I 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3170 

To establish a Livestock Identification Board to create and implement a 

mandatory national livestock identification system. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 30, 2005 

Mr. KING of Iowa introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Agriculture 

A BILL 

To establish a Livestock Identification Board to create and 

implement a mandatory national livestock identification 

system. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Livestock Identifica5 tion and Marketing Opportunities Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) For purposes of animal health investigation 

9 and surveillance, there needs to be an identification 

10 system that can trace animals from the time of first 
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1 movement of the animal from its original premise to 

2 the time of slaughter of the animal in less than 48 

3 hours. 

4 (2) The beef industry estimates that the United 

5 States cattle industry lost approximately 

6 $3,000,000,000 in export value on beef, beef variety 

7 meats, hides, and tallow during the 12 months since 

8 a December 2003 diagnosis in the United States of 

9 bovine spongiform encephalopathy. A livestock iden10 tification system may have prevented some of this 

11 loss. 

12 (3) In order to be as efficient as possible, the 

13 livestock identification system needs to be automated 

14 and electronic with participants using compatible 

15 technologies. 

16 (4) The livestock identification system needs to 

17 be flexible enough to adapt to changes in technology 

18 and to the demands of the industry and the markets. 

19 (5) The best technology available should be 

20 used for the livestock identification system while still 

21 allowing for registration into the system for livestock 

22 owners who are economically disadvantaged. 

23 (6) Confidentiality of information on animal 

24 movements, sales, and ownership is necessary to en25 sure that livestock owners have the confidence to 
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1 comply with and fully participate in the livestock 

2 identification system. 

3 (7) Besides animal disease surveillance, the live4 stock identification system should provide a commer5 cial information exchange infrastructure that would 

6 allow for enhanced marketing opportunities. 

7 SEC. 3. LIVESTOCK IDENTIFICATION BOARD. 

8 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a board 

9 to be known as the ‘‘Livestock Identification Board’’. 

10 (b) DUTIES.—The duties of the Board shall be to— 

11 (1) establish and maintain an electronic live12 stock identification system that— 

13 (A) is capable of tracing all livestock in the 

14 United States from the time of first movement 

15 of the livestock from its original premise to the 

16 time of slaughter of such livestock in less than 

17 48 hours; 

18 (B) tracks all relevant information about 

19 the livestock, including— 

20 (i) the livestock identification number 

21 or the group or lot identification number 

22 for the livestock, as applicable; 

23 (ii) the date the livestock identifica24 tion number or the group or lot identifica25 tion number was assigned; 
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1 (iii) the premise identification num2 ber; 

3 (iv) the species of the livestock; 

4 (v) the date of birth of the livestock, 

5 to the extent possible; 

6 (vi) the sex of the livestock; 

7 (vii) any other information the Board 

8 considers appropriate for animal disease 

9 surveillance; and 

10 (viii) any other information that the 

11 person who owns or controls the livestock 

12 voluntarily submits to the Board; 

13 (2) maintain information obtained through the 

14 livestock identification system in a centralized data 

15 system; and 

16 (3) determine the official identification tech17 nology to be used to track animals under the live18 stock identification system. 

19 (c) POWERS.—The Board may— 

20 (1) prescribe and collect fees to recover the 

21 costs of the livestock identification system; and 

22 (2) establish and maintain a grant program to 

23 assist persons with fulfilling the requirements of the 

24 livestock identification system. 

25 (d) MEMBERSHIP.— 
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1 (1) VOTING MEMBERS.—The Board shall be 

2 composed of 7 voting members appointed by the Sec3 retary of Agriculture, in consultation with the Chair 

4 and ranking minority member of the relevant con5 gressional committees, of whom— 

6 (A) 1 member shall be a representative of 

7 cattle owners; 

8 (B) 1 member shall be a representative of 

9 swine owners; 

10 (C) 1 member shall be a representative of 

11 sheep and goat owners; 

12 (D) 1 member shall be a representative of 

13 poultry owners; 

14 (E) 1 member shall be a representative of 

15 livestock auction market operators; 

16 (F) 1 member shall be a representative of 

17 meat processors; and 

18 (G) 1 member shall be a person actively 

19 engaged in the livestock industry. 

20 (2) NON-VOTING MEMBERS.—The Board shall 

21 include 2 non-voting members appointed by the Sec22 retary, in consultation with the Chair and ranking 

23 minority member of the relevant congressional com24 mittees, of whom— 
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1 (A) 1 member shall be a representative of 

2 the Department of Agriculture; and 

3 (B) 1 member shall be a representative of 

4 State or tribal veterinarians or State or tribal 

5 agriculture agencies. 

6 (3) TERMS.— 

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—Each member shall be 

8 appointed for a term of 3 years, except as pro9 vided by subparagraphs (B) and (C). 

