WASHINGTON, Jan. 8, 2014 – Catfish reappeared on Capitol
Hill today, as a spate of letters from opponents of a controversial UDSA inspection
program began to circulate among lawmakers and officials.
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., sent a letter to Senate Agriculture Committee Chair Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., and ranking member Thad Cochran, R-Miss., asking them to nix what he called a “duplicative”
inspection program run by USDA.
“If we do not repeal the USDA Catfish Inspection Program,
hardworking farmers and ranchers across the United States may find themselves
reeling from the effect of a multibillion dollar trade war,” McCain wrote. “The
need to repeal the catfish program far outweighs whatever parochial reasons
exist to prop up a small number of domestic catfish farmers.”
Twelve taxpayer advocacy groups, including the libertarian R
Street Institute and the conservative Taxpayers for Common Sense, echoed
McCain’s requests in a separate letter
sent today.
“Repealing the USDA catfish inspection program is common
sense, will save money and is a step in the right direction of fiscal
responsibility,” they wrote.
The U.S. Chamber Commerce, the influential business lobby,
sent its own letter
to U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman on Monday making similar arguments.
This spring, the House Agriculture Committee included repeal
of the USDA catfish inspection program in its farm bill, although it’s not
clear the measure will be included in the farm bill that eventually emerges
from a House-Senate conference. An aide to Rep. Vicky Hartzler, R-Mo., a
longtime opponent of the inspection program, said the congresswoman is pushing
for a vote of the conferees on the provision.
Catfish have been an improbable source of contention in the
farm bill since lawmakers first started discussing the legislation two years
ago. At the heart of the issue is a provision in the 2008 farm bill switching
authority for catfish inspection from FDA to USDA. Sen. Cochran, who
supported the provision, argued imported catfish (often from Asian countries
like Vietnam) should be subjected to more stringent inspections than the FDA
was providing.
The move was supported by catfish producers in a number of
Southern states.
But opponents including McCain say USDA’s inspection program
is duplicative and a waste of taxpayer funds, citing a May 2012 Government
Accountability Office (GAO) report that
found “responsibility for inspecting catfish should not be assigned to USDA.”
The program’s opponents also argue Vietnam and other catfish exporters could allege U.S. protectionism and retaliate through trade.
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