Senator David Vitter's Town Hall Meeting
An Opportunity to Educate Him About NAIS 

Senator David Vitter is having a town hall meeting to talk with constituents before heading back to Congress.  This is a great opportunity to talk with him face-to-face about NAIS!
 
WHERE: City Hall, 200 Jefferson Street, DeRidder, LA
WHEN: Tuesday, January 8, from 5:30-6:30
WHAT: Town hall meeting
 
Senator Vitter is expected to talk for about 30 minutes and then take questions from the floor.  Below are some ideas of comments and questions to pose to him.  The most important thing is that he realize that his constituents are against the NAIS!
 
If you are too far from DeRidder to come to the meeting, call his office and talk with the agricultural staffer about your concerns.  The staffer is Chris Stanley, and the DC office number is 202-224-4623.  Or you can call the Capitol Switchboard toll-free at 866-340-9281.
 
For more information, contact Susie Stretton at nightsong@camtel.net or the Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance at info@FarmAndRanchFreedom.org or 866-687-6452.

Sample Questions and Comments 

Below are some sample questions and comments, just to give you some ideas.  The town hall meeting is an opportunity for your voice to be heard, so be sure to let the Senator know what your thoughts and concerns are.

    * I'm very glad that Congress reduced the funding for NAIS by 2/3 last year.  I'd like to see all of the funding for NAIS stopped.  Do you support an end to federal government funding for NAIS?
    * Even though we have asked for it, USDA has not provided any scientific evidence of how NAIS will improve animal health or address animal disease, as compared to our existing programs. Have you seen any actual studies on the issue?
    * Have you investigated the costs of NAIS to Louisiana animal owners?  The USDA still hasn't done a cost-benefit analysis and the costs listed in is documents are unsupported and extremely incomplete.   Think about some of these costs:
                +  Cost of radiotags when bought in small quantities or lots
                + Costs of the scanners.  If they say people won't need scanners, what about the costs that will be charged by people who will do the scanning for us?
                +  Fees for reports, since someone has to pay to maintain the database
                +  Computers, software, and internet access for filing reports. 
    * Did you know that the radiotags and microchips recommended, called ISO tags, are designed to be easily reprogrammed.  USDA has not addressed the problems of counterfeiting identification tags, cloning the tags, or infecting the microchips with computer viruses.
    * Did you know that the estimated costs for a similar program in Australia have risen to 12 times the original estimates ($37/head instead of $3/head)?
    * Why doesn't the government first focus on programs that address the causes of disease and preventative measures?  What about transmission of diseases through wild animals, which will not be part of NAIS?  What about enforcing current programs, such as health certificates, before we implement new, more burdensome programs?
    * If NAIS is a technology-neutral program, why have major technology companies been given seats on the working groups, while individuals and small farmers and ranchers have been unrepresented?  How can it be called "technology-neutral" when the USDA has approved eight electronic tags for the program, and no non-electronic tags?

Sincerely,
 

Judith McGeary
Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance
www.farmandranchfreedom.org
866-687-6452