Its the third time GAO has singled out the USDA Catfish Inspection programme. In February of 2011 the government watchdog cited it as part of its report on programmes that were at high risk for waste, fraud and abuse. Then in March of 2011 the agency called it duplicative as part of another report, this time on areas where the feds could reduce duplication of government programmes.
The independent report, calling for repeal of the programme, comes less than 24 hours after Senators John McCain and John Kerry launched a bipartisan effort to get rid of it, announcing that the pair would lead a group in filing an amendment to the Farm Bill that would end the programme.
Senators McCain and Kerry will help create American jobs and reduce government waste by eliminating this duplication, said John Connelly, President of the National Fisheries Institute. The GAO report confirms what these Senators have been saying all along. This is a programme that must be repealed.
For more than 60 years, the National Fisheries Institute (NFI) and its members have provided American families with the variety of sustainable seafood essential to a healthy diet.
Government Watch Dog says Repeal Catfish Inspection Programme
US - A new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report recommends that Congress should consider repealing provisions of the Farm Bill assigning USDA responsibility for catfish inspection.
by Lucy Towers
