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.