Action Alert
February 23, 2007
Continue calling the House Speaker
and the Chair
of the Committee on Natural Resources
and your Representative.
Correction to our earlier alert: Because the committee substitute for HB 1842 was not scheduled for a hearing by Thursday, the bill cannot be heard by the Agriculture Sub-Committee, and Rep Dewitt Chair of the Natural Resources Committee said he would not hear it.
So if you haven't already called the Speaker and the Committee chair, please do so! You should also call your own Representative. If you don't know who that is, go to: www.okhouse.gov/Information/Info_FAQ.aspx. The most important step is to call the Speaker of the House and the Chair of the Committee Monday morning (contact information is below).
Tell them, "I want the Committee Substitute of HB 1842 to get a hearing before the Committee this session." Additional talking points and a sample email are provided below, after the contact information. Remember, always be polite. Because of the tight timeline, calls are the best approach! If you must use email, put "Give Committee Substite for HB 1842 a hearing" in the subject line.
Important: This is not the original, "shell" version of HB 1842 that was filed. The committee substitute of HB 1842 is a much better anti-NAIS bill. Please be sure that you are clear about the fact that you are supporting the amended version of HB 1842. If you or your Representative need a copy of the committee substitute version, view the document on Liberty Ark's website.
Key Contacts:
- Rep. Cargill, Speaker of the House, (405) 557-7400
lancecargill@okhouse.gov - Rep. DeWitt, Chair of the Committee on Natural Resources, (405)
557-7332
daledewitt@okhouse.gov - Your Representative
Talking points:
Begin with: "I want the committee substitute of HB 1842 to get a hearing before the Committee this session." Then you can talk about the reasons NAIS should be stopped and this bill should be heard: Pick one or two of your favorites that particularly bother you. Don't go on too long.
NAIS will hurt Oklahoma's economy:
- There has been no cost analysis by USDA or Oklahoma Department of Agriculture.
- Costs of the program include the cost of the tags, hardware, software, time and labor.
- Many small farmer and ranchers cannot afford these costs.
- Service providers (veterinarians, feed stores, auction houses, meat processors, etc.) will be harmed when the farmers and ranchers go out of business.
- Remaining farmers will pass the costs on to consumers, lowering demand for local foods.
Neither the USDA nor the state agency has scientific proof show that NAIS will improve disease control:
- It does not address the cause, treatment, or transmission of disease, in domestic or wild animals.
- 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:
- USDA itself has stated that this is not a food safety program.
- 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:
- The microchips chosen by the state can be cloned, destroyed, or infected with computer viruses, and reprogrammed. Any terrorist or thief can use this.
- The database of information, created by the state agency 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 Oklahoma to implement this program.
Other states are also rejecting or limiting NAIS, so Oklahoma will not be disadvantaged by refusing to participate.
Sample email:
Subject: "Give Committee Substite for HB 1842 a hearing"
Dear Representative ___:
I want the committee substitute of HB 1842 to get a hearing before the Committee this session. The National Animal Identification System (NAIS) is an issue of great importance to Oklahomans, and we expect our legislators to hold a full and fair hearing on the issue.
I am a ____ (small farmer, consumer, taxpayer - tell them a sentence about yourself). I am opposed to NAIS because it will impose heavy burdens on our rights and our economy, without providing any real benefits. Neither the USDA nor the Oklahoma State Department of Agriculture has provided any scientific basis for the claims of improved disease control. NAIS is an unprecedented expansion of the government bureaucracy into people's private lives and infringes on our property rights. 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. Please schedule the committee substitute of HB 1842 for a hearing as soon as possible.
Thank you for your attention to this issue.
Name
Address
City, State, Zip