Last week, our fight to stop NAIS entered a new phase. Senator Talent and Congresswoman Emerson introduced parallel bills in the U.S. Senate and House that have the following provisions:
(1) a prohibition on a mandatory program,
(2) a prohibition on funding mandatory programs, and
(3) some protection from public disclosure of information gathered through a voluntary program.

The bills do not affirmatively establish a NAIS program. They only prohibit a mandatory one. Some people have criticized the bills for proposing an exemption if an animal never leaves the farm – but the bills contain no such provision. These critics are confusing these new bills with what the USDA proposed several months ago. Again, these bills do not contain that exemption, so it’s irrelevant.

The bills bar a mandatory program, which is the first step. We will need amendments or a second bill to address the other issues, such as premises registration and preventing a voluntary program from being coercive. Together with others in the grassroots movement, we have drafted a model state statute to cover these issues, which you can find at http://www.libertyark.net/draft-state917.htm

We cannot afford to just wait until the Farm Bill is considered by Congress. Neither the USDA nor the states care that we think they don’t have authority to fund or implement NAIS—they’re doing it anyway. This is an immediate problem that needs to be addressed as soon as possible. The more money spent to enact this non-program, the more entrenched it becomes. Also, the Farm Bill will be a complex statute with a lot of “pork provisions,” so the NAIS issue could get lost in the negotiations. In contrast, stand-alone bills, like the Talent/Emerson bills, give us an opportunity to ask Congress to focus just on NAIS.

Where are we without the Talent/Emerson bills?
* USDA is moving full steam ahead with developing the NAIS plan and funding states to implement it
* States are implementing the program while avoiding responsibility by claiming that the “feds are making us do it”
* There are three bills already in front of the Agriculture Committee that would specifically authorize USDA to implement a federal, mandatory, electronic NAIS.
* Industry officials have spent 20 years developing their plans
* USDA has spent $184 million and effectively kept the public out of the process

The Talent/Emerson bills give us more ability to fight at both the state and federal level:
* The states’ excuses are weakened, giving us more power to stop this program in each state
* In the federal legislative process, when multiple bills are meshed, there are now anti-NAIS bills to counterbalance the pro-NAIS bills that are already in Committee.
* We can still ask other Congressmen and Senators to introduce more detailed bills or amendments that address all of the problems with NAIS. We can both support the Talent/Emerson bill and support amendments or other bills, especially ones that would stop the government from penalizing people who do not “volunteer.”
* We can always oppose or seek to amend whatever comes out of the Committee as a result of the meshing process.
* We have an opportunity to be involved in the process for the first time

Some have suggested that we should not support a bill amending the Animal Health Protection Act because it implies approval of USDA’s unauthorized actions to date. Although USDA has acted terribly in implementing NAIS, Congress is highly unlikely to ever, in any statute, retroactively condemn what the agency has already done. So the important issue is what will provide the most protection against government abuse as we move forward. If the USDA believes that it has authority under the Animal Health Protection Act for NAIS, then the best way to shut that door permanently is to amend that very statute to say “No, you do not have authority.” The Talent/Emerson bills do that.

Let’s take advantage of the pressure the politicians are feeling with the upcoming elections. Contact your Congressmen and Senators and ask them if they support a ban on a mandatory NAIS. And ask them if they would propose a bill to provide greater protections against abuses of NAIS, especially provisions that would prevent the government from penalizing anyone for not participating. Below is a sample letter that you can use, either to write your own letter or as “talking points” in a phone call.

Judith McGeary
Executive Director
Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance
8308 Sassman Rd
Austin, Texas 78747
(512) 243-9404
(866) 687-6452 Toll Free
www.farmandranchfreedom.org

Sample letter – BE SURE TO PERSONALIZE IT

To get contact information for your U.S. Representative and Senators, go to http://www.congress.org/congressorg/home/ and enter your zip code in the box on the left-hand side.

Dear Senator (or Congressman) ______:

I am a _________ (farmer, consumer, horse owner, etc.)

I am writing to ask you to co-sponsor the Talent/Emerson bill, S3862 / HR6042. This bill would bar the USDA from implementing, or funding, a mandatory National Animal Identification System (NAIS). I am also asking that you sponsor an amendment or separate bill to provide even greater protection against the problems posed by the NAIS, particularly provisions that would prevent the government from penalizing non-participants.

I am opposed to the NAIS because it is an unprecedented expansion of the government into the lives and businesses of hundreds of thousands of Americans. While the NAIS has been promoted as an animal health program, it will do nothing to actually improve animal health. The government has provided no scientific basis for the design of the program. Disease cannot be addressed by imposing the same requirements on someone who owns a few chickens or cows as on someone with a 30,000 chicken commercial facility or a feedlot. And tracking disease 48 hours after the fact will do nothing to prevent disease in the first place, or to protect our food supply.

The NAIS would impose heavy burdens on animal owners, both in time and money, and will drive many small farmers and ranchers out of business. Rather than protecting us from disease, the NAIS will increase the consolidation of our food supply into the hands of large companies who are willing and able to accept the financial burdens, and the government intrusion of the NAIS. This will make us more vulnerable, not less, to the spread of disease and disruptions in our food supply, whether from natural disasters or terrorism. The NAIS will raise the price of food and create a massive government bureaucracy at the expense of every taxpayer.

The Talent/Emerson bill is important because it would prevent the USDA from implementing this expensive, unproductive program on a mandatory basis. And so I ask you to show your support by co-sponsoring the bill.

At the same time, more is needed. The Talent/Emerson bill does not address all of the issues that have been raised by the USDA’s and states’ abusive implementation of the NAIS program. The amendment or new bill should explicitly bar the USDA from mandating premises registration, whether as part of a larger identification program or not. There should be provisions to cut off all forms of state coercion that could be used against animal owners. For instance, no person should be denied services because they don’t participate in an animal or premises registration program. And the businesses that provide goods and services to farmers should be free to provide those goods and services to anyone, whether or not they are participants in an animal or premises registration program. Last, the bill should address the government’s over-reliance on the slaughter of animals as a way to control disease. We deserve measures that truly address animal health, not that harm small farmers in order to protect the export market.

I look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

Name
City, State