Source: PRESS RELEASE, 10/7/14

Senator Tim Johnson (D-SD) joined with 31 of his Senate colleagues from both sides of the aisle in sending a letter to Senate Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) and Ranking Member Richard Shelby (R-AL) urging them to reject any efforts that would undermine, weaken, or suspend Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) through the appropriations process for the remainder of Fiscal Year 2015.

“While there are some in Congress who will try to use the appropriations process as a way to weaken Country of Origin Labeling (COOL), I remain committed to maintaining full funding for this critical program,” said Johnson. “COOL is a valuable marketing tool for South Dakota producers, and consumers deserve to know where their meat comes from. I was pleased that this year’s farm bill maintained COOL, and I will continue to fight for this program on behalf of producers and consumers.”

As the original author of COOL, Johnson has fought vigorously to defend the law and USDA’s implementation of the program. Despite repeated attempts by opponents of COOL to repeal the program during consideration of the farm bill, Johnson was successful in maintaining the current statute in the final bill.

In July, a decision by the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit reaffirmed the legitimacy of COOL for meat products. Objections to the U.S. COOL program by Canada and Mexico before the World Trade Organization (WTO), however, have not been finalized. A decision is expected to be made public soon.

The following Senators also signed on to the letter: Jon Tester (D-MT), Mike Enzi (R-WY), Charles Grassley (R-IA), Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND), John Thune (R-SD), Tom Harkin (D-IA), John Hoeven (R-ND), Mark Begich (D-AK), Susan Collins (R-ME), Carl Levin (D-MI), David Vitter (R-LA), Tom Udall (D-NM), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Bernard Sanders (I-VT), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Benjamin Cardin (D-MD), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Edward Markey (D-MA), Christopher Murphy (D-CT), Claire McCaskill (D-MO), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Al Franken (D-MN), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), John Walsh (D-MT), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI).

To read the full letter, click here.