The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“FEDERAL OVER-REGULATION AND THE CASE OF COUNTRY MEATS” mentioning the U.S. Dept of Agriculture was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E1583 on Nov. 14, 2014.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
FEDERAL OVER-REGULATION AND THE CASE OF COUNTRY MEATS
______
HON. RICHARD B. NUGENT
of florida
in the house of representatives
Friday, November 14, 2014
Mr. NUGENT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to draw the collective attention of the House to an unfortunate case of federal over-
regulation and the consequences to a small business in my district. In Ocala, Florida, we have a small family business that has produced and distributed snacks to schools across the country for more than three decades. Country Meats makes a pork-based snack that is common to student fundraisers and the proceeds of its sale in public schools over that time have netted more than $30 million in support of marching bands, athletic teams and academic clubs nation-wide.
New standards established under the Healthy Hunger-Free Kid Act would prohibit the sale of anything in schools that cannot meet the nutrition standards. A well intentioned policy, but one that when rigidly enforced, excludes: cheese, milk, nuts and the snacks made by Country Meats. The Department of Agriculture applied common sense to offering exemptions for each of those items and their many variations, but not to the small family business in my district.
Country Meats is not an international business that can pool resources into a common interest of a multi-billion dollar industry to make its concerns heard in Washington. Its twenty employees in Ocala, whose jobs will be lost as collateral damage to federal overreach. This company does not have the clout to educate each state legislature on how to file exemptions with the Department of Agriculture. It needs to do that in order to continue fundraisers that have been a mainstay in schools dating back to 1978. Instead, Country Meats will be added to the list of small businesses that lost their income because of obtuse federal regulation.
____________________
