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Liberty Ark Info Alert and NAIS Updates |
Sept. 2006
Please read this important update on our advances in Congress against
NAIS. We aren't all the way there - but we have our toe in the door,
and need your support. Now more than ever it is important to be able
to show you oppose NAIS - and to get your friends, neighbors, and
family members to sign up as supporters of the Liberty Ark Coalition.
When Senators and Congress people start checking out how many people
we represent, we need all your names there.
Thanks for supporting us this far.
Karin C. Bergener, Esq.
Liberty Ark Steering Committee
330-298-0065
bergener@config.com
If you're not already signed up at
http://www.LibertyArk.net , do it today! Join
in the fight against NAIS. Sign up as a supporter at:
http://www.libertyark.net
As you know, Senator James Talent (S3862) and Congresswoman Jo Ann
Emerson (HR6042) have introduced legislation that prohibits any federal
animal
identification program that mandates participation by livestock owners and
prohibits federal funding for any such program.
You can view the full text of S3862 on our website at
http://www.libertyark.net/bills/s3862.htm .
This is a significant step forward in the battle to defeat the NAIS.
The Senator requested a response from the Coalition the day before he filed
the bill. We thanked the Senator for this effort, and added that certain
specific items needed to be addressed – the definition of “voluntary,”
the need to limit federal funding of state mandatory programs, and the
need to stop involuntary registration of premises and allow the people
already registered to withdraw. In addition, we provided a list of other
issues that needed to be covered in the ultimate legislation. You can see
a copy of our letter to the Senator here:
http://www.libertyark.net/talentletter.html
Even with our concerns, the bills that have been introduced are a
significant step forward. Without a clear statute, USDA would undoubtedly
continue on the coercive, government-funded implementation of NAIS at the
state level that we have seen happening. And until now, the only bills in
Congress were based on the mandatory concept. The grassroots movement
would have had a terrible time trying to amend any of these earlier bills
to get rid of the mandatory provisions. Now, we have a bill that begins
with the position that the program should be voluntary. And now we can
work to improve this bill to add the provisions necessary to limit NAIS
to a truly voluntary, market-driven program that does not penalize anyone
in any way for not participating.
We were not asked to help draft this legislation, but now have access
>and participation. For this, we need to express appreciation to the
Congressmen who took this step. If the proposed bills ultimately fail to
address the critical issues about NAIS, then we can always oppose them
then.
While we work with Congress, we encourage you to tell us what you
want us to communicate. At this time, here's what we recommend:
1. Contact your Representative and Senators and tell them these two
bills have been introduced, and that you want them to consider co-sponsoring
the bills. You can find contact information for your elected officials at
http://www.libertyark.net/tools.shtml
2. You should list a few reasons why you are opposed to a mandatory
government program: invasion of privacy, the burden on property rights,
the cost, the lack of proven benefits or of scientific evidence to
support the need for the program, the increase in the government
bureaucracy, the consolidation of our food supply, and/or whatever
reasons are important to you.
3. Add some or all of the recommendations listed above in the Liberty Ark
letter, on how the bills should be improved.
4. Ask them to respond and tell you if they support this prohibition
against a mandatory program and whether they are willing to support
stronger provisions to protect livestock owners.
You can also help by continuing to educate your friends and neighbors by
distributing brochures, asking people to sign up on the Liberty Ark
Coalition website
http://www.libertyark.net , and asking your area radio stations to
play the PSA
http://www.libertyark.net/NAIS-PSA-1.mp3 ).
This is a great opportunity to show that we are the mainstream
opinion on NAIS and effect change in Congress. The bills that have been
introduced
are a work in progress. Help us work toward improving them and ensuring
our position against NAIS wins.
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