Senate Passes Tester's and Rounds’ CRA Resolution to Override Biden Administration on Paraguayan Beef Imports
Daines joins with rest of Senate in overwhelming vote to pass CRA resolution
By Denise Rivette
The U.S. Senate today passed a bipartisan Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution authored by U.S. Senators Jon Tester and Mike Rounds (R-South Dakota) that would overturn the Biden Administration’s decision to lift a long-standing ban on beef imports from Paraguay. In a speech delivered on the Senate floor prior to passage of the resolution, Tester emphasized the importance of standing up for Montana ranchers and consumers.
You can view Tester’s full Senate speech below:
A Congressional Review Act resolution, or CRA, is an oversight tool Congress may use to overturn final rules issued by federal agencies by a simple majority vote. Tester’s and Rounds’ CRA passed the Senate with an overwhelmingly bipartisan, 70-25 veto-proof majority vote. The Senators’ bipartisan resolution will now head to the House for passage.
Senator Steve Daines voted with Tester and Rounds to block the Biden administration from allowing beef imports from Paraguay. Beef imports from Paraguay had been suspended since 1997 but despite concerns over inspection standards and the potential spread of foot-and-mouth disease, President Biden’s USDA recently moved to allow imports.
After casting his vote, Daines issued the following statement: “Montanans deserve to know that the meat they buy for their families is safe for consumption and has met the high standards required in the U.S. Biden’s move to carelessly allow beef imports from Paraguay despite its failure to contain infectious diseases may harm Montana consumers and undermines the hard work our Montana ranchers do to produce the best, highest-quality beef in the world. The Biden administration must reverse course. Instead of opening the U.S. market to imports from countries with insufficient food safety protocols, the Biden administration should prioritize improving export opportunities for Montana ranchers.”
“President Biden butchered this decision,” said Tester. “By cutting corners to resume beef imports from a country with a recent history of foot and mouth disease, the Biden Administration is jeopardizing our food supply and giving Montana consumers and producers a raw deal. We cannot allow beef imports from Paraguay until we have data that shows they are meeting same high animal health standards as American ranchers, and I’m proud to have secured overwhelming bipartisan support in the Senate to force the Biden Administration to reverse course.”
“South Dakota is known for having high quality beef produced by hard-working farmers and ranchers across the state. We have very high standards regarding the quality of our beef. Unfortunately, Paraguay does not have the same history of enforcing health and safety standards that we do,” said Rounds. “Our inspectors haven’t been to Paraguay in 10 years. Consumers deserve to have a high degree of confidence in the quality and safety of beef they want to serve their families. There is more work that needs to done with Paraguay before introducing their beef in American markets. Filing this resolution has been a bipartisan effort to protect American consumers while standing up for our producers.”
Tester and Rounds’ bipartisan resolution is supported by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), United States Cattlemen’s Association (USCA), R-CALF USA, Livestock Marketing Association, National Farmers Union, Montana Farmers Union, Montana Stockgrowers Association, and the Montana Farm Bureau Federation.
“USDA’s decision to allow Paraguayan beef imports into the U.S. creates an unnecessary risk to the health and safety of the U.S. cattle herd. U.S. cattle producers are held to the highest food safety and animal health standards in the world and any trade partner must be able to demonstrate they can meet those same standards,” said Kent Bacus, Executive Director of Government Affairs for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA). “Given Paraguay’s long history of foot-and-mouth disease outbreaks, it is simply too risky to allow Paraguayan imports without recent site visits to confirm Paraguay’s safety claims. U.S. cattle producers are thankful for the leadership of Senators Jon Tester and Mike Rounds for applying the Congressional Review Act to hold USDA accountable and protect our nation’s cattle herd.”
“American cattle ranchers work diligently to grow and deliver the most safe, healthy, sustainably produced beef to the world,” said John Grande, President of the Montana Stockgrowers Association (MSGA). “Montana Stockgrowers Association applauds Senators Tester and Rounds on their work to protect the American beef industry and for their effort to stop unscientific rulemaking on beef imports from Uruguay.”
Tester and Rounds have led the charge to support American ranchers. In February, the Senators officially filed their bipartisan CRA to overturn the Biden Administration’s decision. The senators also introduced bipartisan legislation to suspend beef imports from Paraguay in response to animal health concerns. Their bipartisan bill would also require the establishment of a working group to evaluate the threat to food safety and animal health posed by Paraguayan beef. Tester and Rounds have called on the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to collect more up to date data before resuming beef imports from a country like Paraguay with a recent history of foot and mouth disease. Paraguay last reported cases of foot and mouth disease in 2012. The USDA’s decision to resume Paraguayan imports relies on an analysis completed in 2018, and American inspectors have not conducted a site visit to Paraguay since 2014.
Last year, Tester and Rounds introduced bipartisan legislation to suspend Brazilian beef imports to the U.S. until experts can conduct a systemic review of the commodity’s impact on food safety and animal health.
Daines has supported Tester’s and Rounds’ efforts on behalf of beef producers as well as pursuing his own. To see more of Daines’ work to fight for safety, fairness and transparency in cattle markets click HERE.
To see more of Testers’ work to fight for Montana’s ranchers and consumers click HERE.
