House Version of Cow Tax Ban

House Version of Bill to Stop 'Cow Tax' Introduced
USAgNet - 03/12/2009

House Ranking Member Frank Lucas introduced a bill on Wednesday that will prevent the government from requiring livestock producers to obtain Title V operating permits under the Clean Air Act. This is in response to the Environmental Protection Agency publishing the Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on the subject of Regulating Greenhouse Gas Emissions under the Clean Air Act, which was released last summer.

The publication outlines several regulatory options, including requiring livestock producers to obtain these operating permits. The American Farm Bureau Federation estimates that the fees associated with that option would cost livestock producers roughly $88 per head to comply.

The introduction of H.R. 1426 comes on the same day that an article was printed in the Washington Post regarding EPA plans to establish a nationwide system for reporting greenhouse gas emissions. This reporting system would apply to measuring greenhouse gas statistics for confined animal-feeding operations.

"I don't think we can take any chances with this administration when it comes to putting greater burdens on our farmers and ranchers," Rep. Lucas said. "With the release of the President's budget, this administration has already demonstrated it is out of touch with production agriculture. I have heard from many farmers in my district who are concerned that this 'cow tax' will become a reality. This bill is a way to protect our livestock producers from costly and burdensome government intervention."

Lucas' proposal is a companion bill to the Senate version, introduced by Senator John Thune (R-SD) and Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-NY) last week. Link

This is a very critical piece of legislation for animal agriculture. If you agree with this then you need to let Washington, DC know about it. We know for sure that those who are tyring to put us out of business will be contacting them.