CONGRESSMAN
COLLIN C. PETERSON
Minnesota - 7th District       http://www.house.gov/collinpeterson/

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 15, 2003
CONTACT: Allison Myhre/218-847-5056 or 218-731-1657

Peterson disappointed with agriculture

appropriations process

-Will introduce ID program to keep track of livestock-

(WASHINGTON, DC) - As Country of Origin Labeling funding was debated on the House floor today, U.S. Rep. Collin Peterson expressed frustration at the way House Leadership is handling the issue.

“This is not an Appropriations Committee issue, it’s an Agriculture Committee issue,” Peterson said. “These are issues that we should be dealing with in our committee. This process is backwards, but the only way we’re going to get it fixed is to do it in the agriculture committee.”

Peterson supported the amendment to fund COOL despite concerns about the legislation. “I have some serious reservations about this bill and I don’t think there hasn’t been enough discussion about the best way to do this, however, we can’t sit around and wait a couple of years for USDA to act on this. We have to address this issue now.”

Peterson has plans to introduce a mandatory animal identification bill that would address the concerns he’s heard locally from producers, processors and consumers. “Now is the time to put a system in place that will keep our consumers confident in the food supply and to improve animal health,” he said.

Canadians currently have a mandatory cattle ID program that requires all cattle be identified at the herd of origin by one of 29 approved, bar-coded plastic tags or two electronic button tags. When tested, the program showed success in tracing tags to the herd of origin.

“It’s time for us to keep better track of our livestock as they cross borders,” Peterson said. “We have the legislative ability, we have the tools necessary, and this is something we should be doing.”

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