U.S. Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins:

Prop. 12 “…is not just affecting California. It’s affecting multitudes of other states, multitudes of other parts of the ag community, including our hog family farms.”

“When those ideas, and those rules, and those laws begin to impact other states in such a negative way, that is not what our founders intended. That is not constitutional, and it is not OK.”

“California has the right to do what California wants to do, but the minute that crosses the border and starts to compromise in such a significant way our pork producers, we need to act.”

Former U.S. Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack:

“Every state has the right to regulate the activities of farmers within their state borders. Where there’s disagreement is whether states have the right or the ability to extend their view about how livestock should be raised to farmers in other states.”

“At some point in time, somebody’s got to provide some degree of consistency and clarity otherwise you’re just inviting 50 different states to do 50 different iterations of [Prop. 12]. Farmers don’t need the chaos; they need clarity and certainty.”

“If we don’t take this issue seriously, we’re going to have chaos in the marketplace.”

President Donald Trump: “…Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution plainly states that Congress – not individual states – has the power to regulate commerce ‘among the several States.’ For many years, this provision has been understood to block efforts by individual states to regulate interstate trade in ways that are discriminatory or burdensome. I will use all authority under the Constitution and U.S. law to stop efforts by California – or other states – that hurt American farmers in other states…”

Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman John Boozman (R-AR):

“Agriculture needs to stick together … to get this done.”

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA):

“California’s Proposition 12, along with Massachusetts’ Question 3, are based on arbitrary, nonsensical standards and have resulted in a harmful patchwork of regulations across the 50 states. They’re a threat to Iowa, which leads the nation in pork production, and to farmers and consumers across this country. Consistent with its authorities under the Commerce Clause, it’s time for Congress to solve this problem by passing legislation. Our bill will end California’s war on breakfast and make sure delicious Iowa pork can be sold everywhere.”

Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA):

“Proposition 12 is dangerous and arbitrary overregulation that stands in direct opposition to the livelihoods of Iowa pork producers, increases costs for both farmers and consumers, and jeopardizes our nation’s food security.”

Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS):

“The United States is constantly faced with non-tariff trade barriers from protectionist countries, which hurts American agriculture’s access to new markets. The last thing we need is for states like California imposing its will on ag-heavy states like Kansas with regulations that will also restrict our ability to trade among the states. Midwest farmers and ranchers who produce our nation’s food supply should not be hamstrung by coastal activist agendas that dictate production standards from hundreds of miles away.”

House Committee on Agriculture Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-PA):

“The data shows that both producers and consumers are facing significant cost increases due to Prop 12. It begs the question – if producers are paying more, and consumers are paying more, who is winning? “

House Committee on Agriculture Ranking Member Angie Craig (D-MN):

“Any true representative of farm country knows that Prop 12 is a concern for producers on both sides. We cannot ignore the questions and challenges Prop 12 raises. Even the Biden administration’s Ag Secretary said we need to treat this issue seriously to ensure stability in the marketplace. I agree that we cannot have 50 states with 50 different regulatory frameworks because of the significant challenges it would present to producers, but I believe that there are ways to avoid that situation.”

Rep. Don Davis (D-N.C.):

“We need a long-term solution that does not disadvantage eastern North Carolina producers or others and potentially put some out of business. I work with anyone, to be clear, anyone on this committee to come up with that fix and a workable solution. But for us to not address this, I believe would be a fatal mistake–fatal mistake for our pork producers.”

Rep. Shomari Figures (D-AL):

“But this is where state rights—one state’s rights—run up against the rights of companies that reside and operate in other states. It runs up against their ability to make a living… Some decisions should be left to the states, who know their own agricultural realities best.”

Rep. David Scott (D-GA):

“We have a substantial burden on our interstate commerce and the implications that this may have on the producers.”

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds:

“With Proposition 12, California has set out-of-touch, arbitrary requirements for how producers should operate their farming businesses. California activists now claim to know what’s best for the producers who have raised livestock from generation to generation.”

Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA):

“California’s Proposition 12 and Massachusetts’ Question 3 pose a major threat to family farms and food security—both in Iowa and across the country.”

American Veterinary Medical Association:

“The arbitrary housing requirements in Prop 12 do not objectively improve animal welfare and may unintentionally cause harm.”

American Association of Swine Veterinarians:

“The ballot initiative does not objectively improve animal welfare. In fact, in some cases, it may compromise animal welfare.”

California’s Department of Food and Agriculture:

“Animal confinement space allowances prescribed in the Act are not based in specific peer-reviewed published scientific literature or accepted as standards within the scientific community to reduce human food-borne illness, promote worker safety, the environment, or other human or safety concerns.”

Ruben Guerra, chairman of the Latin Business Association:

“The impacts of Proposition 12 are devastating our Latino businesses and families across California. With pork prices soaring up to 41% higher than the rest of the country and more than one in three Latino adults already living in food-insecure households, this misguided law is creating unintended food insecurity in our communities.”

Lilly Rocha, executive director of the Latino Restaurant Association:

“It would be one thing if the regulations imposed on pork producers were based on data and scientific research. But it’s not. We’ve had a great pork industry forever. Why do we need to change a good thing all of a sudden? It makes no sense. It seems to be regulation stemming from a social agenda, not a scientific one.”