Contact: Bill Greer 202.220.0667 wgreer@fmi.org
Food Marketing Institute Statement onProposed ‘User Fees’ to Fund Enforcement of the COOL Law
Attribute to John J. Motley, IIIFMI senior vice president of government and public affairs
“The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) proposal to charge food retailers ‘user fees’ to enforce the country of origin labeling law (COOL) is outrageous. It violates the government’s own definition of ‘user fees,’ which are supposed to provide the user a clear benefit. USDA is pursuing a backdoor method to pay for a government regulation, costing the industry $9.6 million in 2009.
“The only good news is that this idea is opposed by just about everyone affected by COOL, including produce growers, meat producers and even the law’s strongest proponents: the National Farmers Union and R-CALF.
“This abusive amendment does not merit consideration by Congress. FMI is working vigorously with Congress to ensure it is not attached to the Farm Bill, the government’s fiscal year 2009 budget or any other legislation.”
Food Marketing Institute proudly advocates on behalf of the food retail industry. FMI’s U.S. members operate nearly 40,000 retail food stores and 25,000 pharmacies, representing a combined annual sales volume of almost $770 billion. Through programs in public affairs, food safety, research, education and industry relations, FMI offers resources and provides valuable benefits to more than 1,225 food retail and wholesale member companies in the United States and around the world. FMI membership covers the spectrum of diverse venues where food is sold, including single owner grocery stores, large multi-store supermarket chains and mixed retail stores. For more information, visit www.fmi.org and for information regarding the FMI foundation, visit www.fmifoundation.org.
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