US tries again to ax catfish inspection program

U.S. Senators John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) introduced Senate Bill 632 today to repeal a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) program for inspecting all imported catfish. In the House, Reps. Vicky Hartzler (R-Mo.) and Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-Calif.) introduced a similar bill, HR 1313.

Typically, inspection of imported seafood is the dominion of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), but the adoption of the 2008 Farm Bill contained a provision moving authority over inspecting catfish imports to the USDA, which typically inspects non-seafood products such as beef. Although the bill passed, the provision hasn't gone into effect yet.

Supporters say the move was designed to ensure that inspections would be more thorough, thus protecting public health. Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) sponsored the catfish inspection program provision. A spokesman for Cochran’s office provided a number of statements Cochran has made on the subject.

“With nearly a third of all catfish consumed in the United States imported from foreign sources, it is important to health and safety interests that we provide the necessary tools and resources to ensure that these imports meet the same quality standards as domestic products,” Cochran said at a USDA public hearing in 2011. “While we owe that assurance to American consumers, the current inspection system for catfish does not meet that responsibility.”

Cochran added that fish farming in China, Vietnam and Thailand could expose product there to harmful chemicals that are banned in the United States.

“Allowing contaminated products to enter our country’s food supply without being properly inspected would not only weaken consumer confidence, it would pose a significant public health risk,” Cochran said.

The inspection program’s critics have argued that the move was prompted not by an interest in public health, but by the domestic catfish industry, and was designed to block imports from competing countries such as Vietnam.

McCain, in a statement released on Thursday, cited a Government Accountability Office (GAO) audit of the program that shows it has already cost about USD 20 million (EUR 15.4 million) n administrative costs, and will cost millions more, while inspections haven’t even begun yet.

“It’s common sense that the proposed USDA Catfish Office should be eliminated given the criticisms lodged against it by the Government Accountability Office,” McCain said. “Its true purpose is to prop up the domestic catfish industry at the expense of the American consumer and our international trade partners.”

McCain and his fellow legislators seem to have no shortage of support. A website, repealcatfish.com, carries a list of dozens of food safety, budget watchdog and agricultural advocacy groups all calling for the program’s removal. The site also lists more than 50 congressmen and senators as opponents to the program.

A recent editorial in the Wall Street Journal called the initial implementation of the measure “a boondoggle on its face,” accusing its supporters of using a claim of a public health threat as an excuse to garner support for a measure that protects a small, regional domestic industry.

The National Fisheries Institute (NFI) has also spoken out against the program, with a video featuring NFI Communications Coordinator Lynsee Fowler at the top of the repealcatfish.com site drumming up support. NFI Spokesman Gavin Gibbons said of the program, “This is a sad scenario where a fake food safety scare has been used by special interests to erect a food trade barrier.”

Despite all this criticism, the program has survived at least one previous repeal attempt. Last year, similar repeal bills passed the Senate, but got bogged down in the House, languishing in the House Agricultural Committee.

Many of the program’s supporters, including Rep. Rick Crawford (R-Ark.), are on the committee. A request for comment to Crawford’s office was not immediately returned, and a spokesman for Cochran declined to comment on the new legislation, pointing to the senator’s previous comments on the issue.

The Senate and House are taking on duplicative and wasteful government spending with legislation to amend the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act to repeal a redundant program involving the inspection and grading of catfish. Congresswomen Vicky Hartzler (MO-4) and Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA) introduced H.R. 1313 in the House along with 23 other members of Congress, and  Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) introduced S. 632 today along with 8 other Senators to end this duplicative program.

“We don’t need two government agencies inspecting seafood,” Congresswoman Hartzler said. “The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) currently inspects all commercial seafood. A provision in the 2008 Farm Bill to move catfish inspection to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) makes no sense and will only waste tax dollars. The General Accounting Office (GAO) estimates it will cost $30 million in start-up costs and at least $14 million each following year for the USDA to train inspectors and run this program. Washington needs to stop this practice of wasting taxpayers’ hard-earned dollars.”

“The USDA Catfish Inspection Program represents a bad deal for seafood companies in Los Angeles and taxpayers across the country,” Representative Lucille Roybal-Allard said. “Unless we act, not only will this initiative continue to waste millions of tax dollars, it will also split seafood inspection responsibilities between two different federal agencies, undermine our food safety system and put consumers at risk. This bipartisan bill will eliminate the wasteful, duplicative program, and I hope Congress will move quickly to pass it.”

“This program epitomizes the kind of wasteful and excessive spending in Washington that needs to go. We have to make sure every taxpayer dollar is spent wisely and repealing this redundant and wasteful program is a no-brainer,” said Senator Shaheen. “Businesses, industry leaders and members of both parties all agree that repealing the USDA Catfish Inspection Program is a smart move that will rein in excess spending and save tens of millions of taxpayer dollars. We should act on this legislation as quickly as possible.”

“I’m pleased by the bipartisan and bicameral support for this legislation,” Senator McCain said. “It’s common sense that the proposed USDA Catfish Office should be eliminated given the criticisms lodged against it by the Government Accountability Office. Its true purpose is to prop up the domestic catfish industry at the expense of the American consumer and our international trade partners. This bill was adopted as an amendment to the Senate-passed Farm Bill last Congress, and I’m hopeful we will enjoy similar success during this year’s work on the Farm Bill.”

Opponents of the USDA Catfish Inspection Program include the American Soybean Association, Food Marketing Institute, National Meat Association, National Milk Producers Federation, National Pork Producers Council, National Restaurant Association, and the United States Dairy Export Council.