Agricultural News
Congress Updates Packers & Stockyards Act- Sends HR 5883 to the White House
Fri, 30 Sep 2016 05:50:58 CDTThe Senate on Thursday sent the Clarification of Treatment of Electronic Sales of Livestock Act to the White House. The bill would amend the Packers & Stockyards Act of 1921 to ensure that the law's protections are extended to online or video livestock auctions.
The bill would also ensure modern electronic banking options. The Senate approved H.R. 5883 the companion bill to S. 3350 by Sens. Thad Cochran (R., Miss.) and Jon Tester (D., Mont.) by unanimous consent.
Cochran, chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee and senior member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, said, "I am confident that this bipartisan legislation will be signed into law and that the protections it offers to producers will improve livestock transactions."
Like all businesses, livestock auctions have evolved as technology has allowed for new forms of buying and selling livestock, such as video and online sales. As a result, modern methods of payment, such as use of credit cards, have become commonplace in the livestock marketing industry. H.R. 5883 revises the Packers & Stockyards Act to ensure that these types of businesses and forms of payment are allowed under the act. This change ensures that farmers and ranchers selling through online and video auctions are provided similar protections as those who sell at a fixed-facility livestock market.
H.R. 5883, introduced by Rep. David Rouzer (R., N.C.), will clarify that Packers & Stockyards Act provisions apply to online or video auctions, just as they do for fixed-facility livestock market transactions. The legislation would also authorize modern electronic payment methods, including credit and debit cards or the Automated Clearing House payments system. The law currently authorizes only the use of checks or wire transfers to settle livestock sales.
Livestock Marketing Association (LMA) President Jerry Etheredge praised Congress for their update of the Packers and Stockyards Act. "We commend Congress in the passing of this legislation, which updates the Packers and Stockyards Act with common-sense changes that helps bring the law into the 21st Century," said Etheredge. "We especially thank House and Senate Agriculture Committee leadership, H.R. 5883 sponsor Representative David Rouzer, and Senate companion S. 3350 sponsors Senators Thad Cochran and Jon Tester."
"I've seen it firsthand: Life on the farm and ranch is changing in the 21st century," Tester said. "We see four-wheelers taking the place of horses and combines that can do a month's work in a day. It's time that our livestock auction laws reflect the world we live in. I am pleased to see my commonsense, bipartisan legislation pass to help bring livestock auctions into the 21st century."
H.R. 5883 advanced through the House Agriculture Committee under the leadership of Chairman Mike Conaway and Ranking Member Collin Peterson before passing in the full House and Senate. Additional cosponsors of the H.R. 5883 include Representatives Scott DesJarlais (R-TN), Andy Barr (R-KY), Trent Kelly (R-MS), Vicky Hartzler (R-MO), Thomas Rooney (R-FL), Jim Costa (D-CA), David Young (R-IA), Water B. Jones, Jr. (R-NC), Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), Steven M. Palazzo (R-MS), Mike Rogers (R-AL), and Robert Pittenger (R-NC). The senate companion bill, S. 3350, was sponsored by Senators Thad Cochran (R-MS) and Jon Tester (D-MT).
H.R. 5883 has the support of the American Farm Bureau Federation, American Sheep Industry Association, Livestock Marketing Association, National Cattlemen's Beef Association, National Farmers Union, National Livestock Producers Association and United States Cattlemen's Association.
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