White House: Sequestration would cut WIC, senior meals, FDA, FSIS inspections
February 08, 2013 | 07:31 PM
Sequestration would result in approximately 600,000 low-income women and children being dropped from the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children known as WIC and fewer senior meals, the White House said in a fact sheet released today.
A cut in Food and Drug Administration food safety inspections also would occur, the White House said, in addition to the cut in meat inspections that Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack noted on Thursday,
A $1.2 trillion across-the-board cut in government spending over 10 years will go into effect on March 1 unless Congress acts. The Obama administration and Republicans in Congress are blaming each other for not coming up with an agreement to cut spending in a way that does not disrupt programs. (See following story.)
The Office of Management and Budget now calculates that sequestration will require an annual reduction of roughly 5 percent for non-defense programs and roughly 8 percent for defense programs, the White House said. However, given that these cuts must be achieved over only seven months instead of 12, the effective percentage reductions will be approximately 9 percent for nondefense programs and 13 percent for defense programs, the White House added.
Unlike the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, better known as SNAP or food stamps, which is an entitlement with mandatory spending status, WIC is a discretionary program that goes through the appropriations process, which means that it is subject to the sequester.
For years Congress has provided enough money to cover all eligible applicants for the WIC program, but the sequester would require a reduction in spending on the program from March through September. In addition to low-income women and children losing nutrition assistance and associated nutrition education and breast feeding support, at least 1,600 state and local jobs could be lost as a result.
Federally-assisted programs like Meals on Wheels would be able to serve 4 million fewer meals to seniors, the White House said.
“These meals contribute to the overall health and well-being of participating seniors, including those with chronic illnesses that are affected by diet, such as diabetes and heart disease, and frail seniors who are homebound. The meals can account for 50 percent or more of daily food for the majority of home‑delivered participants,” the White House said.
The Food and Drug Administration would conduct 2,100 fewer inspections at domestic and foreign food manufacturing plants, while USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service would have to furlough all employees for approximately two weeks, the White House said.
“These reductions could increase the number and severity of safety incidents, and the public could suffer more foodborne illness, such as the recent salmonella in peanut butter outbreak and the E. coli illnesses linked to organic spinach, as well as cost the food and agriculture sector millions of dollars in lost production volume,” the fact sheet said.
“Sequestration would result in an across-the-board furlough of as much as 15 days for all FSIS employees, including inspectors,” a USDA official added.
“Since federal law mandates inspection of meat, poultry and egg products, production will shut down for that time period, impacting approximately 6,290 establishments nationwide and costing roughly over $10 billion in production losses. Industry workers would experience over $400 million in lost wages, consumers would experience limited meat and poultry supplies and potentially higher prices, and food safety could be compromised.”
A cut in Food and Drug Administration food safety inspections also would occur, the White House said, in addition to the cut in meat inspections that Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack noted on Thursday,
A $1.2 trillion across-the-board cut in government spending over 10 years will go into effect on March 1 unless Congress acts. The Obama administration and Republicans in Congress are blaming each other for not coming up with an agreement to cut spending in a way that does not disrupt programs. (See following story.)
The Office of Management and Budget now calculates that sequestration will require an annual reduction of roughly 5 percent for non-defense programs and roughly 8 percent for defense programs, the White House said. However, given that these cuts must be achieved over only seven months instead of 12, the effective percentage reductions will be approximately 9 percent for nondefense programs and 13 percent for defense programs, the White House added.
Unlike the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, better known as SNAP or food stamps, which is an entitlement with mandatory spending status, WIC is a discretionary program that goes through the appropriations process, which means that it is subject to the sequester.
For years Congress has provided enough money to cover all eligible applicants for the WIC program, but the sequester would require a reduction in spending on the program from March through September. In addition to low-income women and children losing nutrition assistance and associated nutrition education and breast feeding support, at least 1,600 state and local jobs could be lost as a result.
Federally-assisted programs like Meals on Wheels would be able to serve 4 million fewer meals to seniors, the White House said.
“These meals contribute to the overall health and well-being of participating seniors, including those with chronic illnesses that are affected by diet, such as diabetes and heart disease, and frail seniors who are homebound. The meals can account for 50 percent or more of daily food for the majority of home‑delivered participants,” the White House said.
The Food and Drug Administration would conduct 2,100 fewer inspections at domestic and foreign food manufacturing plants, while USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service would have to furlough all employees for approximately two weeks, the White House said.
“These reductions could increase the number and severity of safety incidents, and the public could suffer more foodborne illness, such as the recent salmonella in peanut butter outbreak and the E. coli illnesses linked to organic spinach, as well as cost the food and agriculture sector millions of dollars in lost production volume,” the fact sheet said.
“Sequestration would result in an across-the-board furlough of as much as 15 days for all FSIS employees, including inspectors,” a USDA official added.
“Since federal law mandates inspection of meat, poultry and egg products, production will shut down for that time period, impacting approximately 6,290 establishments nationwide and costing roughly over $10 billion in production losses. Industry workers would experience over $400 million in lost wages, consumers would experience limited meat and poultry supplies and potentially higher prices, and food safety could be compromised.”
