It Has Passed the First Step!
Senate Bill S.1397
Bird Shippers of America
Box 458
Webster City, Iowa 50595
I am very happy to report that as of last Friday, September 21st, all
of our efforts were finally rewarded. The Senate passed bill S.1397.
This bill, introduced by Senators Grassley of Iowa and Feingold of
Wisconsin,
and co-sponsored by many more Senators, was attached to a Treasury Postal
Appropriations bill and was passed in the Senate with flying colors.
The
success of this first step in reaching our goals can be directly related
to the efforts of all of our members and their push for a
“grass-roots”
response to our congressional members. Our thanks to all of you who
have
contributed so much to get us off to such a good start and to all of the
folks you had write and/or call their Senators and Representatives in
Washington,
D.C.
The next step for this bill will be to go to “committee” where the
bill
will be scrutinized by both Senate and House committee members. This
committee
can change the language of the bill, throw the bill out, or leave it as
it was presented to them. Upon completion of the committee's work a
bill
is then sent back to both the House and Senate for final approval before
being signed by the President. Our lobbyist, Steve Boynton, and the
two
Senate offices, which have worked so hard on this bill, think we have an
excellent chance of getting this bill through. Our work is about
“75%
done” according to them.
Remember, this bill is a very important first step in rectifying many
of our present day shipping problems. We should know shortly whom the
committee
members for this bill will be and we will make a strong appeal to those
members for passage.
Again, thanks to all of you for a job well done. We're very close to
being successful now; don't let up until the task is completed.
Sincerely,
Murray J. McMurray
Letter from the Chairman
Bird Shippers of America
Shipping Crisis
Dear Friends:
As all of you are aware, another shipping crisis is upon us. The very
successful Eagle Route, which was run by Emory, has been taken over by
Federal Express and live animals and birds will no longer be carried on
the Eagle Route. Northwest Airlines has said that as of September 1,
2001, they will no longer carry day-old baby poultry as US Mail. US
Air is teetering and may follow Northwest's lead. Delta has
unworkable temperature restrictions (they won't take birds in weather over
85F) and Continental seems to be the only airline cooperating at this
time. The post office is working hard to negotiate an agreement with
the airlines. If this agreement is successful, it will only serve as
a temporary band-aid until the next crisis arises. Can we live in this
uncertainty any longer?
Our deepest fear is that the three remaining airlines still carrying
day-old poultry (Continental, Delta, and US Air) will follow Northwest's
role. This would force all of us out of business, as we know it
today. This is a very critical time for all of us. Our ability to
ship birds next season could very likely depend on what action we take
now. After talking to many of you we feel we can wait no longer to take
steps to have our congressional representatives enact legislation
requiring all airlines carrying mail to carry day-old birds as part of
that mail.
None of us who ship birds for a living can continue to exist on a
year-to-year basis never knowing when and if the airlines will "pull
the plug" on us. Those of you who depend on much of your business
from either the people who sell birds through the mail or the customers
who are raising those birds, need to assess how much your business will be
hurt if those hatcheries, feed stores, and customers are no longer in
business. While all of you are trying to decide how much to contribute to
this effort, please take a second to sit back and look at where your
business will be if day-old birds can no longer be shipped by mail. Will
you still be in business? How severely reduced will your annual
sales be? If you can remain in business, how many employees will you
need to layoff? Can you really afford to not get involved with this
effort?
Sincerely,
Murray J. McMurray, Chair
Bird Shippers of America
Progress Report
Thank you all for your
response. To-date almost 10,000 of you have taken the time to add your name and
comments to our e-mail campaign.
The first round of e-mail
has been sent out to your Senators. The following Senators could not be reached
by e-mail so your comments were printed and mailed to them.
Nelson-FL, Grassle-IA, Kohl-WI, Wyden-OR, Boxer-CA,
Clinton-NY, Cleland-GA, Sarbanes-MD, Corzine-NJ,
Akken-VA, Santorum-PA, Cantwell-WA, Warner-VA,
Hollings-SC, Kyl-AZ, Daschle-SD, Wellstone-MN,
Smith-OR
We have sent out the e-mail to your Representatives and are waiting to see how
many are returned undeliverable. We will mail your comments to any we do not
reach by e-mail.
According to a new study,
members of Congress are inundated with so many e-mail messages that lawmakers
routinely ignore most of them. Please call or write (using US Mail)
Congressmen/Congresswomen and explain our problem to them personally. You can
obtain phone numbers and addresses at www.senate.gov
and www.house.gov or call the Senate and
House Operator at 202/224-3121 (Senate) or 202/225-3121(House).
Because of the e-mail response out of Washington, we have changed the page on
our website so that you can print a letter and mail it to your congressmen and
congresswomen.
We will print the response
we have already received and send them to each of the Senators and
Representatives, but we will not be sending out any more e-mails. Individual
letters directly from you with your city's Postmark will have a bigger impact.
