Below are sample talking points for meetings or calls, as well as a sample letter for emailing or faxing.  It is very important that you personalize all emails and letters!  The legislators pay little attention to "form letters." 

Always be polite.  Be concise, and respond to any concerns your legislator or the staffer raise.  Offer to follow up with more information.  And feel free to contact us at info@farmandranchfreedom.org for help!

**BREAKING NEWS IN TEXAS.  HB 461 was approved by the Texas House.  Now it goes to the Senate.  Please call your State Senator and tell him or her to Vote YES on HB 461.

For a list of legislators and their contact information, click here.  For more information on the Texas bills, go to our Latest Texas News page.

Talking Points for Meetings or Calls

* NAIS is a major issue for me.  It's not just one issue among many, it's an election issue.

*We need protection against coercion being used to force people into NAIS.  People must be free to choose not to be part of the program and still buy feed, buy and sell animals, participate in 4-H, get veterinary care, etc.

* NAIS will hurt Texas' economy:
   o  There has been no cost analysis by USDA or Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC)
   o  Costs of the program include the cost of the tags, hardware, software, time and labor
   o  Many small farmer and ranchers cannot afford these costs
   o  Service providers (veterinarians, feed stores, auction houses, meat processors, etc.) will be harmed when the farmers and ranchers go out of business.
   o  Remaining farmers will pass the costs on to consumers, lowering demand for local foods

* Neither the USDA nor the TAHC has scientific proof show that NAIS will improve disease control:
   o  It does not address the cause, treatment, or transmission of disease, in domestic or wild animals.
   o  It does not significantly improve on current methods for identification and tracking of disease.

* NAIS is not necessary for the market.  Age- and source-verification is already available through the USDA's Process Verified Program

*  NAIS will not improve food safety
   o  USDA itself has stated that this is not a food safety program
   o  Contamination of food with e. coli and other bacteria occurs at the slaughterhouse or afterwards, while NAIS will stop before that point.

* NAIS will not protect against terrorism.
   o  The microchips chosen by the state can be cloned, destroyed, or infected with computer viruses, and reprogrammed. Any terrorist or thief can use this.
   o  The database of information, created by TAHC and available to USDA, will provide a target for hackers.

* NAIS infringes on people's constitutional rights, including due process, privacy, and religious freedom.

* USDA states that NAIS is voluntary at the federal level, so there is no "federal mandate" requiring Texas to implement this program

* Other states are also rejecting or limiting NAIS, so Texas will not be disadvantaged by refusing to participate.

* NAIS will fuel inflation by creating unnecessary additional costs, which will be passed along to the consumer at the grocery store. Inflation harms the entire economy and is costly to every business person, man, woman and child in Texas .

Sample Letter

Dear Senator _______:

I am a _________ (small farmer, consumer of local foods, horse owner, taxpayer. Tell them a little bit about yourself and why you care about this issue). I ask that you support HB 461, which would limit NAIS to a truly voluntary program in Texas. 

I am opposed to NAIS because it will impose heavy burdens on our rights and our economy, without providing any real benefits. NAIS is an unprecedented expansion of the government bureaucracy into people's private lives and infringes on our property rights. Neither the US Department of Agriculture nor the Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC) has provided any scientific basis for the claims of improved disease control. Neither agency has done a cost-benefit analysis of the program, either. There are many more effective, less expensive, and less intrusive methods for improving animal health and addressing animal disease.

NAIS will drive many small and medium-size farmers and ranchers out of business and discourage people from owning horses and other livestock as pets, resulting in far-reaching effects on our economy. The only winners in this program are the microchip manufacturers, the associations that will manage the databases, and the government employees. If the federal government ultimately decides to implement NAIS, it can do so - our state should not.

Please support HB 461. This bill is critical to protecting the rights of Texans, the health of our animals, and the health of our economy.

I look forward to your response.  Thank you for your attention to this issue.

Name
Street Address
City, State Zip
Email, if you have it