Senator McCain, Fiscal Conservative Groups Pressure USDA Catfish Program Repeal
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Catfish Inspection Program will embroil the U.S. in a multi-billion dollar trade war if it is permitted to remain law following the anticipated release of a Farm Bill conference report and future passage of Farm Bill legislation, said Senator John McCain, R-Ariz., in a Jan. 8 letter to Senate Farm Bill conferees. In the event conferees fail to include a Catfish Inspection Program repeal measure in the conference report, McCain pledged to pursue other legislative means to eliminate the program.
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"There is broad bipartisan support in both the House and Senate for repealing the catfish program,” said McCain in the letter (here). “In actuality, the true purpose of the catfish program is to artificially support domestic catfish farmers by erecting regulatory hurdles against foreign catfish importers at the expense of the American taxpayer.” Lawmakers and industry officials have repeatedly urged repeal of the program over recent months. Some Catfish Inspection Program opponents say Senate Farm Bill conferee Thad Cochran, R-Miss., remains the primary roadblock to repealing the program (see 13121124).
Congressional aides declined to comment on specific provisions in the bill or the targeted date for release of the conference report. “While the negotiators are close to reaching a conference agreement, it is still a work in progress and it would be premature to speculate on those talks,” said a spokesman for Cochran. “That said, Senator Cochran looks forward to completing the 2013 farm bill as soon as possible.”
The program is a significant waste of federal tax revenue, said a group of fiscal conservative organizations in another Jan. 8 letter to House and Senate Farm Bill conferees. “The catfish inspection program is a program that has spent $20 million over four years and not inspected a single fish. It’s a program that the Government Accountability Office has targeted five times as a waste,” said the letter (here). “It’s a program that the former Chief Judge of the highest court of international trade says will result in not just a trade war but a lawsuit the U.S. will lose. It’s a program that’s on track to spend $170 million making USDA do a job FDA is already doing.”