(seafood.vasep.com.vn) The Senate today voted to reverse a controversial change to catfish inspections, turning up the heat in a trade disagreement between the U.S. and Vietnam as President Barack Obama wraps up his trip to Hanoi.
In an 55-43 vote, the Senate passed a resolution (S.J. Res. 28) that would undo a regulation stemming from a change made in the 2008 farm bill transferring catfish oversight from the FDA to the Agriculture Department's Food Safety Inspection Service, the body that inspects meat for U.S. consumption.
The resolution is the latest attempt to repeal the program, which opponents have called blatantly wasteful but Southern members of Congress and the catfish farmers they represent have fiercely defended.
By bringing the measure directly to the floor, opponents of the program - including Sen. John McCain, who sponsored the resolution, Kelly Ayotte and Jeanne Shaheen - circumvent the committee process and Sen. Thad Cochran, one of the staunchest proponents of the new safety regulations.
The resolution now heads to the House. If the House passes the measure, President Barack Obama is not expected to veto it. His administration has called the catfish inspection change wasteful and proposed cutting it from the budget.