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STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE JOHN BOEHNER 



BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON LIVESTOCK 



SEPTEMBER 14, 1993 



Mr. Chairman, I thank you for holding this hearing on H.R. 1637, the Egg Research 

 and Consumer Information Act Amendments of 1993. Ohio is fourth in the nation in egg 

 production and I am proud to be an original sponsor of this important legislation. This 

 legislation is strongly supported and needed by the entire egg industry. 



These proposed amendments to the current Egg Act would provide further protection 

 to smaller producers by increasing the exemption level for producers from 30,000 to 50,000 

 hens and allow producers to participate in a referendum to increase their assessment. These 

 changes would afford a greater level of protection to small producers while giving the 

 industry more control over their industry. 



The egg checkoff program allows producers an opportunity to expand and maintain 

 markets for their products. Through a variety of educational programs, consumers become 

 more aware of the benefits of egg consumption. Consumers also benefit from this producer- 

 paid program from the industry's efforts to promote food safety within the foodservice 

 industry, as well as in the home. While the costs of operating these programs have 

 increased, the assessment collected to fiind these efforts has not. In order to maintain the 

 kind of programming necessary to meet the ongoing and future challenges faced by the egg 

 industry, it must have the power to increase its funding levels to match its needs. H.R. 

 1637 will provide the egg industry with that opportunity. 



Ohio's producers have directly benefited from these programs. Over the past few 

 years, consumption as well as egg production in Ohio has greatly increased. Ohio is a 

 perfect example of what an industry can accomplish when the federal and state checkoff 

 programs work together. I remain hopeful that this partnership will continue. 



I look forward to working to pass this legislation during this session and would again 

 like to thank Chairman Volkmer for holding this hearing. 



