Letter to The Honorable Mike Johanns,Secretary of Agriculture

Letter

Letter to The Honorable Mike Johanns, Secretary of Agriculture

May 14, 2007

The Honorable Mike Johanns
Secretary of Agriculture
200-A Jamie L. Whitten Building
Washington, D.C. 20250

Dear Secretary Johanns:

Mandatory price reporting is critical to providing much-needed transparency in livestock markets and helping to level the playing field in the access to information for livestock producers across the country. Under the Livestock Mandatory Reporting Act, packers, processors and importers are required to report critical market data to USDA, which is then calculated, published and made available to the industry. The reported prices and other information have become an integral part of setting prices paid for livestock in the United States , both under contracts and in the open market.

Last year Congress passed the Livestock Mandatory Reporting Act, which was signed into law by President Bush on October 5, 2006. This reauthorization reinstated requirements enacted in 1999 with certain changes. The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is writing a rule, but until an interim final rule or final rule is published, the mandatory reporting system will remain a voluntary program. We ask that you expedite this process and publish an interim final rule without delay.

In response to letters dated September 20 and October 5, 2006 written by some members of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, USDA detailed plans to implement recommendations from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) through administrative procedures. GAO recommendations will improve transparency and the operation and function of the Livestock Mandatory Reporting program. We ask that USDA fully carry out those recommendations and additional suggested changes.

We appreciate your attention to these matters and ask that you expedite the rulemaking process to carry out the LMR Act. Thank you for your cooperation and assistance.

Sincerely yours,

Tom Harkin, D-Iowa
Charles Grassley, R-Iowa
Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M.
Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio
Max Baucus, D-Mont.
Craig Thomas, R-Wyo.
Byron Dorgan, D- N.D.
Ben Nelson, D-Neb.
Mike Enzi, R-Wyo.