Senate opponents of a small but controversial U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) catfish inspection program have been outmaneuvered during the farm bill debate.
Last year, the Senate approved an amendment on the farm bill by voice vote to end the USD 14 million annual inspection program that opponents say risks a trade war with Vietnam. That farm bill never made it into law, however.
This year, a farm bill amendment sponsored by Sens. Jean Shaheen (D-N.H.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.) is on track not to get a vote at all. The amendment would have eliminated the USDA program and kept in place a rival Food and Drug Administration (FDA) inspection program.?