We have been in contact with Iowa's Senators Harkin and Grassley. They and their
staff are working to solve this problem. At this time Northwest Airlines are not
backing off their decision and the August 15th deadline is fast approaching.
We realize that it is only a matter of time that all airlines will stop carrying
day-old poultry if Northwest is allowed to quit.
Associated Press has
picked up the story. Some of you may see it in your local papers. We have had a
lot of local press coverage, but we need your help to get coverage in your local
press. Call your local TV, Radio, and Newspapers and ask them to cover this
story and how it affects you. We would be happy to supply any information the
press requires. Have them call our toll free number 1-800-456-3280.
We are working with Stephen S. Boynton, Counsel and Lobbyist for the North
American Gamebird Association (the pheasant and quail hatcheries). He has been
working with a
number of Senate and House Committees to help get legislation passed to force
all of the airlines to comply with their U.S. Mail Contract. He said in an Aug.
4 letter sent to several hatcheries nationwide:
"Every attempt has
been made to reach an accord with the USPS and the airlines - even with the
intervention of Congress - but the airlines and the USPS remain firm. Thus, in
my judgment, the matter will only be resolved by legislation, or the threat of
legislation, to correct the problem. I have been invited by Congress to draft
legislation on the issue and before Congress returns from its August recess,
such legislation shall be prepared."
This has become a true grassroots operation. The circle keeps growing wider as
more and more people get involved. Call your congressmen; tell them to support
legislation to
force all airlines to live up to their U.S. Mail contract.
Let
your voice be heard, it the American Way. The fight is not over.
Letter from Stephen S. Boynton
Counsel and Lobbyist
for the North American Gamebird Association
(the pheasant and quail hatcheries)
Dear Folks:
In reporting on the current status of the air mail shipment of poultry issue, I
am reminded of Charles Dicken's opening line in his 1859 book, A Tale of Two
Cities: "It was the best of times, it was the worse of times, it was an
age of wisdom, it was an age of foolishness...."
Since the last communication, considerable, and sometimes "intense,"
activity has been undertaken with the airlines, the Congress and the United
States Postal Service (USPS). And, although we have encountered both some
"wisdom" and too much "foolishness," we sincerely believe
considerable progress has been made on all fronts.
On September 4, 2001, Senator Charles E. Grassley (R-IA) and Senator Russ
Fiengold (D-WI) introduced S. 1397 that provides, in part, that:
The Postal Service may require any air carrier to accept as mail shipments of
day-old poultry and such other live animals as postal regulations allow to be
transmitted as mail matter.
At this point in time, this bill does not accomplish all we need for a permanent
solution of the issues but it is clearly a significant first step in obtaining a
final resolution involving the USPS and the airlines:
Firstly, it puts the USPS and all the airlines on notice that the
Congress is serious about insuring that "day-old poultry and other live
animals" should be subject to air shipments by mail.
Secondly, it puts the USPS and all the airlines on notice that any
charges for such service must be "reasonable" - in other words,
"justifiable."
Thirdly, it puts the USPS and all airlines on notice that if such
shipments are not put in place, the Congress will broker a contractual provision
mandating it.
Fourthly, it is legislation that can be acted on quickly by the Congress.
As anticipated and expected, the well funded but vocal minority of animal rights
advocates have initiated a campaign to oppose the bill. However, with a
coordinated, concentrated and timely effort "on our side of the
table," we can win this legislative effort - but it is going to take your
immediate input and assistance.
To be successful, every person, business, customer, and
supplier impacted by the refusal of airlines to take poultry and "other
live animals" by air mail shipments MUST immediately write their respective
Senators urging their support and to seek passage of this legislation.
Anything less than full participation in a letter writing campaign will,
I assure you, result in failure. The Congress. the airlines and the USPS need to
know that we - the voters - are also serious.
There are certain Senators and Representatives who normally and automatically
support animal rights issues - no matter how ill conceived. However, in this
case we are dealing with issues that involve the loss of employment and business
opportunities. Those issues are extremely important and sensitive to elected
representatives - especially in today's economy. As constituents of those
representatives, your "voice" is most significant to your
representative. Consequently, there is really no reason we cannot obtain a
significant majority of bi-partisan support for S. 1397.
Most importantly, we are "right" legally, scientifically, and
factually to adequately answer any charges from animal rights groups that
influence airline policy and certain Members of the Congress.
History and experience have demonstrated that poultry (as well as other animals)
can be safely and humanely shipped by air. Over the years, claims for losses
against the airlines or the USPS have been almost zero. Those claims that have
been made can be traced to human error, not an inadequacy in the systems or
procedures.
Clearly the shipper and the receiver of shipments have more that a passing
interest in the safety and proper care of the live animal shipments. In fact,
most shippers of birds guarantee live birds being delivered.
The following is recommended for immediate action by you, your suppliers,
customers, employees, friends and neighbors.
Write a letter to your respective Senator urging support of S. 1397.
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