"Keep America FMD-Free" Bill Introduced in Congress

Senator Tim Johnson (D-SD) and Senator Mike Enzi (R-WY) introduced the Foot and Mouth Disease Prevention Act of 2008, which would add common sense to a proposal by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) that would allow importation of Argentine fresh and pre-packaged beef, lamb and other meat from select regions of Argentina, as well as live animals.

"Cattlemen from across the country appreciate Senator Johnson and Senator Enzi along with the other co-sponsors of this important legislation," said Jon Wooster, a California rancher and USCA president. "We’re calling it the ‘Keep America FMD-Free bill’."

Wooster explained that an outbreak of FMD within the U.S. cattle industry would bring livestock commerce to a standstill overnight and would likely result in the depopulation of millions of cattle, hogs, lambs, goats and wildlife.

The American Veterinary Medical Association has deemed FMD the most economically devastating of all livestock disease. A recent study by Kansas State University found that an outbreak of FMD would cost the State of Kansas alone nearly $1 billion.

"Despite the risks, the Department of Agriculture continues to consider the implementation of a regionalized beef trade plan with Argentina," noted Wooster. "FMD is an airborne disease that will not stop at an imaginary border controlled by a foreign nation. Argentina has proven time and time again that it does not have America’s best interests at heart. This is a country that has attacked U.S. agriculture in the World Trade Organization (WTO) and has intentionally turned its back on, and still refuses to pay, billions in U.S. loans despite U.S. court judgments mandating it do so."

Senators Tim Johnson (D-SD) and Mike Enzi (R-WY) along with Senators Jon Tester (D-MT), John Barrasso (R-WY), Claire McCaskill (D-MO), Pete Domenici (R-NM), Byron Dorgan (D-ND), Ken Salazar (D-CO), and Wayne Allard (R-CO) are co-sponsors of the Foot and Mouth Disease Prevention Act of 2008. USCA has worked diligently to maintain import standards that will keep the U.S. cattle industry on the offensive rather than the defensive when it comes to controlling the introduction of foreign animal disease into the U.S.

"We will continue to work on moving this bill forward by adding co-sponsors and garnering support both on Capitol Hill and in the country. USCA is firmly resolved to ensuring the U.S. cattle industry is protected by the highest import standards possible, and to seeing that the ‘Keep America FMD-Free’ bill becomes law," said Wooster.

Established in March 2007, USCA is committed to concentrating its efforts in Washington, DC to enhance and expand the cattle industry’s voice on Capitol Hill. USCA has a full-time presence in Washington, giving cattle producers across the country a strong influence on policy development. For more information go to www.uscattlemen.org.