ISSUES AND POLICY
Crisis Averted
By Scott George, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association president
T
HE POLITICAL WRANGLING IN WASHINGTON, D.C., HIT pretty close to home in March. The possibility that sequestration would harm the livestock
industry looked very real. Our own government was prepared to use food as a weapon against the American public to advance a political agenda. However, thanks in part to the National Cattlemen’s
Beef Association (NCBA) team in Washington, D.C., Congress acted to block USDA’s furlough of Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) employees, a group that in- cludes meat, poultry and egg inspectors. The consequences of Secre-
tary Tom Vilsack’s planned fur- lough of FSIS staff, including food safety inspectors, would have been severe for all livestock producers. Thanks largely to the NCBA team’s engagement with USDA and elected offi cials, the interests of all livestock and poul- try producers were protected. Our efforts directly helped to
This was a big win for the beef industry, and it dem-
onstrates why the presence of NCBA’s staff on Capitol Hill is so critical. Had FSIS inspectors been furloughed, our industry would have faced a backlog of animals, a shortened supply of beef to market, potential loss of export market customers, higher prices and harm to the futures markets. I believe the Secretary of Agriculture should be our
… this is a clear example of why we need to stand together and
preserve an estimated $400 mil- lion in wages and ultimately an estimated $10 billion in produc- tion costs that would have been lost by beef, veal, pork, poultry and egg producers if Congress had not acted. Because of the proactive efforts of NCBA’s staff in
biggest champion. When members of Congress or the administration in the White House propose an idea that will harm agriculture, I believe it is the job of the Secretary to defend our interests. Instead it appears he was facili- tating political games that would have harmed livestock producers and the American public. If the furlough of FSIS staff
strengthen that voice.
had been allowed to proceed, we would have faced govern- ment-inflicted damages while we’re facing the consequences of a historic drought and rising input prices. We were fortunate this time,
and I’m thankful that we have a dedicated team in our nation’s capitol to protect our interests and speak on our behalf. How-
Washington, D.C., Congress stepped in to block the furlough. The action by Congress shifted $55 million from USDA’s accounts to pay FSIS inspectors through Oct. 1, 2013, when the new fi scal year begins.
70 The Cattleman May 2013
ever, this is a clear example of why we need to stand together and strengthen that voice. We hope you’ll each take a moment to recruit a new
member for NCBA and Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association. When you recruit a new member, all cattle raisers reap the benefi ts.
thecattlemanmagazine.com
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