The following is a statement by U.S. Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-NY) on a recent announcement by Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman that the use of downer cattle will be banned due to Mad Cow. Congressman Ackerman was the sponsor of legislation in Congress to ban downed animals, a measure which failed by three votes last July. The Congressman has since been critical of the Agriculture Department and the cattle industry particularly in the last week since the Mad Cow scare.

"We congratulate Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman for finally making this decision. We're pleased that the Agriculture Department is finally banning downed animals after fighting with them for so long to do so. The department has seen the light but that's only because they've been struck by lightning. This Mad Cow incident was a hard and expensive lesson that the Agriculture department learned after we warned them about it for 10 years. These animals should have never been let into the food supply to begin with and they wouldn't have been had the cattle industry opposed our legislation in such a powerful manner. In the interest of the public health and safety, we are pleased over this belated, sad and costly victory in our decade long quest to prevent downed animals from being used."