{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://hageman.house.gov/media/press-releases/hageman-introduces-bill-block-mandatory-eid-ear-tags", "Hageman Introduces Bill to Block Mandatory EID Ear Tags", "2024-06-13", "2024", "2024-06", "Republican", "House", "WY", "Harriet M. Hageman", "H001096", "hageman.house.gov", "hageman", "https://hageman.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "Washington, DC \u2013 Today, Congresswoman Harriet Hageman, joined by Representatives Armstrong (R-ND), Biggs (R-AZ), Boebert (R-CO), Brecheen (R-OK), Crane (R-AZ), Donalds (R-FL), Gosar (R-AZ), Maloy (R-UT), Massie (R-KY), Ogles (R-TN), McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), Rosendale (R-MT), Jason Smith (R-MO), and Spartz (R-IN), introduced a joint resolution pursuant to the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to block the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) rule mandating electronic identification (EID) eartags for bison and cattle moving interstate. A companion resolution was introduced by Senator Cynthia Lummis, making this bicameral legislation.\n\nRepresentative Hageman stated, \u201cThis rule is a solution in search of a problem that will advance a federal mandate which the American ranching community will have to pay for. America produces the highest quality meat in the world and there is nothing wrong with our traditional disease traceability system. This unfunded mandate raises serious privacy concerns for ranchers and their herds, with the potential to lock ranchers out of their traditional markets, thereby furthering vertical integration of the U.S. food supply chain.\n\n\u201cWe need look no further than what happened in Ireland to recognize the threat of a USDA-driven EID mandate.\u201d Hageman continued, \u201cIn early 2022 Ireland adopted an EID mandate, and by August 2023, its government was reporting that they needed to slaughter as many as 41,000 head of livestock \u2013 not because of a disease outbreak, but because of so called \u201cclimate change.\u201d A mandatory EID simply gives the federal government too much power.\u201d\n\n\u201cCattle ranching is incredibly vital to the North Dakota economy,\u201d said Representative Armstrong. \u201cIf we are going to remain food and energy secure, we need policies that support our farmers and ranchers, not unfunded mandates guided by the whims of the federal government. I am proud to support Representative Hageman\u2019s EID CRA and work to protect our cattle and producers from temperamental mandates that have real consequences for our communities.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe Biden Administration\u2019s proposed rule to force cattle and bison producers to use electronic identification eartags is a gross overstep by the federal government and implies that bureaucrats sitting in cubicles know better than America\u2019s ranchers,\u201d said Congressman Josh Brecheen. \u201cNowhere in our Constitution is the Executive Branch granted this authority and it is long past time we stand up to Biden\u2019s bureaucrats.\u201d\n\n\u201cThis is just another attempt by the Biden regime to unnecessarily expand the reach of the federal government, placing massive burdens on family farms,\u201d said Representative Eli Crane. \u201cOur ranchers are the best in the world. They certainly don\u2019t need to be told how to operate their businesses by power hungry desk jockeys in Washington. Proud to stand with Rep. Hageman against the Biden Administration\u2019s meddling in rural America.\u201d\n\n\u201cLike most policies, the Biden administration\u2019s rule mandating electronic eartags for bison and cattle is far overreaching, intrusive and potentially circumvents privacy laws and regulations. Congress must block this insane mandate,\u201d stated Congressman Gosar.\n\nRepresentative Maloy stated, \"Livestock producers in Utah have reached out to me with a couple of concerns about RFID. First, the cost of implementing the requirements could put small operators out of business, and second, the mandatory nature of the program raises privacy concerns. That\u2019s why I cosponsored Rep Hageman\u2019s CRA to reverse this rule and empower Utah\u2019s ranchers.\u201d\n\n\u201cA rule requiring electronic ear tags for cattle and bison means the government will know where every animal is and who owns it,\u201d said Representative Thomas Massie (R-KY). \u201cThis will allow the government to build a registry, which is the first step needed to ban cattle in accordance with the Left\u2019s anti-agriculture climate policies. Congress should stand up for American farmers and ranchers by blocking the electronic ear tag rule.\u201d\n\n\u201cAmerica already has the safest and highest quality meat in the world with our current traceability system,\u201d said Representative Rosendale. \u201cThe best stewards of cattle and bison are the ranchers that keep food on American\u2019s tables, not some DC bureaucrats who have never set foot on a farm. This new APHIS rule will violate the privacy of ranchers, is too expensive to be effective, and is completely unnecessary.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe Biden administration has no business forcing Missouri ranchers to comply with this overreaching, expensive, and unworkable mandate,\u201d said Representative Jason Smith (Mo.). \u201cSadly, this is just another example of Washington bureaucrats trying to dictate how America\u2019s ranchers \u2013 the best in the world \u2013 should run their operation. In addition to raising strong privacy concerns, this mandate will also force ranchers to waste precious time and resources filling out mountains of paperwork and purchasing expensive equipment to avoid hefty fines. I\u2019m proud to stand with Congresswoman Hageman and my colleagues in the fight to protect ranchers from another egregious attempt by the Biden administration to expand government command and control over our rural communities.\u201d\n\nBackground:\n\nThe CRA is an additional check on the administrative state passed in 1996 which allows Congress to overturn federal agency action. It requires agencies to report final rules to the House, Senate, and the Government Accountability Office, at which point Congress can review a rule, and if opposed to it, vote on a joint resolution of disapproval nullifying the rule. Proper consideration of the joint resolution allows it to be expedited through the Senate, providing timely oversight of agency action.\n\nOn May 9, 2024, APHIS issued the final rule which amends animal disease traceability regulations to require bison and cattle eartags to be both visually and electronically readable to be recognized as official eartags for interstate movement. In 2013, APHIS created the animal disease traceability framework which recognizes visually readable tags, brands, tattoos, and breed registry certificates as official identification. This system continues to succeed and keep the U.S. as the producer of the highest quality meat in the world. APHIS\u2019 proposed rule acknowledges this successful disease traceability system stating \u201cForeign animal diseases such as FMD have been largely excluded from the United States.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T21:11:47Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://hageman.house.gov/media/press-releases/hageman-introduces-bill-block-mandatory-eid-ear-tags"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.6895909793674946, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}