[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1844 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1844

    To amend the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 to provide for 
   voluntary country of origin labeling for beef, pork, and chicken.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 23, 2015

Mr. Hoeven (for himself, Ms. Stabenow, Ms. Heitkamp, Mr. Grassley, Ms. 
 Klobuchar, Mr. Thune, Mr. Brown, Mr. Enzi, and Mr. Rounds) introduced 
the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee 
                on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To amend the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 to provide for 
   voluntary country of origin labeling for beef, pork, and chicken.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Voluntary Country of Origin Labeling 
(COOL) and Trade Enhancement Act of 2015''.

SEC. 2. COUNTRY OF ORIGIN LABELING REQUIREMENTS FOR BEEF, PORK, AND 
              CHICKEN.

    (a) Definitions.--Section 281 of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 
1946 (7 U.S.C. 1638) is amended--
            (1) by striking paragraphs (1) and (7);
            (2) by redesignating paragraphs (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), 
        (8), and (9) as paragraphs (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), and 
        (7), respectively; and
            (3) in paragraph (1)(A) (as redesignated by paragraph 
        (2))--
                    (A) by striking clause (i) and inserting the 
                following:
                            ``(i) muscle cuts of lamb and venison;'';
                    (B) by striking clause (ii) and inserting the 
                following:
                            ``(ii) ground lamb and ground venison;'';
                    (C) in clause (vi), by striking ``and'' at the end;
                    (D) by striking clause (viii); and
                    (E) by redesignating clauses (ix), (x), and (xi) as 
                clauses (viii), (ix), and (x), respectively.
    (b) Notice of Country of Origin.--Section 282 of the Agricultural 
Marketing Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1638a) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``subsection 
                (b)'' and inserting ``subsections (b) and (c)''; and
                    (B) in paragraph (2)--
                            (i) in the paragraph heading, by striking 
                        ``beef, lamb, pork, chicken,'' and inserting 
                        ``lamb,'';
                            (ii) in subparagraphs (A) through (D), by 
                        striking ``beef, lamb, pork, chicken,'' each 
                        place it appears and inserting ``lamb,''; and
                            (iii) in subparagraph (E)--
                                    (I) in the subparagraph heading, by 
                                striking ``Ground beef, pork, lamb, 
                                chicken,'' and inserting ``Ground 
                                lamb,''; and
                                    (II) by striking ``ground beef, 
                                ground pork, ground lamb, ground 
                                chicken,'' each place it appears and 
                                inserting ``ground lamb,'';
            (2) by redesignating subsections (c) through (f) as 
        subsections (d) through (g), respectively;
            (3) by inserting after subsection (b) the following:
    ``(c) Voluntary Designation of Country of Origin for Beef, Pork, 
and Chicken.--
            ``(1) Definition of packer.--In this subsection, the term 
        `packer' has the meaning given the term in section 201 of the 
        Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921 (7 U.S.C. 191).
            ``(2) Voluntary designation.--As determined by the 
        Secretary, a packer of beef, pork, or chicken may voluntarily 
        designate any raw single-ingredient beef, pork, or chicken 
        intended for retail sale as exclusively having a United States 
        country of origin only if the beef, pork, or chicken meets the 
        requirements of clause (i), (ii), or (iii) of subsection 
        (a)(2)(A).
            ``(3) Enforcement.--The Secretary shall ensure compliance 
        with paragraph (2) in the same manner as the Secretary ensures 
        compliance with subsection (a)(2)(A).
            ``(4) Savings clause.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Except as provided in 
                subparagraph (B), nothing in this paragraph affects any 
                other Federal marketing or regulatory program or 
                similar State initiative.
                    ``(B) United states country of origin.--No Federal 
                agency, State, or political establishment of a State 
                may establish or enforce a statute or administrative 
                action that provides for the labeling of any beef, 
                pork, or chicken intended for retail sale as 
                exclusively having a United States country of origin in 
                a manner that is less stringent than, or otherwise 
                inconsistent with, the requirements of paragraph (2) 
                and subsection (a)(2)(A).''; and
            (4) in paragraph (2) of subsection (g) (as redesignated by 
        paragraph (2))--
                    (A) by striking subparagraphs (B) and (C); and
                    (B) by redesignating subparagraphs (D) and (E) as 
                subparagraphs (B) and (C), respectively.
                                 <all>