User Fees Included In USDA’s FY09 Budget
Tuesday, February 5, 2008(American Meat Institute)
The White House and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released their budget proposal for FY 2009 yesterday that includes $96 million in “user fees” for the inspections for meat, poultry and egg inspection.
Under the proposals, $92 million would be generated through a licensing fee that all meat plants would pay based on production levels. An additional $4 million would be collected from plants that require additional testing, have recalls or inspections linked to food-borne illnesses.
“This proposal holds the potential
to undermine the public’s confidence in the
government’s commitment to food safety,”
said American Meat Institute President and CEO
J. Patrick Boyle. Boyle noted that the
proposed food safety tax will foist added costs
on meat and poultry producers and their
products while they are already seeing pressure
from rising feed prices fueled by the ethanol
mandate. “And unfortunately, a tax on
necessary food items hurts the working poor and
disadvantaged the most,” he
added.
Boyle called the proposed
user fee “double dipping,” pointing out
that federal meat and poultry inspection is a
key public health and safety program required
by federal law and funded through tax dollars
already being collected from consumers.
Boyle added that depending on user fees to fund
such a key component of the food safety system
“may raise clear questions, domestically and
abroad, about the independence and efficacy of
food inspections in the U.S.”
AMI will provide further updates on these proposals as the information becomes available.
To review the entire USDA budget proposal for FY2008, click here: http://www.usda.gov/documents/Budget2009.pdf
share on facebook
share on twitter