Vilsack: Meat inspector furloughs necessary to meet budget
February 13, 2013 | 04:43 PM
The Agriculture Department’s Food Safety and Inspection Service will have to furlough meat, poultry and egg product inspections if sequestration goes into effect on March 1, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack wrote American Meat Institute in a letter Tuesday.
AMI President and CEO J. Patrick Boyle had written Vilsack and President Barack Obama that USDA has a “statutory obligation” to keep FSIS inspectors on the job.
Vilsack replied that FSIS has already cut expenses to try to shorten the furloughs, but will have to enact them.
“You are correct in your assertion that FSIS’ governing statute imposes an obligation on the department to provide inspection,” Vilsack wrote.
“However, our view of those authorities is that they allow for furloughs in order to comply with budget and fiscal laws enacted by Congress. Unlike other budget scenarios, such as a short-term government shutdown, the exemption provisions of the sequestration statutes do not include exceptions that would be applicable to FSIS inspection activities.”
The White House noted last Friday that inspector furloughs would cause production in meat, poultry and egg product plants to shut down, impacting approximately 6,290 establishments nationwide and costing more than $10 billion in production losses, while industry workers would experience more than $400 million in lost wages.
Meat supplies would be disrupted and prices would be likely to rise, the White House said.
Vilsack Letter to Boyle
AMI President and CEO J. Patrick Boyle had written Vilsack and President Barack Obama that USDA has a “statutory obligation” to keep FSIS inspectors on the job.
Vilsack replied that FSIS has already cut expenses to try to shorten the furloughs, but will have to enact them.
“You are correct in your assertion that FSIS’ governing statute imposes an obligation on the department to provide inspection,” Vilsack wrote.
“However, our view of those authorities is that they allow for furloughs in order to comply with budget and fiscal laws enacted by Congress. Unlike other budget scenarios, such as a short-term government shutdown, the exemption provisions of the sequestration statutes do not include exceptions that would be applicable to FSIS inspection activities.”
The White House noted last Friday that inspector furloughs would cause production in meat, poultry and egg product plants to shut down, impacting approximately 6,290 establishments nationwide and costing more than $10 billion in production losses, while industry workers would experience more than $400 million in lost wages.
Meat supplies would be disrupted and prices would be likely to rise, the White House said.
Vilsack Letter to Boyle
