Bill that delays COOL passed

By LORI COPE | East Texas Edition

January 29, 2004 -- With the Senate's vote on Jan. 22 that passed the Omnibus Appropriations (spending) Bill, which included language that postpones mandatory country-of-origin labeling (COOL) for two years, some ag-related groups issued comments on the topic.

National Farmers Union expressed strong dismay in the Senate's passage of the spending bill. "I am appalled that this attack on the country-of-origin labeling law was not debated in public," said NFU President Dave Frederickson. "At the insistence of the Bush administration, congressional leadership slipped this delay into the comprehensive spending bill behind closed doors and at the expense of consumers, American farmers, and our trading relationships."

Shane Sklar, executive director of Independent Cattlemen's Association of Texas, added, "Obviously we are disappointed of the Senate's vote on the Omnibus Appropriations Bill, but this is by no means, the death of COOL. ... ICA of Texas is still committed to achieve mandatory COOL for Texas cattle producers."

Sklar, talking about the subject from a meeting in Colorado on Jan. 23, noted he and others had socialized with U.S. Department of Agriculture Undersecretary Bill Hawks. "He expressed a desire to help us with implementing mandatory COOL. ... (And) we have strong support in the Senate to achieve our goal of having mandatory COOL."

Echoing Sklar's comments, Frederickson said NFU "will not give up. COOL remains an issue in the countryside; it remains a top priority issue with National Farmers Union; and we will make sure it continues to be an issue in Congress."

On the other side of the topic, Matt Brockman, executive vice president for Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, said his group "certainly supports the delay of mandatory COOL. ... We would have been, what, seven months away from implementing COOL. There's no way that could have all been done.

"A change in the COOL law is necessary. It's a flawed law; not a flawed concept - and many think this can be fixed by USDA in a rule-making (procedure), but it would take an amendment to change the law," Brockman said. The mandatory COOL law is within the 2002 Farm Bill law.

"The concept of COOL remains worthy, and that must be preserved. This delay is needed so we have time to address a lot of issues" within the ag-product labeling law, he added, when citing the need for labeling, especially in light of the recent BSE case in the United States.

The $373 billion spending bill passed by Congress finances agriculture, veterans, and other domestic programs for the budget year that began Oct. 1 - nearly four months ago. In the bill, funding to implement mandatory COOL by September 2004 was not provided, therefore it postpones for two years a requirement that meat and many other foods sold in stores have labels identifying they country they came from.

NFU's Frederickson added this will not be the final push to implement mandatory COOL by the end of the year. Farmers Union will be working with COOL supporters in Congress to make sure COOL shows up again in other must-pass legislative vehicles in 2004, he said.