Steve Scalise Voting Record & Scorecard | Competitive Markets Action

The Opportunities for Fairness in Farming (OFF) Act sponsored by Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) implements a series of reforms to commodity check-off programs that are designed to reduce conflicts of interest, anti-competitive practices, and other unfair or deceptive acts. Under these programs, producers of certain products, such as beef, dairy, or poultry, are forced to pay into a fund (ex. $2 for a cow) that is used for industry research or advertising campaigns. Support is the Competitive Markets Action and Organization for Competitive Markets Position as, while government-mandated checkoff programs should be eliminated entirely, this bill serves as a step in the right direction to reducing corruption. It is the role of the private sector to voluntarily organize and fund product promotion for industry, not for big producers to utilize government to financially coerce small producers to fund their activities.

The Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-IN) amendment #76 to the "Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2024" implements reforms to commodity checkoff programs. Under these programs, producers of certain products, such as beef, dairy, or poultry, are forced to pay into a fund (ex. $2 for a cow) that is used for industry research or advertising campaigns. The amendment increases transparency on how the funds are utilized and ensures taxpayer funds are used by the boards of these programs. Support is Competitive Markets Action and Organization for Competitive Markets Position as, while government-mandated checkoff programs should be eliminated entirely, this bill serves as a step in the right direction to reducing corruption. It is the role of the private sector to voluntarily organize and fund product promotion for industry, not for big producers to utilize government to financially coerce small producers to fund their activities.

The "Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2024" aka "the Farm bill" sponsored by Rep. Glenn Thompson (R-PA) provides funding for a number of agricultural programs as well as various public assistance programs. Most notably, the bill serves as a slimmed down version of the EATS Act and does not contain any of the proposed reforms to the commodity checkoff programs. Oppose is the Competitive Markets Action and Organization for Competitive Markets Position as this bill merely worsens the corrupt practices taking place within the agricultural industry and places the interests of China and Big AG over small American family farmers through provisions of the EATS Act.