10 (B) TERMS OF INITIAL APPOINTEES.—As 

11 designated by the Secretary at the time of ap12 pointment, of the voting members first ap13 pointed— 

14 (i) the members appointed under sub15 paragraphs (B), (D), and (E) of paragraph 

16 (1) shall be appointed for a term of 2 

17 years; and 

18 (ii) the members appointed under sub19 paragraphs (C) and (G) of paragraph (1) 

20 shall be appointed for a term of 1 year. 

21 (C) VACANCIES.—Any member appointed 

22 to fill a vacancy occurring before the expiration 

23 of the term for which the member’s predecessor 

24 was appointed shall be appointed only for the 

25 remainder of that term. A member may serve 
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1 after the expiration of that member’s term until 

2 a successor has taken office. A vacancy in the 

3 Board shall be filled in the manner in which the 

4 original appointment was made. 

5 (4) CHAIRPERSON.—The Chairperson of the 

6 Board shall be elected by its members. 

7 (5) APPOINTMENT.—The Secretary shall ap8 point all members of the Board not later than 45 

9 days after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

10 (e) MEETINGS.— 

11 (1) INITIAL MEETING.—Not later than 60 days 

12 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

13 Board shall hold its initial meeting. 

14 (2) SUBSEQUENT MEETINGS.—The Board shall 

15 meet at the call of the Chairperson. 

16 (f) QUORUM.—4 voting members of the Board shall 

17 constitute a quorum. 

18 (g) PAY.—Members of the Board shall serve without 

19 compensation. 

20 (h) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Each member of the Board 

21 shall receive travel expenses, including per diem in lieu 

22 of subsistence, in accordance with applicable provisions 

23 under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States 

24 Code. 
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1 (i) STAFF.—The Board may appoint and fix the pay 

2 of personnel as the Board considers appropriate. 

3 (j) CONTRACTS.—The Board may contract with or 

4 compensate any persons for goods or services. 

5 (k) RULES AND REGULATIONS.—The Board may 

6 issue such rules and regulations as may be necessary to 

7 carry out this Act. 

8 (l) IMPLEMENTATION.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall implement 

10 the livestock identification system established pursu11 ant to this section not later than December 31, 

12 2008. 

13 (2) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the 

14 date of the enactment of this Act, and quarterly 

15 thereafter until December 31, 2010, the Board shall 

16 submit to the Secretary of Agriculture and the rel17 evant congressional committees a report on the sta18 tus of the implementation of the livestock identifica19 tion system, including— 

20 (A) for each species subject to the system, 

21 the number of animals or groups of animals 

22 tracked by the system; and 

23 (B) the percentage of each animal species 

24 subject to the livestock identification system 

25 that are tracked by the system, which shall be 
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1 determined by dividing the number submitted 

2 under subparagraph (A) for a species by the 

3 total number of animals of such species in the 

4 United States. 

5 SEC. 4. PREMISE IDENTIFICATIONS. 

6 Not later than nine months after the date of the en7 actment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall es8 tablish a premise identification system for all premises in 

9 the United States. The premise identification data shall 

10 be made available to the Board and shall include— 

11 (1) a premise identification number; 

12 (2) the name of the entity that owns or controls 

13 the premise; 

14 (3) contact information for the premise, includ15 ing a person, address, and phone number; 

16 (4) the type of operation at the premise; and 

17 (5) the date the premise number was assigned. 

18 SEC. 5. ENFORCEMENT; FIRST ENTRY INTO COMMERCE. 

19 Subject to section 6(b), the Secretary of Agriculture 

20 shall verify that each animal, or group of animals, where 

21 applicable, subject to the livestock identification system es22 tablished pursuant to section 3 is properly identified upon 

23 first entry of the animal into commerce. Any animal or 

24 group of animals that the Secretary determines is not 
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1 properly identified shall be identified using the official 

2 identification technology before entering commerce. 

3 SEC. 6. VOLUNTARY PARTICIPATION FOR OTHER ANIMAL 

4 SPECIES. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The owner of an animal or group 

6 of animals, where applicable, that is not subject to the live7 stock identification system established pursuant to section 

8 3 may voluntarily subject such animal or group of animals 

9 to tracking by such livestock identification system. 

10 (b) ENFORCEMENT EXEMPTION.—The voluntary 

11 tracking of such animal or group of animals shall not 

12 make the animal or group of animals subject to the en13 forcement actions of the Secretary under section 5. 

