WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) introduced the bipartisan Opportunities for Fairness in Farming (OFF) Act today with Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) to protect agricultural producers and cut government waste by enforcing transparency in checkoff programs. Senators Rand Paul (R-KY) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) cosponsored the legislation.

“America’s farmers are being ripped off by federal checkoff programs that take farmers’ money and play favorites with who they serve,” said Senator Mike Lee. “These programs have a reputation for hurting farmers through financial fraud and deceptive practices. The OFF Act will implement accountability measures to cut waste, enforce transparency, and ensure that our farmers get the services they pay for.”

“America’s farmers and ranchers deserve accountability and transparency when it comes to how their checkoff dollars are being spent,” said Senator Booker. “Checkoff dollars too often get channeled to lobbying groups who advocate against the best interests of many of the farmers who are required to pay into the program. This bipartisan bill will prohibit conflicts of interest and anti-competitive practices in these checkoff programs and will ensure that these programs work better for our farmers and ranchers.”

“We must change the agricultural checkoff programs that put money in the hands of corporate lobbyists at the expense of farmers and ranchers,” said Senator Warren. “The OFF Act will put commonsense safeguards in place to ensure accountability and transparency for our farmers.”

The OFF Act is endorsed by organizations representing over 200,000 American farmers and ranchers.

“We commend Senators Booker and Lee for their important work on fighting for fairness in the Beef Checkoff,” said United States Cattlemen’s Association President Justin Tupper. “USCA looks forward to this bill preserving the original intent of the Checkoff and implementing more transparency and accountability. The Checkoff must work for cattle producers who both support and benefit from it.”

“America's farmers and ranchers are fed up with their hard-earned money landing in the hands of corporate lobbyists,” said Farm Action Fund President and Missouri farmer Joe Maxwell. “We face enough hurdles as it is; the last thing we need is our own dollars extracted against our will and then used to illegally lobby on behalf of the largest corporations that are already squeezing us out of the market. It’s the USDA’s job to prevent this abuse, and they continue to fail us. The OFF Act’s common-sense reforms would ensure USDA performs stringent oversight so that farmers know exactly where their money is going.”

“We are grateful to Senator Lee and Senator Booker for their work to bring accountability and transparency to the beef checkoff program and to recognize that the cattle and beef production systems in the USA are not one size fits all,” said Carrie Balkcom, Executive Director, American Grassfed Association. “The OFF act will allow cattle and beef producers of all production methods to be served by the dollars that they pay into the system.”

“We applaud this bipartisan bill introduced by Senator Booker and Senator Lee to bring needed transparency and accountability to the antiquated beef checkoff program that has long been used to undermine the interests of America's independent cattle producers,” said Bill Bullard, CEO, R-CALF USA.

“We applaud the Members of Congress for their longterm leadership and for introducing the bipartisan, bicameral OFF Act and call on both the House and Senate Agriculture Committee leaders to stand up for American family farmers by moving this legislation swiftly through their committees,” said Taylor Haynes, President of the Organization for Competitive Markets. “If we’re going to be forced to pay into USDA’s checkoff programs then the very least we should expect is transparency, accountability, and oversight of our hard-earned dollars, and the OFF Act accomplishes just that.”

“Scandal after scandal has proven the longterm corruption in the beef, dairy, and pork checkoff programs that continue to utilize our own tax dollars against us and the day of reckoning is here,” said Mike Schultz, Founder of the Kansas Cattlemen’s Association and Vice-President at the Organization for Competitive Markets. “American family farmers are up in arms and are determined to see justice in the 119th Congress with the enactment of the OFF Act. Clean up decades of corruption.” 

Background:

Under checkoff programs, farmers, producers, importers, and other stakeholders in the marketing chain join together to pool resources, advancing demand for their products through marketing and research. Slogans like “Got Milk?” and “Beef. It’s What’s for Dinner,” are the result of checkoff program marketing campaigns that allowed agricultural producers to access large-scale advertising by promoting their product categories as a whole without individual branding. These campaigns are directed by multiple boards and are funded by checkoff dollars, which stakeholders pay through regular business activities.

Unfortunately, some checkoff programs have exhibited fraudulent and unethical behavior. One investigation by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) found that a subcontractor organization had used checkoff program funding to award its employees unauthorized bonuses totaling approximately $302,000 – then requested further funds to remedy its poor financial situation. More recent audits reveal the USDA’s oversight of checkoff programs still needs improvement.

The Opportunities for Fairness in Farming (OFF) Act would:

• Prohibit checkoff boards with an annual assessment revenue of over $20 million from entering into contracts to carry out checkoff activities with parties that also work to influence government policy.
• Exempt institutions of higher education.
• Prohibit board members and employees of checkoff programs from engaging in any act that may involve a conflict of interest.
• Prohibit engagement in anticompetitive activity, deceptive practices, or disparaging practice.
• Require that contracts entered into by the board be recorded to describe goods and services provided/costs incurred.
• Require checkoff boards to publicize a transparent budget.
• Require periodic audits of checkoff boards by the Inspector General of USDA.
• Require periodic audits of checkoff boards by the Comptroller General.