House and Senate Pass Conflicting MPR Bills

    September 16, 2005 -- This week, the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate each passed different bills to re-authorize the Livestock Mandatory Reporting Act (MPR) which is scheduled to expire Sept. 30, 2005.
    The House version (H.R. 3408) re-authorized MPR for five years and changed some of the reporting requirements for live hogs. The Senate bill (S. 1613) extends MPR one year, through Sept. 30, 2006, with no statutory changes.
    The American Sheep Industry Association (ASI) and 25 state sheep producer associations requested congressional support of a five-year re-authorization and approval prior to the end of September. It is expected that the Agriculture Committee leadership will now plan to seek agreement on one version.
    "As happened last fall, the one-year extension concept seems to be difficult to do in a timely manner, which subjects the industry to the risk of no market reporting," according to Peter Orwick, executive director of ASI.
    ASI greatly appreciates Senators Craig Thomas (R-WY) and Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) for supporting the position of the sheep industry by sending a letter on September 16 to the Senate Agriculture Committee chair and ranking member urging approval of a five-year re-authorization.
    "We are grateful for the leadership of both senators in seeking prompt action on this important issue," added Orwick.
Staff contact: Peter Orwick, ext. 33

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