14 SEC. 7. RELEASE OF LIVESTOCK IDENTIFICATION NUM15 BERING INFORMATION. 

16 (a) FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT.—Information 

17 obtained through the livestock identification system estab18 lished pursuant to section 3 or the premise identification 

19 system established pursuant to section 4 is exempt from 

20 disclosure under section 552 of title 5, United States 

21 Code. 

22 (b) CHARACTER OF LIVESTOCK IDENTIFICATION

23 SYSTEM INFORMATION.—Except as provided in sub24 sections (c) and (d), information obtained through the 
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1 livestock identification system or the premise identification 

2 system— 

3 (1) may not be released; 

4 (2) shall not be considered information in the 

5 public domain; and 

6 (3) shall be considered commercial information 

7 that is privileged and confidential. 

8 (c) LIMITED RELEASE OF INFORMATION AUTHOR9 IZED.—Notwithstanding subsection (b), the Board may 

10 release information obtained through the livestock identi11 fication system or the premise identification system (other 

12 than information voluntarily submitted pursuant to sec13 tion 3(b)(1)(B)(viii)) regarding particular livestock if— 

14 (1) a disease or pest poses a significant threat 

15 to the livestock that the information involves; 

16 (2) the release of the information is related to 

17 actions the Board may take under this Act; and 

18 (3) the person obtaining the information needs 

19 the information for reasons consistent with the pub20 lic health and public safety purposes of the livestock 

21 identification system, as determined by the Secretary 

22 of Agriculture. 

23 (d) LIMITED RELEASE OF INFORMATION RE24 QUIRED.— 
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding subsection 

2 (b), the Board shall promptly release information 

3 obtained through the livestock identification system 

4 or the premise identification system (other than in5 formation voluntarily submitted pursuant to section 

6 3(b)(1)(B)(viii)) regarding particular livestock— 

7 (A) to the person who owns or controls the 

8 livestock, if the person requests such informa9 tion; 

10 (B) to the Secretary of Agriculture for the 

11 purpose of animal disease surveillance; 

12 (C) to a State or tribal veterinarian or a 

13 State or tribal agriculture agency for the pur14 pose of animal disease surveillance; 

15 (D) to the Attorney General for the pur16 pose of investigation or prosecution of a crimi17 nal act; 

18 (E) to the Secretary of Homeland Security 

19 for the purpose of national security; 

20 (F) to the Secretary of Health and Human 

21 Services for the purpose of protection of public 

22 health; and 

23 (G) to the government of a foreign coun24 try, if release of the information is necessary to 
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1 trace livestock threatened by disease or pest, as 

2 determined by the Secretary. 

3 (2) INFORMATION VOLUNTARILY SUBMITTED.— 

4 Notwithstanding subsection (b), on the request of a 

5 person who owns or controls livestock, the Board 

6 shall release information voluntarily submitted to the 

7 Board pursuant to section 3(b)(1)(B)(viii) regarding 

8 such livestock to such person or to another person. 

9 (e) CONFLICT OF LAW.—If the information disclo10 sure limitations or requirements of this section conflict 

11 with information disclosure limitations or requirements of 

12 a State law and such conflict involves interstate or inter13 national commerce, this section shall take precedence over 

14 the State law. 

15 SEC. 8. REPORT ON IMPACT OF LIVESTOCK IDENTIFICA16 TION SYSTEM. 

17 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact18 ment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall submit 

19 to the Committees on Appropriations of the House of Rep20 resentatives and the Senate, the Committee on Agriculture 

21 of the House of Representatives, and the Committee on 

22 Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate a re23 port on a livestock identification system, including— 
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1 (1) the lessons learned and the effectiveness of 

2 the animal identification system pilot programs 

3 funded in fiscal year 2005; 

4 (2) an analysis of the economic impact of a live5 stock identification system on the livestock industry; 

6 and 

7 (3) the expected cost of implementing a live8 stock identification system. 

9 SEC. 9. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

10 Subsection (f) of section 282 of the Agricultural Mar11 keting Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1638a) is amended— 

12 (1) by striking ‘‘CERTIFICATION OF ORIGIN.— 

13 ’’ and all that follows through ‘‘To certify the coun14 try of origin’’ and inserting ‘‘CERTIFICATION OF OR15 IGIN; EXISTING CERTIFICATION PROGRAMS.—To 

16 certify the country of origin’’; and 

17 (2) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) through 

18 (E) as paragraphs (1) through (5), respectively. 

19 SEC. 10. DEFINITIONS. 

20 In this Act: 

21 (1) The term ‘‘Board’’ means the Livestock 

22 Identification Board established under section 3(a). 

23 (2) The term ‘‘livestock’’ means cattle, swine, 

24 sheep, goats, and poultry. 
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1 (3) The term ‘‘premise’’ means a location that 

2 holds, manages, or boards animals. 

3 (4) The term ‘‘relevant congressional commit4 tees’’ means the Committee on Agriculture of the 

5 House of Representatives and the Committee on Ag6 riculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate. 

7 (5) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 

8 of Agriculture. 

9 SEC. 11. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

10 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

11 this Act $33,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2006 through 

12 2008. 

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