News Release
Congressman George Miller
7th District, Calif. Senior Democrat, Committee on Education and the
Workforce.
Member, Committee on Resources. www.house.gov/georgemiller/
Chairman, House Democratic Policy Committee

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Tuesday, January 06, 2004
CONTACT:
Tom Kiley/Daniel Weiss, 202/225-2095
***
REP. GEORGE MILLER PROPOSES TESTING ALL COWS TO
KEEP AMERICAN BEEF SAFE FOR CONSUMERS

WASHINGTON, D.C. - To protect Americans' health and prevent further damage
to U.S. cattle markets, Congressman George Miller (D-CA) today announced he
will soon introduce a bill to require that all cows bound for human
consumption be tested for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), commonly
known as Mad Cow disease.

"Testing every cow will help us to better understand this disease and help
to guarantee American families that the beef they eat is safe," said Miller,
chairman of the House Democratic Policy Committee. "The steps taken so far
by the USDA, including the plan to remove downer cows from herds, do not
provide that guarantee." He added, "In addition, we need to act quickly to
restore America's access to international beef markets, which have begun to
shut out American beef."

Mad cow disease has been linked to a fatal human variant, Creutzfeldt-Jakob
Disease. The only way to ensure that infected meat does not reach
restaurants and grocery stores is by testing cows at the time of slaughter.
Testing will help us to better understand the animal health issues related
to this disease. Because cows can have the disease for years without
revealing any symptoms, simply removing "downer" cows - cows that are
visibly ill - is not enough to ensure the safety of American beef.
Experience from other countries that already test cows shows that about one
in 14,000 test positive for BSE. Among those cows that test positive, more
than half revealed no symptoms.

Recently announced USDA regulations have failed to restore access to the
markets of our trading partners, including that of number-one importer
Japan, that have banned American beef imports. Since uncovering the first
case of BSE in late December, the U.S. cattle industry has suffered a 90
percent drop in exports. The Japanese Minister of Agriculture announced
today that his country would send a team to Australia to consider it as a
possible source to replace American beef.

Japan tests all cows for the disease. The UK tests all cows over 24 months
of age, and continental Europe tests all cows over 30 months. Experts in the
U.S. had recommended testing cows in the U.S. even before the December case
surfaced.

"The testing of every cow is a system that exists today with great
confidence to the consumer in Japan and parts of Europe," said Miller. "It
can be implemented in the U.S. quickly, inexpensively, and with little
disruption to industry, and we ought to do it immediately."

Between 35 and 40 million cows are slaughtered for human consumption in the
U.S. each year. A testing system is estimated to cost between three and six
cents per pound of beef. The industry revenues lost because of U.S. trading
partners' decisions to ban American beef far exceed the cost of testing all
cows.

"It's time for Congress and the USDA to take strong steps to control the
spread of this disease and better protect American consumers and American
markets," Miller said.

###
www.house.miller.gov