Political Quotes

“I rise today to introduce legislation, with Senators Blumenthal, Brown, Cantwell, Merkley, Vitter, and Wyden, that will codify an agreement reached by the nation's largest egg producer organization, the United Egg Producers, and the largest animal welfare organization, the Humane Society of the United States. In its most simple terms, the legislation sets a national standard for the treatment of egg-laying hens and the labeling of eggs. As of today, 6 States, including California, have set their own standards about how egg-laying hens should be raised, and 18 other States allow citizen ballot initiatives could initiate similar laws in the future. These State standards will make it difficult for egg producers to freely ship across State lines. Starting in 2015, eggs produced in Iowa, Indiana and other egg- exporting states can no longer be shipped to California because the hens will have been raised in cages that do not meet California's standards. Different standards in Michigan and Ohio will take effect later, further adding to the patchwork of regulations. As States with disparate standards continue to protect their own egg producers by banning the sale of eggs from States with lower or no standards, a complicated web of State laws will impair interstate commerce. I have met with a number of egg producers and their concerns vary. For some producers, different regulations increase costs because new cages must be designed for each State in which they operate.…”