Congressional hearing triggers alarm over lax pest inspections

Issue Date: October 24, 2007

By Kate Campbell
Assistant Editor

Agricultural groups are concerned about poor performance of federal border inspectors since the program switched from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to the Department of Homeland Security.

Inadequate agricultural inspections at U.S. points of entry have caused members of Congress to express grave concern about the nation's increased vulnerability to invasive pests and diseases.

Testimony before a House Agriculture subcommittee outlined just how badly the system is broken since border agricultural inspections were transferred in March 2003 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to the Department of Homeland Security.

The hearing on the current inspection problems underscored calls for transferring agricultural inspections from DHS back to USDA. A joint House committee hearing on Nov. 1 will focus on solutions to the problem.

At the hearing two weeks ago to review the state of border inspections, Lisa Shames, U.S. Government Accountability Office director of natural resources and the environment, testified that although Customs and Border Protection and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) have taken steps to strengthen agricultural quarantine inspections, "the mission has been compromised."

She said that while morale issues were to be expected in the merger establishing DHS and the Customs and Border Protection agency, which has taken over responsibility for agricultural inspections at U.S. points of entry, those in charge did not use key data to evaluate the program's effectiveness. CBP could not explain significant increases and decreases in inspections and interceptions, she said.

"In addition, CBP had not developed performance measures to demonstrate that it is balancing its multiple mission responsibilities, and it does not have sufficient agriculture specialists based on its staffing model," Shames said.

"Until the integration of agriculture issues into CBP's overall anti-terrorism mission is more fully achieved, U.S. agriculture may be left vulnerable to the threat of foreign pests and diseases."

House Agriculture Committee investigator John Jurich called the results of his investigation into the performance of APHIS under DHS "mixed and troubling." He testified that overall interceptions--animal products, plant pathogens and pest confiscations--have declined between 11 percent and 25 percent. Overall violations have dropped off 43 percent.

Juris said at one international point of entry officers reported that after the agricultural compactor used to destroy wet products--confiscated fruits and vegetables--had broken down, it took two years to get the equipment repaired or replaced.

"Inspectors told me this kind of conduct would not have occurred under USDA's APHIS management," Juris said. "At another port, a microscope went unused for years because the port officials simply refused to buy a replacement bulb. There were similar complaints about the inability to obtain routine supplies and to replace broken equipment.

"In a third port, agricultural specialists were working out of the trunks of their cars because they did not have sufficient desks and cabinetry in a warehouse to accommodate their equipment, manuals and other inspection materials. The warehouse was aptly called the 'house of pain.'"

Interviews with field staff also indicated that interdepartmental coordination was either nominal or non-existent and that the agricultural mission at the ports of entry was basically subordinated to the agency's terrorist, illegal alien and illicit drug concerns.

James Taylor, deputy inspector general for DHS told the House Agriculture subcommittee that the results of his department's audit of border inspection functions found issues with accuracy of CBP's data system used to track ports' agriculture inspection activities and there were no comprehensive performance measures to monitor effectiveness of agricultural inspections.

The CBP currently has about 2,100 agriculture specialists but needs 3,200, according to the agency's own estimates. Agricultural inspection rates have fallen dramatically at ports of entry, including San Francisco, Los Angeles, Boston and Miami since the transfer to DHS, government data shows.

Rep. Dennis Cardoza, D-Merced, said testimony before the committee indicates that "DHS is absolutely failing at its mission to prevent bug and pathogen infestations from coming into this country.

"I would characterize it as simply malfeasance," said Cardoza, chairman of the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Horticulture and Organic Agriculture and Organic Agriculture, who presided over the hearing.

"The department is not doing its job," he said. "The transfer has been a colossal mistake and a colossal waste of taxpayer money."

He said DHS is only looking for two-legged terrorists--thugs and drugs--and it has been dismissive of its role in pest inspections and disease exclusion. He pointed out that testimony indicated 80 percent of animal diseases can effect humans if introduced into the U.S. population.

"APHIS was not perfect when it was under USDA, but clearly the problems with lack of inspections has gotten much worse under DHS," Cardoza said. "They need to be held accountable."

Cardoza said that language to transfer APHIS back to USDA was included in the Farm Bill, but it was stripped out of the bill at the request of the Homeland Security Committee on the floor of the House.

"We're not giving up the fight," he said. "There's going to be a joint hearing Nov. 1 between the House committees on Homeland Security and Agriculture. It's imperative we get the word out to the agriculture community that DHS is dropping the ball and not doing the job. Agriculture is at significant risk."

Inspectors indicated during the hearing, however, that improvements are being made to the agricultural inspection function.

In the meantime, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., has introduced a bill that would transfer responsibility for conducting agricultural inspections at all points of entry in the United States from DHS back to USDA.

"Inspections are the first line of defense against exotic pests," Feinstein said. "Yet inspections have dropped dramatically since responsibility has been vested with the Department of Homeland Security."

The USDA estimates that agricultural pests cost American agricultural $41 billion a year. In California alone, pest infestations cost farmers about $3 billion a year.

Feinstein noted that California farmers continue to battle against serious agricultural pests, such as the light brown apple moth, glassy-winged sharpshooter, the Asian long-horned beetle, the Mediterranean fruit fly, and a variety of other potentially damaging pests.

"Once these pests and diseases have entered the country, it is very difficult and expensive to control the damage," Feinstein said. "The best way to prevent damage to our crops is to stop agricultural pests from entering our country in the first place."

Feinstein said that during the time DHS has been in charge of agriculture inspections, Fresno County experienced its first fruit fly outbreak, quarantine and eradication. She said the pest was the peach fruit fly, which is indigenous to Asia.

"This pest is not known to occur in Mexico and had to enter the country through one of the federal ports of entry in smuggled fruit carried in by a passenger," Feinstein said. "The eradication effort cost approximately $1 million.

"It is time to put USDA back in charge of inspections and ensure that keeping these pests out remains a top priority," she said.

In addition to the California Farm Bureau Federation, Feinstein's legislation to transfer APHIS back to USDA is supported by the American Farm Bureau Federation, Western Growers, California Avocado Commission, California Citrus Mutual and California Poultry Federation, as well as Defenders of Wildlife, Environmental Defense, The Nature Conservancy, National Wildlife Federation and the Union of Concerned Scientists.

"Although serious concerns about this nation's protections against invasive pests are being raised by legislators, the political reality is that it's an uphill battle to get bills approved that will strengthen border protections," said Jack King, CFBF National Affairs manager.

"There's frequent mention that DHS has taken some steps to improve the situation, but the mood in Congress now seems to be one seeking real solutions, not empty assurances," King said. "Farm Bureau expressed concern even before APHIS was transferred to DHS and we've been letting members of Congress know ever since that the inspection service is not working."

King said that given the current lack of effectiveness, whatever DHS does to address the problem will be too little, too late.

"Farm Bureau is prepared to bring as much light to this problem as we can," King said. "We've encouraged Congress to take action, in part, because we're now facing multiple pest quarantines in California. Certainly the light brown apple moth infestation is an example of how disrupting and potentially damaging introduction of a new pest can be to this country."

A copy of the GAO report can be found at www.gao.gov/new.items/d06644.pdf.

(Kate Campbell is a reporter for Ag Alert. She may be contacted at kcampbell@cfbf.com.)

Permission for use is granted, however, credit must be made to the California Farm Bureau Federation when reprinting this item. Top