WASHINGTON REPORT

Senator Mike Rounds

A Major Victory for American Consumers and Producers

South Dakota and American cattle producers raise the best beef in the world. Many families specifically seek out these high-quality products when choosing what beef to buy at the grocery store. However, some families may not realize that not all meat labeled “Product of USA” is actually beef from cattle raised within the United States. Current federal regulations include a loophole that allows beef from livestock born, raised and slaughtered in foreign countries to be labeled “Product of USA” as long as the beef undergoes additional processing at a plant in the United States.

This is wrong. Consumers deserve transparency when they’re purchasing beef. When South Dakota families purchase beef labeled “Product of USA” they should know with certainty that it is coming from one of our topquality producers.

For years, we’ve called on the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to take action to stop foreign beef from receiving the “Product of USA” label. I’ve met with the Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, submitted multiple comments to USDA on this issue and introduced bipartisan bills since 2019 to fix this label through legislation.

We received good news this month. The USDA has announced a new rule proposing that the “Product of USA” or “Made in the USA” labels can only be applied to meat, poultry and egg products that are born, raised, slaughtered and processed in the United States. This is major victory for American consumers and producers. Our work is finally starting to pay off.

With this announcement, integrity has been restored to the “Product of USA” label. Once this proposed rule is finalized, American consumers will no longer be misled by a “Product of USA” label that is allowed to be applied to foreign products. American cattle ranchers will no longer be disadvantaged in the marketplace against lower quality foreign beef that falsely bears the “Product of USA” label. The USDA’s ruling is a major step in the right direction, and I applaud Secretary Vilsack for taking the necessary actions to fix this label. While this is a voluntary label, it provides ranchers an opportunity to market their high-quality products to consumers in the grocery store.

While I acknowledge the magnitude of this ruling, there is still more work to be done. We need to address meat packer concentration and Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling for beef in order to restore transparency and fairness to the cattle market. I remain committed to fighting for American ranchers and consumers. ■

South Dakota Receives Disaster Approval for Winter Storm

PIERRE, S.D. - South Dakota has received a Presidential Disaster Declaration that allows the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to help South Dakota local governments in 16 counties statewide recover from infrastructure damage sustained as a result of the severe winter storms that occurred this past December.

On Feb. 9, Governor Kristi Noem signed Executive Order 2023-03, which declared a disaster in the impacted counties.

Public infrastructure damage assistance will be provided to the counties of Bennett, Brookings, Clark, Day, Deuel, Hamlin, Jackson, Jones, Kingsbury, Mellette, Oglala Lakota, Potter, Roberts, Stanley, Todd, and Tripp. Federal resources will also help with the impacts of the storm for state, tribal, and local governments.

An estimated $2,413,949 in qualifying costs were incurred during the December storms in those counties listed.

In December, much of South Dakota experienced hazardous travel conditions, road closures, damage to power infrastructure, and unexpected costs for snow removal. ■