WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Kevin Cramer applauded the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee for their decision to include an amendment to the 2016 Agriculture Appropriations bill to ban the importation of Brazilian and Argentine Beef until the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) evaluates the potential risk of foot and mouth disease (FMD) to the US Cattle industry caused by these imports. The Senate committee approved the Agriculture Appropriations bill by a vote of 28-2. On July 9, 2015, the U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations Agriculture Subcommittee approved a similar amendment to the Agriculture Appropriations bill banning the importation of beef from Brazil and Argentina
“I am encouraged the Senate agreed with the House and added this common-sense amendment to their bill. Foot-and-mouth disease remains a problem for the Brazilian and Argentine beef industry and this amendment will ensure FMD doesn’t threaten the US cattle Industry. This potential threat from FMD requires Congressional action to protect our ranchers,” said Cramer.
In April 2014, Colin Woodall, Vice President of Government Affairs for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, estimated the impacts of an FMD outbreak in the United States to range between $5 billion and $50 billion. On February 19, 2014, Congressman Cramer sent a letter to USDA Secretary Thomas Vilsack expressing concern about the then proposed rule to allow the importation of chilled or frozen beef from 14 states in Brazil. In the letter, the Congressman requested the comment period for the proposed rule be extended over concerns about the possible risk of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) being brought into the United States due to the importation of fresh beef from Brazil. You can view a copy of the letter by clicking here.
In 2014, the North Dakota Stockmen’s Association (NDSA) along with the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association expressed their opposition to the proposal to import beef from the Patagonia region of Argentina over FMD concerns. The NDSA cited concerns about “the incomplete and undocumented site reviews USDA conducted to prepare this information and the lack of a quantitative analysis of the data.”
Source: Congressman Kevin Cramer's Office
