Agricultural Aspects of Homeland Security Proposal Examined
June 26, 2002 — Chairman Larry Combest (R-TX) and members of the House Committee on Agriculture heard from members of the agricultural community concerned about the proposal to move the Animal Plant and Health Inspection Service (APHIS) to the new Department of Homeland Security.
"There should be no mistake about the fact that the Members of this Committee and all of our constituents are fully committed to the war on terrorism," Chairman Combest said. "The creation of a Department of Homeland Security strikes many as a logical step in that effort. Further, given the importance of protecting the production capability of our rural areas, there should certainly be a role for agriculture in this new Department."
The proposed Department of Homeland Security (DHS) would move two elements of USDA to the DHS. The first element is the Plum Island research facility in New York. This lab has the highest level of biocontainment and is used for quarantine as well as research relating to the most contagious of animal diseases.
The second, and larger element to be transferred is the APHIS. "Given that APHIS employs approximately 3,900 people in Agricultural Quarantine Inspection at 186 ports of entry, working every day to prevent the importation of materials and disease that pose a threat to livestock and plants, it is easy to see how the authors of this legislation might perceive the agency as solely devoted to border protection," Chairman Combest explained.
Chairman Combest continued, "It is important to note that APHIS has a much more complex mission. Monitoring and eradication of plant and animal diseases, wildlife control, facilitating the export of U.S. agriculture commodities, enforcement of animal welfare law, and the negotiation of sanitary and phytosanitary trade agreements are among the complex day to day activities of APHIS. For many of us, the border protection function of APHIS is a largely unseen—though vitally important—subset of the agency's contribution to agriculture's productivity."
"It is clear to almost everyone that there is a need to better coordinate the efforts of our government to protect us against the threats of terrorists here at home. Within the context of that general consensus, however, we must give serious attention to concerns about the potential effects of certain aspects of the proposal put forward by the President," said Charlie Stenholm, the Committee's Ranking Member. "I hope this hearing will help us to sort through these potential effects and pitfalls as we work to craft a solid, common-sense proposal."
"It is important to have the ability to distinguish bioterrorist attacks from natural outbreaks," Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry Commissioner Bob Odom told the Committee. "We strongly believe that maintaining all federal duties and responsibilities dealing with animal and plant health issues under one federal agency is critical for the proper functioning and efficient management of agriculture and the provision of a safe food supply."
Responding to proposals of only removing border inspection components of APHIS to the DHS, Lin Schmale, representing the American Nursery & Landscape Association said, "To us this approach seems even more problematic. Safeguarding is achieved through a continuum of activities in foreign countries, at U.S. ports, and in the interior. The port inspection activities are an integral component, but by no means the only component, of the safeguarding system." Schmale continued, "A split Agency would also jeopardize extensive cooperative program efforts already underway with the States and industry partners."
APHIS operates under 26 different laws, the majority of which give authority to the Secretary of Agriculture and not the agency itself. One of the recent modifications to APHIS law, the Animal Health Protection Act, took nearly twenty years to complete. The implication of this is that the transfer of the APHIS to the DHS would be considerably more complicated than merely shifting boxes on an organizational chart.
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