Furloughs for meat inspectors to begin in July
By Charles Abbott | The Morning Call | March 14, 2013

 

 

WASHINGTON — All U.S. meat inspectors will be furloughed on the same days as the federal meat safety agency, a top U.S. Department of Agriculture official said, leading to spotty meat shortages in the summer and fall as automatic spending cuts shave $53 million off the agency's budget.

Agriculture Undersecretary Elizabeth Hagen told a House Appropriations subcommittee on Wednesday that the furloughs, expected to total 11 days before the end of September, were likely to begin in mid-July. None of the days would come consecutively, she added.

Hagen said the nationwide same-day furloughs were designed to treat all regions of the country equally.

Her testimony put a sharper focus on USDA's plans for carrying out the furloughs. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told lawmakers last week that the furlough days would not be consecutive, to minimize disruption to the meat industry.

 

Richard Oravec, who runs a family-owned butcher shop in Allentown, said in a recent interview with The Morning Call that without a federal inspector on site, he can't do his job. His B&M Provisions supplies meat to restaurants but also sells directly to individual customers. Oravec fears a loss of business.

The Obama administration says meat packers and processors would lose $10 billion in production if there was a two-week shutdown of inspections. Meat plants are not allowed to operate without USDA inspection. There could be spotty meat shortages from a slower production system in the summer and early fall.

All 9,212 U.S. meat safety workers will be furloughed at the same time, including 8,136 "front-line" workers including inspectors, lab workers and investigators, Hagen said.

Subcommittee Chairman Rep Robert Aderholt, R-Alabama, said he hoped for a "reasonable and responsible way" to minimize the impact of sequestration. Hagen echoed Vilsack in saying there was no way to avoid the mandatory days off because almost all the safety agency's budget is dedicated to front-line work.

Rep. Kevin Yoder, R-Kansas said there was "healthy skepticism" that a 5 percent cut in USDA's funds would necessitate such draconian cutbacks. And Republican Tom Latham, from the large hog and cattle producing state of Iowa, asked, "Have you been told to make it as painful as possible?"

"Absolutely not," Hagen replied.

USDA is looking for additional savings, she said, and if they are found, the number of furlough days could be reduced.

Separately, lawmakers filed bills in the House and Senate to restore a ban on U.S. slaughter of horses for human food and to stop shipment of horses to Canada and Mexico for slaughter.

Sen. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, a sponsor, said horse slaughter "is revolting to me as a horse owner (and) also as a consumer." A ban would preclude a U.S. replica of the current European scandal of horse meat having been passed off as beef, she said.

From 2006 onward, Congress passed an annual ban on horse slaughter but the language was dropped in 2012.

 

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