In a letter to Sens. Tom Harkin (Iowa) and Saxby Chambliss (Ga.), chair and ranking member of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee, respectively, agricultural groups supported restoring the functions of the Quarantine and Inspection program to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

In 2003, inspectors dedicated to identifying agricultural threats were transitioned from the USDA to the DHS. A May 2006 Government Accountability Office report documented a number of disturbing findings and identified several areas where improvements in the quarantine and inspection procedures were urgently needed. DHS has not developed sufficient performance measures that take into account the agency's expanded mission or considered all pathways by which prohibited agricultural items or foreign pests may enter this country.

Despite many assurances that performance would improve, the problems continue, and thus, the signators of this letter conclude that improvement is not possible in the current structure.

The letter goes on to say that the threat of pests and disease is too great to continue to wait. The USDA program had a positive track record by which the DHS's poor performance is judged. According to a 2004 Cornell study, the cost of invasive species is estimated at $120 billion annually, and the number of occurrences in this country has risen dramatically over the years.

The signing parties resolutely support the DHS' statutory mission to protect the country from terrorist attack and reduce the vulnerability to such threats. Restoring agricultural functions to USDA will simultaneously improve the detection of agricultural risks while permitting the DHS to focus on the important mission of overall security.

In conclusion, it was requested that in an effort to protect American agriculture and its natural environment, the Agricultural Quarantine and Inspection functions must be transitions from the DHS to USDA to restore the confidence the agricultural community has in this important safeguard.
Staff contact: Peter Orwick, ext. 33

<< Back