Senator Tim Johnson (D-SD) joined with 31 of his Senate colleagues from both sides of the aisle in sending a letter to Senate Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) and Ranking Member Richard Shelby (R-AL) urging them to reject any efforts that would undermine, weaken, or suspend Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) through the appropriations process for the remainder of Fiscal Year 2015.
“While there are some in Congress who will try to use the appropriations process as a way to weaken Country of Origin Labeling (COOL), I remain committed to maintaining full funding for this critical program,” said Johnson. “COOL is a valuable marketing tool for South Dakota producers, and consumers deserve to know where their meat comes from. I was pleased that this year’s farm bill maintained COOL, and I will continue to fight for this program on behalf of producers and consumers.”
As the original author of COOL, Johnson has fought vigorously to defend the law and USDA’s implementation of the program. Despite repeated attempts by opponents of COOL to repeal the program during consideration of the farm bill, Johnson was successful in maintaining the current statute in the final bill.
In July, a decision by the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit reaffirmed the legitimacy of COOL for meat products. Objections to the U.S. COOL program by Canada and Mexico before the World Trade Organization (WTO), however, have not been finalized. A decision is expected to be made public soon.
The following Senators also signed on to the letter: Jon Tester (D-MT), Mike Enzi (R-WY), Charles Grassley (R-IA), Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND), John Thune (R-SD), Tom Harkin (D-IA), John Hoeven (R-ND), Mark Begich (D-AK), Susan Collins (R-ME), Carl Levin (D-MI), David Vitter (R-LA), Tom Udall (D-NM), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Bernard Sanders (I-VT), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Benjamin Cardin (D-MD), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Edward Markey (D-MA), Christopher Murphy (D-CT), Claire McCaskill (D-MO), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Al Franken (D-MN), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), John Walsh (D-MT), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI).
The text of the letter is below:
October 6, 2014
The Honorable Barbara Mikulski
Chairwoman
Senate Appropriations Committee
Washington, D.C. 20510
The Honorable Richard Shelby
Ranking Member
Senate Appropriations Committee
Washington, D.C. 20510
Dear Chairwoman Mikulski and Ranking Member Shelby:
As the Senate debates how to provide funding for the federal government for the remainder of Fiscal Year 2015, we urge you to reject efforts to weaken or suspend Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) through any continuing resolution or omnibus appropriations bill. Following a deliberative process, Congress enacted COOL in response to demand from consumers and livestock producers for reliable information about where their meat and seafood come from. COOL has overwhelming public and producer support but its implementation has been challenged in an international trade dispute for more than five years. It is critical that Congress not short-circuit ongoing efforts to support American producers and consumers.
The WTO has been considering COOL since 2008 and the dispute will likely continue well into 2015. The complexity of the case is unlikely to yield a clear-cut decision. However, the United States government has tools to address the outcome, once the WTO process reaches finality, to ensure labeling remains consistent with our trade obligations. The Senate should not undermine the United States’ position by inserting a legislative rider into an Appropriations bill before the WTO process is final. Earlier this year, the Senate Appropriations Committee rejected attempts to weaken or suspend COOL enforcement. Congress also excluded any COOL legislative riders in the Fiscal Year 2015 Continuing Resolution. We strongly believe these were responsible decisions and ones that respect the right of the United States to defend the laws which Congress passes.
While the ruling on the appeal is not yet public, anonymous foreign sources continue their efforts to undermine COOL. It is critical that the Senate Appropriations Committee not allow these rumors from abroad to pre-emptively weaken U.S. law before the dispute resolution process has run its course. The United States has the right to implement these popular and commonsense labeling laws. Any legislative rider to undermine COOL before the WTO process is finalized would disadvantage American producers and roll-back the transparency within our meat markets that consumers want and have come to expect. Consumers have the right to know where their food comes from and farmers should be able to market their livestock as born and raised in America.
Thank you for your attention to this important issue, and we again urge you to exclude legislative riders aimed at weakening or suspending COOL from any legislation that provides funding for the federal government in Fiscal Year 2015.
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