A bipartisan group of 178 Congressmen is urging the House Republican leadership to schedule a vote to end USDA’s catfish inspection program and return it to the Food and Drug Administration. The members emphasized this is a waste of taxpayer dollars, and the Government Accountability Office has 10 times stated that this program is “duplicative” and at “high risk” for fraud, waste, abuse and mismanagement.”
The members say GAO concluded that the USDA catfish program “would result in duplication of federal programs and cost taxpayers millions of dollars annually without enhancing the safety of catfish intended for human consumption.” The House letter was organized by Congresswomen Vicky Hartzler (R-MO) and Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA). Consumers Union, Food and Water Watch, and other consumer groups are pushing back saying that USDA is doing a better job of ensuring the food safety of catfish. The Senate last month voted to return the catfish inspection program to FDA.
