According to several staffers on the conference committee, Section 10305 has been taken out of the Farm Bill!  This provision, inserted by the Senate, would have required the USDA to issue regulations to address confidentiality under NAIS.  Section 10305 would have implied Congressional approval of what USDA has been doing with NAIS, and created a false sense of security about protecting people's information.  Nothing is certain until the conference committee's report is issued, but all the reports so far indicate that Section 10305 is gone.

Thank you to all of the people who took the time to call and write Congress!!

Of course, this does not end the fight.  The USDA has already shown its intention to continue pushing NAIS, regardless of what Congress does.  Last week, USDA issued a Privacy Act notice in the Federal Register for information collected as part of NAIS.  So neither NAIS nor the confidentiality issue is dead!  But we can still celebrate partial victories along the way.
 
We are waiting for written confirmation, both that Section 10305 has been taken out and that NAIS has not been slipped into the Farm Bill elsewhere.  Under the current schedule, the conference committee's report is expected out early next week.  So stay tuned for any changes!
 
For more background on Section 10305, see our earlier action alerts at http://farmandranchfreedom.org/content/action-alerts

Competition Provisions in the Farm Bill

While opposing Section 10305 and NAIS, FARFA supported several provisions in the Farm Bill that were developed and supported by a broad coalition of agriculture and consumer groups to increase competition in the livestock industry.  Some of the key provisions:

    * Authorizing state-inspected packing plants to engage in interstate commerce.
    * Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling (COOL).
    * Banning packer ownership of livestock, to prevent the huge meat packing corporations from controlling market access and livestock prices.
    * Authorizing voluntary arbitration, so that farmers are not forced into binding arbitration as part of non-negotiable contracts.

Although the coalition lost on packer ban, the other three provisions were approved by the conference committee!

More information on these and the other competition provisions can be found at http://www.sustainableagriculture.net/fb08conf.php

More Information on USDA's Privacy Act Notice

You can find the USDA's latest notice at 73 Fed. Reg. 23412 (Privacy Act Notice on NAIS) (Apr. 30, 2008) (online at:
http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2008/E8-9419.htm)
 

The Privacy Act of 1974 is intended to "provide certain safeguards for an individual against an invasion of personal privacy" by giving individuals certain rights and requiring agencies to follow certain procedures.  One of the required procedures is to publish notice in the Federal Register "upon establishment or revision" of a "system of records."  That notice must include the routine uses of the information, which determine when the information can be disclosed. So, by publishing this notice, USDA is essentially stating when information collected under NAIS can be disclosed as a matter of course.
 
In the notice, the USDA states: "APHIS may routinely share information contained in USDA's portion of the NAIS with Federal and State animal health officials during an incident of an animal disease, bioterrorism, or other animal health event. APHIS may disseminate information to Federal and State animal health officials within the system for educational purposes and to obtain feedback regarding the NAIS program and emergency preparedness guidelines. Other routine uses of this information include releases related to investigations pertaining to violations of law or related to litigation. A complete listing of the routine uses for this system is included in this notice. The information collection requests associated with this system have been approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under the Paperwork Reduction Act."  The notice then sets out a long list of "routine uses" of the information.
 
Comments on the Privacy Act notice are due by May 30, 2008.  You can submit comments online at http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/main?main=DocketDetail&d=APHIS-2007-0015, or  by mailing to:  Docket No. APHIS-2007-0015, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 3A-03.8, 4700, River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD, 20737-1238.

Support the Fight!

As always, we need your help to educate people across the country about NAIS.  Download materials from our Take Action page and put them out at local feed stores, riding stables, farmers markets, and so on.  And help support our work by becoming a member today.  We depend on membership dues and donations to fight to protect your rights.  Join now!

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