SEAFOOD.COM NEWS– January 28, 2014 — Despite years of bipartisan support to remove a proposed catfish inspection provision in the US Farm Bill, the USDA program will be included in the latest version of the legislation that is expected to be put up for a vote on January 29. This is a big dissappointment for many in the seafood industry and congress who have been working hard to eliminate this unnecessary program.
The repeal provision was left out of the $1 trillion bill even though it received support from many in Congress who considered the USDA program to be a duplicative, costly program.
To date the program has spent nearly $30 million in taxpayer dollars but has not inspected a single catfish according to the National Fisheries Institute .
Moreover, the FDA is already tasked with inspecting all imported seafood items which has fueled conversation that the USDA program is duplicative and unnecessary.
"There is an overwhelming, bipartisan majority in the House and Senate that have expressed a need to repeal this wasteful program. The facts surrounding the program are indisputable and have not changed, neither has the need for its repeal," said the NFI's Communication Director Gavin Gibbons.
This story originally appeared on Seafood.com, a subscription site. It has been reprinted with permission.