NOBULL: Amendment Ensures USDA Won’t Furlough Inspectors
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| WASHINGTON (DTN) — The Senate voted Wednesday to provide extra funds for USDA to avoid furloughing meat inspectors as senators began wrapping up debate on a bill to fund the federal budget for the rest of the year.
Under sequester, USDA had planned to furlough meat inspectors throughout the country for as many as 11 days, which would have disrupted the meat-packing industry in the process. (DTN file photo) In a voice vote, senators agreed to an amendment by Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., to move $55 million over to the Food Safety Inspection Service from a USDA fund used for grants to fund new cafeteria equipment at schools, as well as money for maintenance at USDA. The move boosted FSIS’ total budget for the year to $1.056 billion, which should adequately fund the agency enough to avoid furloughing meat inspectors. The money was added in an amendment to the Continuing Resolution on the Senate floor to fund the federal government through the end of the 2013 fiscal year that ends Sept. 30. The Senate approved the budget bill late Wednesday afternoon, sending it back to the House for final approval to avoid a possible government shutdown later this month. Under sequester, USDA had planned to furlough meat inspectors throughout the country for as many as 11 days, which would have disrupted the meat-packing industry in the process. USDA had cautioned Senate appropriators last month that furloughs would affect nearly 6,300 meatpacking and egg facilities nationally that would cause as much as $10 billion in production losses and more than $400 million in lost wages for the industry. Still, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack also continued to stress over the past month in hearings that he did not have authority to shift money from other line items at USDA to avoid the furloughs. Vilsack also maintained that the sequester cuts were different than a shutdown of the federal government because there was no assurance funds spent on inspectors would later be reimbursed. Several senators had joined Pryor in pushing for ways to avoid furloughs of meat inspectors. Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., and Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., joined Pryor’s amendment as co-sponsors. Pryor and Blunt are chairman and ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee for Agriculture. "After much hard work, I’m pleased to see that the Senate has unanimously approved our amendment," Pryor said. "By solving this funding gap, we’ve been able to protect private sector jobs, keep food prices affordable, and help nearly 40,000 employees in my state alone." Chris Clayton can be reached at chris.clayton (AG) © Copyright 2013 DTN/The Progressive Farmer. All rights reserved. |
