, 500 American men and women in uniform to date have lost their lives.

“The President said tonight that the ‘work of building a new Iraq is hard, and it is right.  And America has always been willing to do what it takes for what is right.’ While that is true, we must also take care of the problems we have here at home. We are spending billions and billions of dollars "reconstructing" a nation while we continue to have so many pressing needs here at home.  If we can provide every Iraqi citizen health care, we should do the same thing for the 44 million Americans who lack health insurance in our own country. The President needs to push for investments in America, not Iraq." 

"The fact is, America is worse off today than it was a year ago.  I am confident our country can, and will, re-emerge and prosper again. But to do so, our priorities must reflect the needs of working families, not those of the special interests. Congress and the Administration must work together in a bipartisan manner to implement meaningful policies and solutions that provide real benefits to America's working families." 
 

 
Ross Meets with Pine Bluff Soldier Featured on Time Magazine Cover
Sgt. Whiteside Flies in from Iraq to be Honored by President Bush in State of the Union Address Tonight
 
Fourth District Rep. Mike Ross Tuesday met with Sgt. Marquette Whiteside, a 24 year-old Pine Bluff native currently serving in Iraq who is being honored by President Bush during his State of the Union address tonight. Whiteside was one of the three soldiers recently featured on the cover of Time Magazine’s 2003 Person of the Year issue honoring, “The American Soldier.”

“I am honored to represent this fine soldier, and to have the opportunity to meet with him on his brief return to the United States,” said Ross.  “To see one of our own local hero’s featured on the cover of Time Magazine’s ‘Person of the Year’ issue really hits home, and demonstrates the magnitude of the post-9/11 era.”

President Bush will recognize Sgt. Whiteside, as well as the other two soldiers who were also featured on the Time Magazine cover, as he addresses the nation on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives tonight. 

Sgt. Whiteside is a member of Survey Platoon, Headquarters Battery, 2nd Battalion in the 1st Armored’s 3rd Field Artillery Regiment.  Although he was scheduled to be relieved of duty in early 2004, Sgt. Whiteside signed on for an additional three years with the Army.

“Sgt. Whiteside is a man who has dedicated himself to protecting his country in the noblest sense. Not only a soldier, Sgt. Whiteside is also a son, a brother, and a father.  My thoughts and prayers are with his family as they anxiously await his safe and permanent return home.”

A graduate of Watson Chapel High School in Pine Bluff, Sgt. Whiteside’s six year-old daughter, Brashawn, and his mother, Catherine, reside in Pine Bluff. 

Photo: Fourth District Rep. Mike Ross meets with Sgt. Marquette Whiteside in his Washington D.C. office Tuesday.
 
 

Please Contact Mike at 
1-800-223-2220 or 
mike.ross@mail.house.gov
 
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