Pork Producers Support Congressional Action To Further Examine COOL

WASHINGTON,D.C - The NPPC supports today's announcement of a full Congressional committee hearing to focus further attention on the issue of MCOOL and the negative impacts that the law will have on pork producers.
calendar icon 18 June 2003
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"We commend today's aggressive actions by both House Agriculture Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) and House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Henry Bonilla (R-Texas)," said NPPC President Jon Caspers, a pork producer from Swaledale, Iowa. "These Congressional actions will shed light on the myriad issues and concerns, which have surfaced during the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) COOL Listening Sessions, in numerous economic studies, news reports and new producer and industry requirements for MCOOL compliance."

Caspers has been asked to testify on behalf of America's pork producers at the hearing next week. In addition, Rep. Bonilla, concerned about the implementation of MCOOL, submitted an amendment at today's hearing on the Fiscal Year (FY) 2004 Agriculture Appropriations bill that prohibits USDA from using FY 2004 funding for implementing MCOOL. "We look forward to working with both Committees to find a reasonable, workable long-term solution to the MCOOL law," Caspers said.

"We've studied it extensively and the facts show that COOL is all about added costs with no real benefits to America's pork producers" Caspers said. NPPC has long opposed COOL because it will not raise hog prices long-term; it will end the string of eleven record-setting years for U.S. pork exports, causing pork exports to plummet between 2004 and 2011; and dramatically effect the competitiveness of U.S. pork in world markets.

NPPC is calling on Congress to repeal the mandatory provision of the country-of-origin labeling law for hogs and pork products and replace it with a workable voluntary COOL program. NPPC believes that a mandatory program imposes huge risks and costs on America's pork producers without a way for producers to recoup these costs at the U.S. retail meat case.

Source: National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) - 17th June 2003

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