I 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2301 

To establish a Livestock Identification Board to create and implement a 

national livestock identification system. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 14, 2007 

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 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 premises 

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

3 48 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 premises 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 premises 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; 

22 (2) establish and maintain a grant program to 

23 assist persons with fulfilling the requirements of the 

24 livestock identification system; and 


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1 (3) subject to section 5(b), require the Sec2 retary of Agriculture to— 

3 (A) verify that each animal, or group of 

4 animals, where applicable, subject to the live5 stock identification system established pursuant 

6 to this section is properly identified upon first 

7 entry of the animal into commerce; and 

8 (B) for any animal or group of animals 

9 that the Secretary determines is not properly 

10 identified, identify such animal or group of ani11 mals using the official identification technology 

12 before such animal or group of animals enters 

13 commerce. 

14 (d) MEMBERSHIP.— 

15 (1) VOTING MEMBERS.—The Board shall be 

16 composed of 7 voting members appointed by the Sec17 retary of Agriculture, in consultation with the Chair 

18 and ranking minority member of the relevant con19 gressional committees, of whom— 

20 (A) 1 member shall be a representative of 

21 cattle owners; 

22 (B) 1 member shall be a representative of 

23 swine owners; 

24 (C) 1 member shall be a representative of 

25 sheep and goat owners; 


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1 (D) 1 member shall be a representative of 

2 poultry owners; 

3 (E) 1 member shall be a representative of 

4 livestock auction market operators; 

5 (F) 1 member shall be a representative of 

6 meat processors; and 

7 (G) 1 member shall be a person actively 

8 engaged in the livestock industry. 

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

10 include 2 non-voting members appointed by the Sec11 retary, in consultation with the Chair and ranking 

12 minority member of the relevant congressional com13 mittees, of whom— 

14 (A) 1 member shall be a representative of 

15 the Department of Agriculture; and 

16 (B) 1 member shall be a representative of 

17 State or tribal veterinarians or State or tribal 

18 agriculture agencies. 

19 (3) TERMS.— 

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

21 appointed for a term of 3 years, except as pro22 vided by subparagraphs (B) and (C). 

23 (B) TERMS OF INITIAL APPOINTEES.—As 

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1 pointment, of the voting members first ap2 pointed— 

3 (i) the members appointed under sub4 paragraphs (B), (D), and (E) of paragraph 

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

6 years; and 

7 (ii) the members appointed under sub8 paragraphs (C) and (G) of paragraph (1) 

9 shall be appointed for a term of 1 year. 

10 (C) VACANCIES.—Any member appointed 

11 to fill a vacancy occurring before the expiration 

12 of the term for which the member’s predecessor 

13 was appointed shall be appointed only for the 

14 remainder of that term. A member may serve 

15 after the expiration of that member’s term until 

16 a successor has taken office. A vacancy in the 

17 Board shall be filled in the manner in which the 

18 original appointment was made. 

19 (4) CHAIR.—The Chair of the Board shall be 

20 elected by its members. 

21 (5) APPOINTMENT.—The Secretary shall ap22 point all members of the Board not later than 45 

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

24 (e) MEETINGS.— 


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

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

3 Board shall hold its initial meeting. 

4 (2) SUBSEQUENT MEETINGS.—The Board shall 

5 meet at the call of the Chair. 

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

7 constitute a quorum. 

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

9 compensation. 

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

11 shall receive travel expenses, including per diem in lieu 

12 of subsistence, in accordance with applicable provisions 

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

14 Code. 

15 (i) STAFF.—The Board may appoint and fix the pay 

16 of personnel as the Board considers appropriate. 

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

18 compensate any persons for goods or services. 

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

20 issue such rules and regulations as may be necessary to 

21 carry out this Act. 

22 (l) IMPLEMENTATION.—The Board shall implement 

23 the livestock identification system established pursuant to 

24 this section not later than December 31, 2008. 

25 (m) REPORTS.— 


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1 (1) REPORTS REQUIRED.—The Board shall 

2 submit to the Secretary of Agriculture and the rel3 evant congressional committees regular reports in 

4 accordance with paragraph (2) on the status of the 

5 implementation of the livestock identification system, 

6 including— 

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

8 the number of animals or groups of animals 

9 tracked by the system; and 

10 (B) the percentage of each animal species 

11 subject to the livestock identification system 

12 that are tracked by the system, which shall be 

13 determined by dividing the number submitted 

14 under subparagraph (A) for a species by the 

15 total number of animals of such species in the 

16 United States. 

17 (2) SUBMISSION DATES.— 

18 (A) INITIAL REPORT.—The Board shall 

19 submit an initial report under paragraph (1) 

20 not later than one year after the date of the en21 actment of this Act. 

22 (B) QUARTERLY REPORTS.—Not later 

23 than 90 days after the date of the submission 

24 of the initial report in accordance with para25 graph (A), and quarterly thereafter until the 


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1 Secretary determines that this Act has been 

2 substantially implemented, the Board shall sub3 mit subsequent reports under paragraph (1). 

4 (C) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Not later than 

5 one year after the date on which the Secretary 

6 determines under subparagraph (B) that this 

7 Act has been substantially implemented, and 

8 annually thereafter, the Board shall submit 

9 subsequent reports under paragraph (1). 

10 SEC. 4. PREMISES IDENTIFICATIONS. 

11 Not later than nine months after the date of the en12 actment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall es13 tablish a premises identification system for all premises 

14 in the United States. The premises identification data 

15 shall be made available to the Board and shall include— 

16 (1) a premises identification number; 

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

18 the premises; 

19 (3) contact information for the premises, in20 cluding a person, address, and phone number; 

21 (4) the type of operation at the premises; and 

22 (5) the date the premises number was assigned. 


