May 1, 2006
Honorable Mike Johanns, Secretary
U.S. Department of Agriculture
14th Street & Independence Avenue, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20250
Honorable Jerry Lewis, Chairman
House Appropriations Committee
H-218, The Capitol
Washington, D.C. 20515
Honorable Thad Cochran, Chairman
Senate Appropriations Committee
S-218, The Capitol
Washington, D.C. 20510
Dear Mr. Secretary, Chairman Lewis and Chairman Cochran:
I am writing on behalf of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) to request your immediate attention and assistance on a serious situation regarding the current FY06 federal allocations for state cooperative meat and poultry inspection programs. NASDA represents the commissioners, secretaries and directors of agriculture in the fifty states and four territories.
As you know, USDA’s Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) cooperates with the states in administering their meat and poultry inspection programs. Under the 1967 and 1968 federal Meat and Poultry Inspection Acts, FSIS provides up to 50 percent of the cost and other support for the cooperative state programs. These federal matching funds are imperative for basic state inspection activities such as salaries and training.
FSIS recently informed the states that their FY06 base funding allocation is being reduced. This is particularly alarming since FSIS only notified the states about the change in funding in mid-March—after half of the current fiscal year has already passed. The budget cuts range from approximately 4 to 25 percent with most of them in the 12 to 20 percent range. How can this be justified?
Although the law does allow FSIS to lower the 50 percent funding, the agency has provided funding at the 50 percent level for the past thirty years. This sudden and unexpected reduction in federal matching funds will have a devastating impact on state inspection programs. Some states will be forced to lay off inspectors, reduce daily inspection coverage, and curtail other food safety processing procedures, such as product sampling. This compromises our mission of public health and safety.
We are also concerned that if USDA-FSIS does not provide adequate funding, states may be unable to maintain their “equal to” status with federal requirements as required by the Federal Meat Inspection Act. Some states may be forced to turn over their inspection programs to USDA. FSIS would then have to assume the state’s portion for operating the inspection program (including the difference in salary/benefits that exists between state and federal personnel). This does not make budgetary sense and is certainly not a wise or efficient use of resources.
In addition to a reduction in food safety activities, the funding reduction will have a negative impact on food security/defense activities. USDA has placed a high priority on food security and last year issued eight new directives dealing with homeland security threat condition response. Although these new initiatives are necessary, the FSIS budget reduction will elimnate the resources necessary for states to support these efforts.
Since the states received this budget reduction notice so late in the fiscal year, our options to make adjustments are almost nonexistent. Most states do not have discretionary funds to make up the gap in federal funding. Since many states are nearing the end of their budget cycle, they are unable to return to their state legislatures to request an increase for their operating budget. We recently had a multi-state conference call with USDA Under Secretary for Food Safety Dr. Richard Raymond to discuss our concerns, but he was not able to offer a solution.
In this time of budget deficits and concerns, the states are certainly aware of the budget pressures facing USDA and Congress. At the same time, these last-minute budget cuts will have a devastating effect on food safety, food security, and small businesses.
We ask for your assistance in addressing this serious situation. We stand ready to work with you to ensure that states can carry out their inspection responsibilities.
Sincerely,
J. Carlton Courter III
NASDA President
Commissioner, Virginia Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services