Kucinich Opens Inquiry into USDA Inspections of the Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing Plant

Washington, Feb 22 -

Chairman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), of the Domestic Policy Subcommittee, sent the following letter to Secretary of Agriculture, Ed Schafer, calling for inspection documents for the Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing plant in Chino, CA.

The letter sent by Chairman Kucinich stated:

February 22, 2008

Ed Schafer, Secretary

U.S. Department of Agriculture

1400 Independence Avenue SW

Washington, DC 20250

Dear Secretary Schafer:

Revelations of animal cruelty and the processing of downer animals at the Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing plant in Chino, CA have shocked the nation.

The Domestic Policy Subcommittee is initiating an inquiry into the quality and reliability of the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS). To assist the subcommittee in its inquiry, I request the following:

1) All records, including time records, of USDA FSIS inspectors at the Hallmark/Westland Packing Plant, at all points in the slaughter process, including inspections of live animals in the ante mortem pens, in the time period January 2005 to the present; and

2) All documents created by or issued to USDA FSIS inspectors at the Hallmark/Westland Packing Plant, at all points in the slaughter process, in the time period January 2005 to the present.

The Oversight and Government Reform Committee is the principal oversight committee in the House of Representatives and has broad oversight jurisdiction as set forth in House Rule X. Please provide these documents no later than 5:00 PM on Friday, March 7, 2008. An attachment to this letter provides additional information on how to respond to the Subcommittee’s request.

Sincerely,

Dennis J. Kucinich

Chairman

Domestic Policy Subcommittee

###