Two weeks since President Trump's announcement of allowing more ground beef to be imported, there's been some reaction from the 13 federal lawmakers serving the KXCV-KRNW listening area. Six who issued a statement did not support the president's decision.
Click the LISTEN button to hear the report from KXCV-KRNW News Director Bill Oliver.
The president says the tariff-free beef imports could save consumers money and give producers more time to raise their cattle herds.
Missouri congressman Sam Graves posted on his Facebook page that "While affordability is undoubtedly an important issue for American families, it needs to happen without harming our farmers and ranchers. Missouri cattle producers have endured years of pain. A short term fix at their expense isn't the answer. We need solutions that lower costs for consumers while protecting American producers and strengthening our domestic cattle industry for the long term."
Iowa senator Charles Grassley, on a conference call with reporters, agrees with the position of the Iowa Cattlemen's Association, saying "If I were convinced that prices of beef were going to go down 25 percent because of this import as the president says, I would applaud it. But I doubt if that's going to happen." Grassley also said, "At a time we're trying to rebuild the beef industry in Iowa and the United States at the lowest level of herd numbers since the 1950's, we don't need the government interfering with our process."
Kansas senator Roger Marshall posted on his website that "This is an issue I disagree with the President on" and doesn't think this is the best move on the President’s part”, adding "It does not give the ranchers the right signal to hang on to those heifers as opposed to selling them."
Nebraska senator Deb Fischer posted on her Facebook page that she was "extremely disappointed by this decision from the White House. We all want lower grocery prices, but as I’ve said for months, we cannot do it at the expense of American producers. Flooding the market with foreign beef hurts our livestock industry and undermines the long-term solution: growing the U.S. cattle herd to meet demand."
Fellow Nebraska senator Pete Ricketts issued on his website, the following statement: "“I appreciate the Administration’s work to lower grocery prices. Short term policy shifts do not equal long term solutions. Flooding the market with lower quality beef compromises Nebraska farmers and ranchers. They should be enabled to grow herd sizes and meet consumer demand.”
Nebraska congressman Adrian Smith issued a news release saying in part "With cattle inventory at 75-year lows, we must focus on policies which empower ranchers to rebuild our domestic herd" and that he "will continue to encourage the administration to pursue policies that give America’s ranchers the assurance they need to make long-term decisions for their operations.”
