The
Ending Agricultural Trade Suppression (EATS) Act would curb
states' ability to regulate agricultural products sold within
their borders and is in part aimed at California's Proposition
12, which sets housing standards for animals used for pork,
veal, and eggs sold in the state.
But the bill could also threaten numerous state laws related to
food safety and public health and represents an overreach of the
federal government, 171 members of the House of Representatives
said in a letter sent on Monday to House Agriculture Committee
chair G.T. Thompson and ranking member David Scott.
"We believe that Congress should not usurp the power of states
to regulate food and agricultural products," wrote the
bipartisan group of lawmakers, led by Democrat Earl Blumenauer.
"The federal government should play a complementary role to the
states on agriculture policy, rather than rendering them
powerless."
The members urged Thompson and Scott not to include the EATS Act
in the upcoming farm bill, a package passed every five years
that funds nutrition and farm support programs. The House and
Senate Agriculture Committees draft the bill.
A spokesperson for Thompson, who has previously expressed
support for the EATS Act, declined to comment. Scott's office
did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The current farm bill expires Sept. 30, although Congress will
likely need to pass a short-term extension due to delays
drafting and negotiating the next bill.
The National Pork Producers Council, which lost a Supreme Court
challenge to Proposition 12 in May, supports the EATS Act but
some large pork companies that have already spent money to
comply with the California law are opposed to the bill.
Proposition 12 takes effect on Jan. 1.
(Reporting by Leah Douglas; Editing by Conor Humphries and Mark
Porter)
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