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Groups call special investigator bill duplicative and wasteful

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association says the proposed special investigator bill, that was marked up by the House Ag Committee on Wednesday, is a waste of resources. 

NCBA’s Tanner Beymer tells Brownfield the new position authorized under the Meat and Poultry Special Investigator Act would create a bureaucratic mess.  “They’re creating a new office in addition to one that already exists to enforce the very act this new office would make them enforce,” he says.  “It’s the Packers and Stockyards Act.”

He says it would require the USDA to divert resources from other critical areas of the Agricultural Marketing Service because the position is unfunded.  “We do think there needs to be more enforcement to support robust enforcement of the Packers and Stockyards Act, and if Congress agrees with that, the most commonsense way of achieving that is to provide more resources to the existing agency charged with enforcing the act.”

Beymer says the House Ag Committee would have been better served focusing on adequate staffing for the Packers and Stockers Division at the USDA.  “We would love to have seen the President’s 2023 budget justification requests be considered by the committee,” he says.  “Which calls for additional funding so they can hire additional staff and get some more resources in those offices.”

The North American Meat Institute says the USDA and the Department of Justice already have the authorities this bill would grant, making the bill redundant and wasteful. 

The Meat and Poultry Special Investigator Act establishes an Office of the Special Investigator within USDA to investigate and prosecute Packers and Stockyards Act claims. The office also would have the authority to bring civil actions, a responsibility currently under the Department of Justice’s authority.  The bill now goes to the full House for consideration.