“The Chairman appears to be determined to undermine the American voters that enacted Prop 12, the American family farmers who have already spent tens of millions of dollars converting their systems, and the Constitution itself.” ~ Marty Irby
The Organization for Competitive Markets (OCM) and Competitive Markets Action (CMA) issued the following statement in response to U.S. House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson’s “fix” to California’s Proposition 12 reported by BrownfieldAgNews.com.
“If Chairman Thompson includes language that nullifies Prop 12 in the upcoming House Farm Bill, then we will do everything in our power to rally the 2,000 diverse opponents of the EATS Act to engage their collective grassroots army of over 10 million individual producers, consumers, advocates, and business owners, to ensure his Farm Bill fails passage on the House floor,” said Marty Irby, President at Competitive Markets Action and Board Secretary at the Organization for Competitive Markets.
“Chairman Thompson should remember the last two Farm Bills failed to pass the House their first time up to bat and the vote margin is far more razor thin that it was in 2013 and 2018. Despite being met with hostility from House Agriculture Committee staff OCM and CMA have pleaded with Thompson and his team to reconsider their assault on states’ rights, but the Chairman appears to be determined to undermine the American voters that enacted Prop 12, the American family farmers who have already spent tens of millions of dollars converting their systems, and the Constitution itself.”
Last week 10 U.S. House Republicans, led by House Freedom Caucus (HFC) champion Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-FL, sent a letter that included HFC chairman Bob Good, R-VA, to Thompson and Ranking Member David Scott against the nullification of Prop 12 that followed a similar October 2023 letter to Thompson and Scott signed 16 House Republicans led by front-liner Rep. Andrew Garbarino, R-NY.
To date, 226 bipartisan Members of Congress have vocalized their opposition to the nullification of Prop 12 by Thompson and Rep. Ashley Hinson, R-IA, and Sen. Roger Marshall, R-KS, who continue to champion the assault. 171 bipartisan Members of the House sent a letter to Thompson and Scott in August of 2023 and 31 U.S. Senators sent a similar letter to Senate Agriculture Chairman Debbie Stabenow, D-MI, and John Boozman, R-AR, last August.
The Organization for Competitive Markets (OCM) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit based in Lincoln, Nebraska. The foundation of the Organization for Competitive Markets is to fight for competitive markets in agriculture for farmers, ranchers and rural communities. True competition reduces the need for economic regulation. Our mission, and our duty, is to define and advocate the proper role of government in the agricultural economy as a regulator and enforcer of rules necessary for markets that are fair, honest, accessible and competitive for all citizens.
Competitive Markets Action (CMA) is a 501(c)(4) non-profit based in Washington, D.C., that was formed with the mission of shaping policy to promote more regenerative and sustainable agriculture, and competitive markets in the U.S., and to defend against attacks on states’ rights by the federal government. CMA works to raise awareness of the harm caused by multinational conglomerates to the American family farmer, the consumer and our U.S. economy as a whole in an effort to bring about legislative and regulatory reforms.
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