Cantwell Joins Bipartisan Effort Pressing Administration to Issue "Mad Cow Disease' Rule

Press Release

This week, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) joined a bipartisan group of 31 senators in pressing the administration to issue a comprehensive mad cow disease rule, saying stalling on the rule hurts Washington state beef producers and exports. According to the Washington state Department of Agriculture, beef production is the state's fifth largest commodity, valued at $568 million in 2010.

A comprehensive rule on bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or mad cow disease, has been in the works for several years but is currently stalled within the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). In 2004, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced its plans for developing a comprehensive BSE rule, which the U.S. beef industry has requested for many years. In the senators' letter to OMB Acting Director Jeffrey Zients and Animal Plant Health and Inspection Services (APHIS) Administrator, Dr. Gregory Parham, the senators asked them to issue the BSE comprehensive rule as soon as possible.

"Stalling on a comprehensive BSE rule hurts Washington beef producers and exporters," said Senator Cantwell. "Beef production is the state's fifth largest commodity, valued at nearly $600 million in 2010. Implementing a comprehensive BSE rule could help boost our beef exports with the European Union and other trading partners."

Since the discovery in Washington state of a Canadian-born cow with BSE, many U.S. trading partners, including China, have closed their markets to U.S. beef. The value of opening the Chinese market to U.S. beef would exceed $200 million.
Cantwell has long fought to restore confidence in American beef. She has worked to improve tracking of Canadian cattle, close feed loopholes that can lead to BSE infections, and reopen lucrative markets like Japan to U.S. beef.

The letter sent this week, led by Senators Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Ben Nelson of Nebraska, was also signed by Senators Cantwell, Patty Murray of Washington, John Barrasso of Wyoming, Mike Johanns of Nebraska, Saxby Chambliss of Georgia, Roy Blunt of Missouri, Mike Crapo of Idaho, Mike Enzi of Wyoming, Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma, Dick Lugar of Indiana, Jim Moran of Kansas, John Boozman of Arkansas, John Risch of Idaho, Rob Portman of Ohio, Dan Coats of Indiana, Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas, John Thune of South Dakota, Johnny Isakson of Georgia, Kent Conrad of North Dakota, Claire McCaskill of Missouri, Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, Michael Bennet of Colorado, Mark Pryor of Arkansas, Mark Udall of Colorado, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, John Cornyn of Texas, Pat Roberts of Kansas, Marco Rubio of Florida, and Tom Harkin of Iowa.

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