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1 SEC. 5. VOLUNTARY PARTICIPATION FOR OTHER ANIMAL 

2 SPECIES. 

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

4 of animals, where applicable, that is not subject to the live5 stock identification system established pursuant to section 

6 3 may voluntarily subject such animal or group of animals 

7 to tracking by such livestock identification system. 

8 (b) ENFORCEMENT EXEMPTION.—The voluntary 

9 tracking of such animal or group of animals shall not 

10 make the animal or group of animals subject to any en11 forcement actions of the Secretary required by the Board 

12 pursuant to section 3(c)(3). 

13 SEC. 6. RELEASE OF LIVESTOCK IDENTIFICATION NUM14 BERING INFORMATION. 

15 (a) FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT.—Information 

16 obtained through the livestock identification system estab17 lished pursuant to section 3 or the premises identification 

18 system established pursuant to section 4 is exempt from 

19 disclosure under section 552 of title 5, United States 

20 Code. 

21 (b) CHARACTER OF LIVESTOCK IDENTIFICATION

22 SYSTEM INFORMATION.—Except as provided in sub23 sections (c) and (d), information obtained through the 

24 livestock identification system or the premises identifica25 tion system— 

26 (1) may not be released; 


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1 (2) shall not be considered information in the 

2 public domain; and 

3 (3) shall be considered commercial information 

4 that is privileged and confidential. 

5 (c) LIMITED RELEASE OF INFORMATION AUTHOR6 IZED.—Notwithstanding subsection (b), the Board may 

7 release information obtained through the livestock identi8 fication system or the premises identification system 

9 (other than information voluntarily submitted pursuant to 

10 section 3(b)(1)(B)(viii)) regarding particular livestock if— 

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

12 to the livestock that the information involves; 

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

14 actions the Board may take under this Act; and 

15 (3) the person obtaining the information needs 

16 the information for reasons consistent with the pub17 lic health and public safety purposes of the livestock 

18 identification system, as determined by the Secretary 

19 of Agriculture. 

20 (d) LIMITED RELEASE OF INFORMATION RE21 QUIRED.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding subsection 

23 (b), the Board shall promptly release information 

24 obtained through the livestock identification system 

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1 formation voluntarily submitted pursuant to section 

2 3(b)(1)(B)(viii)) regarding particular livestock— 

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

4 livestock, if the person requests such informa5 tion; 

6 (B) to the Secretary of Agriculture for the 

7 purpose of animal disease surveillance; 

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

9 State or tribal agriculture agency for the pur10 pose of animal disease surveillance; 

11 (D) to the Attorney General for the pur12 pose of investigation or prosecution of a crimi13 nal act; 

14 (E) to the Secretary of Homeland Security 

15 for the purpose of national security; 

16 (F) to the Secretary of Health and Human 

17 Services for the purpose of protection of public 

18 health; and 

19 (G) to the government of a foreign coun20 try, if release of the information is necessary to 

21 trace livestock threatened by disease or pest, as 

22 determined by the Secretary. 

23 (2) INFORMATION VOLUNTARILY SUBMITTED.— 

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

25 person who owns or controls livestock, the Board 


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1 shall release information voluntarily submitted to the 

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

3 such livestock to such person or to another person. 

4 (e) CONFLICT OF LAW.—If the information disclo5 sure limitations or requirements of this section conflict 

6 with information disclosure limitations or requirements of 

7 a State law and such conflict involves interstate or inter8 national commerce, this section shall take precedence over 

9 the State law. 

10 SEC. 7. REPORT ON IMPACT OF LIVESTOCK IDENTIFICA11 TION SYSTEM. 

12 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact13 ment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall submit 

14 to the Committees on Appropriations of the House of Rep15 resentatives and the Senate, the Committee on Agriculture 

16 of the House of Representatives, and the Committee on 

17 Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate a re18 port on a livestock identification system, including— 

19 (1) the lessons learned and the effectiveness of 

20 the animal identification system pilot programs 

21 funded in fiscal year 2005; 

22 (2) an analysis of the economic impact of a live23 stock identification system on the livestock industry; 

24 and 


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1 (3) the expected cost of implementing a live2 stock identification system. 

3 SEC. 8. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

4 Subsection (f) of section 282 of the Agricultural Mar5 keting Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1638a) is amended— 

6 (1) by striking ‘‘CERTIFICATION OF

7 ORIGIN.—’’ and all that follows through ‘‘To certify 

8 the country of origin’’ and inserting ‘‘CERTIFI9 CATION OF ORIGIN; EXISTING CERTIFICATION PRO10 GRAMS.—To certify the country of origin’’; and 

11 (2) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) through 

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

13 SEC. 9. DEFINITIONS. 

14 In this Act: 

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

16 Identification Board established under section 3(a). 

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

18 sheep, goats, and poultry. 

19 (3) The term ‘‘premises’’ means a location that 

20 holds, manages, or boards animals. 

21 (4) The term ‘‘relevant congressional commit22 tees’’ means the Committee on Agriculture of the 

23 House of Representatives and the Committee on Ag24 riculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate. 


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

2 of Agriculture. 

3 SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

4 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

5 this Act $33,000,000 for each of the three fiscal years fol6 lowing the fiscal year during which this Act is enacted. 

Æ 


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