Russ Feingold: “in September I was pleased to support the Senate version of H.R. 2744, the fiscal year 2006 appropriations bill…”

“in September I was pleased to support the Senate version of H.R. 2744, the fiscal year 2006 appropriations bill providing funding for the Department of Agriculture, Food and Drug Administration, and related agencies. I want to thank Senators Bennett and Kohl for their hard work in crafting that legislation. While I may not have supported every provision, on balance, the Senate bill provided important funding to support our Nation's farmers, rural communities, and conservation programs and to provide nutritious food for seniors, children, and those in need. While I still support many of the provisions that remained in the conference report, there were significant changes and new provisions added that prevent me from supporting the final conference report. After years of delay, I was encouraged that the Senate bill included funds to implement mandatory country-of-origin labeling, COOL, for meat, vegetables, and fruits. Unfortunately the conference report delays COOL for another 2 years, which is unacceptable for a provision that was part of the 2002 farm bill. Country-of-origin labeling is vitally important to enable our farmers to show their pride in the quality of their products, from ginseng to cheese to cranberries. Wisconsin farmers are proud of their work, and many consumers want to support American products--with country-of-origin labeling, both farmers and consumers benefit.…”