Joseph T. Burns: “in today's Federal Register, the United States Department of Agriculture has published a final rule that could have…”

“in today's Federal Register, the United States Department of Agriculture has published a final rule that could have significant adverse impacts on our domestic cattle industry. The regulation I am referring to designates Canada as a ``minimal risk region'' for BSE, known as mad cow disease, and allows Canada to export more beef and beef products to the United States. I understand the desire of the administration to work with Canada, and I know how frustrated Canadian cattlemen are with the current situation. It is the same frustration my Montana cattlemen feel, as they watch Australia and New Zealand expand market share in the Pacific Rim, while those markets remain closed off to the U.S. But this rule has some significant problems, and to the extent that those flaws could harm domestic consumer confidence and the reopening of international markets, I'm not going to support the administration's decision to open the U.S.-Canadian border to increased Canadian exports. As I am sure everyone recalls, in May 2003, Canada discovered a case of BSE in Alberta. To protect the safety of America's food supply, USDA banned all imports of Canadian beef. In December of that same year, a Canadian-born dairy cow in Washington State with BSE was discovered and so we have the cow that stole Christmas. Important export markets around the world closed their doors to U.S. beef, the highest quality beef in the world.…”