Grassley in Washington Post Letter to the Editor: Here’s what coastal elites don’t get about California’s Prop 12

Grassley in Washington Post Letter to the Editor: Here's what coastal elites don't get about California's Prop 12

"Even city slickers ought to recognize U.S. consumers pay more...because of costly government mandates."

WASHINGTON - In a Washington Post Letter to the Editor, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), a lifelong family farmer and a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, outlined his opposition to California's Proposition 12, which oversteps constitutional boundaries and curtails pig producers' ability to sell into 15% of the nation's pork market.

Text of his Letter to the Editor follows:

Regarding Kathleen Parker's May 31 column, "Congress has a cruelty problem":

California's Proposition 12 overstepped constitutional boundaries and blacklisted pig farmers from selling to 15 percent of the nation's pork market. As a lifelong family farmer, it's clear to me that coastal elites from Massachusetts to California don't understand how to safely bring to market wholesome pork from farrow to finish, or how to efficiently produce enough eggs to feed a nation of 342 million people. Neither do Beltway pundits.

At the very least, even city slickers ought to recognize U.S. consumers pay more at the grocery store, including inflated prices for pork chops and bacon, because of costly government mandates.

Parker mentioned Justice Neil M. Gorsuch's 5-4 majority opinion, but omitted that it also said Congress has the authority to legislate a statute "that might displace Proposition 12" and end the patchwork of regulations that interfere with interstate commerce and agricultural practices in another state.

Congress has bicameral legislation to do just that. By eliminating heavy-handed regulations that push up the price of high-quality protein, the bill would allow pork producers to determine their own farming practices while giving consumers the freedom to choose where they source their meat. It's a commonsense free-market solution that boosts affordability for farmers and families nationwide.

Chuck Grassley, Washington

The writer, a Republican, represents Iowa in the U.S. Senate.

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