TSCRA Express Disappointment In Senate Climate Change Bill
11/06/2009 07:13AM
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Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association (TSCRA) expressed disappointment that the climate change bill, S. 1733, passed out of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee today despite strong opposition from the cattle industry.
TSCRA encourages legislation that promotes responsible environmental stewardship; however, as written, S. 1733 will have a devastatingly negative effect on the cattle industry.
The higher operating costs, increased federal regulation and higher taxes all associated with S. 1733 will certainly create an economic climate hostile to the environmental conservation and cultivation achieved through ranching.
"For ranchers, immediate impacts of the bill would include drastic increases in the price of fuel, feed and electricity, which would in turn drive up operating costs," said TSCRA President Dave Scott, a rancher from Richmond, Texas. "These obstacles, combined with the ongoing drought here in Texas, and a slumping economy, would hit cattle raisers hard, forcing some producers out of business altogether.
Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association is a 132-year-old trade organization and is the largest livestock association in Texas. TSCRA has more than 15,000 members who manage approximately 4 million head of cattle on 51.5 million acres of range and pasture land, primarily in Texas and Oklahoma. TSCRA provides law enforcement services, livestock inspection, legislative and regulatory advocacy and educational opportunities for its members and the industry.