The TSCRA government relations team has been back on the road, traveling across the state to meet with cattle producers and elected officials.
Last week Kaleb McLaurin visited with the Matagorda County Cattlemen’s Association. He gave an update on the latest happenings in Washington and Austin. Earlier this week, he and Peyton Schumann spent a couple of days in Fort Worth meeting with state legislators. Next week, we all head to Houston for the annual National Cattlemen’s Beef Association convention.
It sounds like we’ll stay pretty busy at the NCBA’s convention with a large slate of new policies to consider. Of course, cattle market issues will be at the forefront, but we’re also expecting policy related to supply chain issues, tax incentives for new meat processors, labor, COVID-19 vaccine requirements, greenhouse gasses and more.
TSCRA is an NCBA affiliate, so our members, who are also NCBA members, will have a role in shaping and developing their policy. But, ultimately, all affiliates vote on everything, so keep in mind that TSCRA isn’t beholden to any of that policy. Sometimes we agree, sometimes we don’t, which is why TSCRA has its own policy book and policy development process.
Nonetheless, I’ll try to give y’all a recap of what transpires in a future update.
We’re also staying busy meeting with political candidates. Early voting in the primary election is only a few weeks away. If you haven’t yet, check out the TSCRA PAC voting recommendations. Early voting starts on Feb. 14 and goes through Feb. 25. Election day is March 1, 2022.
The last thing I’ll mention is Waters of the United States (WOTUS). You’ve probably already seen another mention of this in the TSCRA Daily News Update, but we need your help!
The EPA and Army Corps of Engineers are repealing and replacing the Navigable Waters Protection Rule, NWPR. As the agencies move forward, they are seeking public comment on their latest step, which is reimplementing the 1980s-era Waters of the United States, or WOTUS, definition.
TSCRA submitted our comments yesterday, which you can read via our press release. However, it’s usually helpful if the agencies are flooded with like-minded comments from individual producers. It makes our points harder to ignore.
To help, we set up a webpage with draft comments that you can use or modify to your liking and instructions on how to submit them.
With that, I’ll conclude my ramblings for the week by saying thank you in advance to all of you willing to submit those WOTUS comments.
-Until next time!
Jeremy
Jeremy Fuchs is Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association’s director of public affairs.