BILL REQ. #:  S-1154.1 

Read first time 01/31/2005.   Referred to Committee on Agriculture & Rural Economic Development.

     TO THE HONORABLE GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, AND TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE AND THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, AND TO THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES, IN CONGRESS ASSEMBLED, AND TO THE SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE, MIKE JOHANNS:
     We, your Memorialists, the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Washington, in legislative session assembled, respectfully represent and petition as follows:
     WHEREAS, On January 4, 2005, the United States Department of Agriculture proposed a rule to reopen on March 7, 2005, the United States border to the importation of Canadian live cattle and processed beef products; and
     WHEREAS, On January 11, 2005, Canada announced that yet another cow in Alberta tested positive for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE); and
     WHEREAS, The United States Department of Agriculture has dispatched a technical team to Canada to investigate the circumstances that resulted in this additional infection including effective enforcement by Canada of the 1997 ruminant-to-ruminant feed ban; and
     WHEREAS, The only incident in the United States where a cow tested positive with BSE was on December 23, 2003, and that animal originated in Canada and unfortunately was shipped into Washington State; and
     WHEREAS, The severe ramifications caused by this single animal was the closure by many foreign markets to beef produced within the United States; and
     WHEREAS, Although progress has been made in reestablishing trust with our Asian trading partners, many of these bans to the import of beef from the United States continue in effect thirteen months after this single incident; and
     WHEREAS, Even though the United States has commenced a major BSE testing program and no cattle indigenous to the United States have been detected to have BSE, once these foreign markets are closed, they have remained closed for prolonged periods of time; and
     WHEREAS, Consumers in the United States continue to have confidence in beef produced in the United States and maintaining the safety of food supplies is the paramount concern to state and federal governmental officials;
     NOW, THEREFORE, Your Memorialists respectfully pray that the United States Department of Agriculture delay moving forward with its plans to reopen the border to Canadian cattle and beef products on March 7, 2005, until United States inspectors have had adequate time to conduct a thorough examination of the Canadian cattle industry and issue and fully evaluate their findings.
     BE IT RESOLVED, That copies of this Memorial be immediately transmitted to the Honorable George W. Bush, President of the United States, the Secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture, Mike Johanns, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and each member of Congress from the State of Washington.