WASHINGTON, DC - Bipartisan members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee today wrote to both House Republican and Democratic leadership asking for a swift vote on S.J. Res. 28. The resolution under the Congressional Review Act would remove catfish from the jurisdiction of the USDA, a move that was the result of backdoor negotiations during the 2008 Farm Bill. The resolution will restore the FDA’s authority, and ensure the review of seafood is comprehensive and not arbitrarily split among agencies.
“If enacted, S.J.Res. 28 would transfer jurisdiction over catfish back to the regulatory authority responsible for overseeing other types of seafood, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), ending an unnecessary and duplicative program at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)," wrote the leaders. “The USDA catfish program was created when it was added to the 2008 Farm Bill behind closed doors. This catfish language was not in either the House or Senate Farm Bill, and was never subject to a hearing or public consideration, prior to the Farm Bill conferees adding the language. Quite simply, the House never supported the establishment of this program."
The leaders continued, “There is no justifiable reason for USDA to oversee catfish, while FDA regulates all other seafood. This leaves American seafood companies in the untenable and illogical position of accommodating two sets of federal inspectors overseeing the same facility: one set of inspectors for catfish and another for all other seafood. Both USDA and GAO agree that there is no food safety justification for this regulatory divide. …Additionally, the USDA catfish program will cost American taxpayers an exorbitant amount, with nothing to show for it. According to GAO, the new USDA catfish program would be 20 times more expensive than FDA’s regulation of catfish and ‘would likely not enhance the safety of catfish but would duplicate FDA and NMFS inspections at a cost to taxpayers.’"
The letter was signed by:
* Full committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI)
* Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ)
* Health Subcommittee Chairman Joseph Pitts (R-PA)
* Health Subcommittee Ranking Member Gene Green (D-TX)
* Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-KY)
* Rep. John Shimkus (R-IL)
* Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL)
* Rep. Leonard Lance (R-NJ)
* Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-KY)
* Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY)
* Rep. Paul Tonko (D-NY)
* Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR)
* Rep. Peter Welch (D-VT)
* Rep. John Sarbanes (D-MD)
* Rep. Kurt Schrader (D-OR)
* Rep. Bobby Rush (D-IL)
* Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN)
* Rep. Joseph Kennedy (D-MA)
* Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-VA)
* Rep. Renee Ellmers (R-NC)
* Rep. Larry Bucshon, M.D. (R-IN)
* Rep. Chris Collins (R-NY)
* Rep. Kevin Cramer (R-ND)
* Rep. Bill Flores (R-TX)
* Rep. David Loebsack (D-IA)
* Rep. Kathy Castor (D-FL)
* Rep. Michael Doyle (D-PA)
* Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-KS)
* Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC)
* Rep. Tim Murphy (R-PA)
* Rep. Susan Brooks (R-IN)
* Rep. David McKinley (R-WV)
* Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-FL)
* Rep. Bob Latta (R-OH)
