WASHINGTON, D.C., Oct. 06, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Late Thursday, 16 Members of the U.S. House of Representatives pushed back against the so-called Ending Agriculture Trade Suppression (EATS) Act, H.R. 4417/S. 2019, in a letter to House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn “G.T.” Thompson, R-PA, and Ranking Member David Scott, R-GA, that Competitive Markets Action (CMA) and the Organization for Competitive Markets (OCM) worked to organize and execute.
The letter, led by Reps. Andrew Garbarino, R-NY, David Valadao, R-CA, Mike Waltz, R-FL, and Nancy Mace, R-SC, was signed by Reps. Alex Mooney, R-WV, Carol Miller, R-WV, Early “Buddy” Carter, R-GA, Lance Gooden, R-TX, Mike Lawler, R-NY, Brian Fitzpatrick, R-PA, Young Kim, R-CA, Mike Garcia, R-CA, Tom Kean, R-NJ, Jeff Van Drew, R-NJ, Chris Smith, R-NJ, and Vern Buchanan, R-FL, and also backed by members of the National Dairy Producers Organization (NDPO), Alabama Contract Poultry Growers Association (ALCPGA), Contract Poultry Growers Association of the Virginias (VA and WV), American Grassfed Association (AGA), and Kansas Cattlemen’s Association who all advocated against EATS in two lobbying summits in Washington D.C. to help defeat the measure.
Leaders of the EATS Act, Rep. Ashley Hinson, R-Iowa, and Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kansas, have positioned the bill as a regulatory solution by reverting to federal overreach. If enacted, the consequences of EATS Act would be dire. The bill would invalidate hundreds of state and local agriculture laws that support family beef, dairy, egg, and pork producers, as well as hundreds of laws related to food safety and invasive pest control.
“We applaud Reps. Garbarino, Valadao, Waltz, and Mace and their colleagues for taking a stand against the EATS Act that would sellout American agriculture to China,” said Marty Irby, President and CEO at Competitive Markets Action and Board Secretary at the Organization for Competitive Markets. "The Hinson-Marshall EATS Act is an assault on states’ rights that’s backed by Smithfield, a wholly owned Chinese corporation that continues to rake in billions of dollars by oppressing and exploiting American family farmers.”
In August, a bipartisan group of 30 U.S. Senators submitted a letter to Senate Agriculture Committee leadership opposing the EATS Act, and a coalition of over 170 U.S. Representatives submitted another letter to Chairman Thompson and Ranking Member David Scott, citing their opposition to the bill. Following these letters, the National Governors Association, the National Conference of State Legislatures, the National Association of Counties, and the National League of Cities also submitted letters, emphasizing the importance of avoiding preempting state level laws regarding agriculture production as well as a group of State Attorneys General led by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel.
The opposition to the EATS Act, H.R.4417/S.2019, continues to garner widespread and diverse challengers, including conservative think tanks such as FreedomWorks and others. With the growing outrage over the EATS Act, the bill faces an uphill battle to be included in the Farm Bill.
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The Organization for Competitive Markets (OCM) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit based in Lincoln, Nebraska. The foundation of the Organization for Competitive Markets is to fight for competitive markets in agriculture for farmers, ranchers and rural communities. True competition reduces the need for economic regulation. Our mission, and our duty, is to define and advocate the proper role of government in the agricultural economy as a regulator and enforcer of rules necessary for markets that are fair, honest, accessible and competitive for all citizens.
Competitive Markets Action (CMA) is a 501(c)(4) non-profit based in Washington, D.C., that was formed with the mission of shaping policy to promote more regenerative and sustainable agriculture, and competitive markets in the U.S., and to defend against attacks on states’ rights by the federal government. CMA works to raise awareness of the harm caused by multinational conglomerates to the American family farmer, the consumer and our U.S. economy as a whole in an effort to bring about legislative and regulatory reforms.
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