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Some fear COOL could become voluntary
WASHINGTON (DTN)--Several supporters of mandatory country-of-origin labeling are worried House Republicans will insert a provision into the fiscal year 2005 omnibus appropriations bill that would make COOL a voluntary program instead of mandatory.
Sen. Tim Johnson, D-SD, and a coalition of 95 groups supporting mandatory country-of-origin labeling for red meat and other agricultural products said Nov. 16 they are worried House Republicans are trying to repeal the 2002 mandatory COOL law and replace it with a voluntary program.
The 2002 farm bill called for implementation of country-of-origin labeling for red meat, seafood, fresh fruits and vegetables and peanuts at the final point of retail sale by Sept. 30. Congress later delayed the date until Sept. 30, 2006, for all products except seafood.
A lobbyist for one of the groups supporting mandatory COOL said lobbyists believe House Agriculture Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-VA, and House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Henry Bonilla, R- TX, are behind the effort. Neither members of the House Agriculture Committee nor Bonilla returned calls seeking comment.
Chandler Keys, the lobbyist for the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, said Nov. 16 the group would support any effort to end mandatory country-of-origin labeling, which members of the NCBA think would create an onerous burden. The American Meat Institute, which has opposed mandatory country-of-origin labeling, did not return a call seeking comment.
In his statement on Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman's resignation Nov. 15, Johnson said he would make his support for a new secretary of agriculture contingent on that person's support for mandatory country-of-origin labeling.
"We now have heard that the same members on the House Agriculture Committee that delayed COOL are now trying to make the entire program voluntary," he said.
Today the pro-COOL coalition sent all members of Congress a letter urging them to oppose any amendment that would weaken or repeal mandatory COOL.
"Recent rumors have revealed that opponents of mandatory COOL believe an omnibus bill will provide them with the opportunity to repeal the law and replace it with a voluntary program," said the letter said, which was released by the National Farmers Union.
Consumer Federation of America senior fellow Carol Tucker Foreman, who served as agriculture assistant secretary for food safety in the Carter administration and signed the coalition letter, said she considers the plan to repeal COOL a rebuke to Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle, D- SD, who has been a cosponsor and strong defender of the program.
Daschle was defeated in the election by former Rep. John Thune, R-SD. The Republicans and the meat companies are disrespecting Daschle by trying to make COOL voluntary.
"(It's though they're saying) so there Tom Daschle. We not only beat you, we are going to stomp on your grave," Foreman said.
Meanwhile, Sen. Conrad Burns, R-MT, said Nov. 16 he would introduce a stand-alone mandatory COOL bill that would move the implementation date from Sept. 30, 2006, to Sept. 30, 2005, and add processed meat to the products covered under the bill. Burns has supported mandatory country-of-origin labeling, but Democrats say his votes on it have been inconsistent.
A spokeswoman for Burns declined to discuss the House repeal effort.
Johnson said adding processed meats to COOL would only make it less likely that a COOL bill would pass Congress or be implemented.
A Senate Democratic aide said if the Republican effort to repeal COOL is successful it would become an issue in the Burn's 2006 re-election campaign and damage the reputation of Senator-elect Thune.
Thune has also said he supports mandatory country-of-origin labeling and promised to use his influence with the Bush administration to encourage its implementation.
Date: 11/24/04
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