81R20916 BPG-D
By: Lucio III H.R. No. 1702
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, The Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002,
more commonly known as the 2002 Farm Bill, included provisions
requiring country of origin labeling (COOL) for beef, lamb, pork,
fish, perishable agricultural commodities, and peanuts; and
WHEREAS, In response to widespread controversy, the United
States Congress agreed to delay full mandatory implementation of
COOL; although labeling requirements under a final rule are taking
effect on March 16, 2009, agriculture secretary Tom Vilsack has
called for voluntary compliance under stricter guidelines, warning
of a possible tightening of regulations at a later time; and
WHEREAS, The United States Department of Agriculture has
estimated that incremental costs of compliance with the final rule
will reach $2.6 billion in the first year for growers, producers,
processors, wholesalers, and retailers; in the 10th year after
implementation, the estimated cost to the United States economy
would be more than $211 million in higher food prices and reduced
food production; meanwhile, the USDA has concluded that economic
benefits associated with COOL implementation are likely to be
small; and
WHEREAS, Current evidence does not suggest that consumers are
willing to pay a premium price for food items bearing the United
States origin label, or that United States producers will be able to
recoup costs associated with COOL compliance through higher prices;
and
WHEREAS, COOL is a marketing program, not a food safety
measure, as evidenced by the fact that it is administered by the
Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) of the USDA rather than its
Food Safety and Inspection Service or Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service; and
WHEREAS, COOL regulations are extremely burdensome for the
cattle industry; cattle are not considered a covered commodity
under COOL regulations, but producers are obligated to provide
origin information in order for retailers to verify the origin of
meat; cattle are often bought and sold several times and move
through a complex and diverse set of stocker and feedlot production
systems involving a high degree of sorting and commingling, which
increases the difficulty of tracking domestic and imported cattle;
and
WHEREAS, Mexico and Canada, the top two export markets for
U.S. beef, have both filed complaints against COOL provisions with
the World Trade Organization; in December 2008, Mexico briefly
banned imports from 30 U.S. meat plants in a move widely considered
to be a protest against COOL, which drove cattle futures sharply
lower at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange; and
WHEREAS, Texas leads the nation in cattle production; the
industry contributes as much as $16 billion annually to the state
economy, and it is vitally important that normal trade relations
continue with key beef export markets; the COOL provisions are
harmful both to trade relations and to the overall economic
viability of the cattle industry as well as to consumers, who can
expect to see prices rise as a result of higher production costs;
now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 81st Texas
Legislature hereby respectfully urge the United States Congress to
repeal mandatory country of origin labeling provisions from federal
law as soon as practicable; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That the chief clerk of the Texas House of
Representatives forward official copies of this resolution to the
president of the United States, to the speaker of the house of
representatives and the president of the senate of the United
States Congress, to the secretary of agriculture, and to all the
members of the Texas delegation to the Congress with the request
that this resolution be officially entered in the Congressional
Record as a memorial to the Congress of the United States of
America.