Senate Likely to Pass Farm Bill, McCain Assails Catfish Program
The Senate voted on Feb. 3 to invoke cloture and end debate on the Farm Bill, with a vote in support on the legislation expected on Feb. 4. Prior to the cloture vote, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., railed against the inclusion of the U.S. Department of Agricultural (USDA) Catfish Inspection Program in the prospective law, calling the program a blatant protectionist measure to safeguard the U.S. catfish industry. The program invites World Trade Organization-sanctioned retaliation against U.S. agricultural products and threatens the U.S. ability to win tariff concessions in the Trans-Pacific Partnership, said McCain.
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“The Food and Drug Administration already tests catfish along with all other seafood. But certain Farm Bill conferees are insisting on creating a catfish office because catfish farmers in southern states don’t want to compete against foreign catfish importers, particularly those from Vietnam,” said McCain on the Senate floor. “Its true purpose is trade protectionism at the taxpayers’ expense. Under this Farm Bill, there will be a virtual ban on catfish imports for several years, while foreign inspectors switch from FDA inspection procedures to USDA inspection procedures.”
McCain joined a bipartisan group of 21 other Senators to oppose cloture. Senate conferees opted to include the Catfish Inspection Program in the conference report, despite pressure to repeal from industry and lawmakers (see 13121124). The omnibus appropriations legislation signed by President Obama on Jan. 17 also included funding for the program (see 14011716). The House passed the Farm Bill on Jan. 29 with bipartisan support after months of conference (see 14012930).