GAO Report Released: Agricultural Quarantine Inspection Fees: Major Changes Needed to Align Fee Revenues with Program Costs

Recently, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report, titled Agricultural Quarantine Inspection Fees: Major Changes Needed to Align Fee Revenues with Program Costs GAO-13-268 (Mar. 1, 2013). The details of the 56-page report, available here, are discussed below:

Why GAO Did This Study

The AQI program guards against agriculture threats by inspecting international passengers and cargo at U.S. ports of entry, seizing prohibited material, and intercepting foreign agricultural pests. The program, which cost $861 million in 2011, is funded from annual appropriations and user fees. GAO has reported several times on the need to revise the fees to cover program costs as authorized. In 2010, [Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS)] initiated a review of AQI costs and fee design options. APHIS and CBP are considering options for a new fee structure. Pending departmental approval, APHIS expects to issue a proposed rule in fall 2013. GAO was asked to examine issues related to the AQI fees. This report examines 1) the fees currently charged and proposed revisions; 2) how fee revenues are allocated between the agencies; and 3) the extent to which fee collection processes provide reasonable assurance that all AQI fees due are collected. To do this, GAO reviewed AQI fee and cost data, and relevant laws, regulations, and policies; observed inspections at ports of entry; and interviewed APHIS and CBP officials.

What GAO Recommends

GAO is making a number of recommendations aimed at more fully aligning fees with program costs, aligning the division of fees between APHIS and CBP with their respective costs, and ensuring that fees are collected when due. Further, GAO suggests Congress amend the AQI fee authority to allow the Secretary of Agriculture to set fee rates to recover the full costs of the AQI program. USDA and DHS generally agreed with the recommendations.

Horse Welfare: Action Needed to Address Unintended Consequences from Cessation of Domestic Slaughter -- GAO

This Government Accountability Office Report (GAO-11-228) dated June 2011,  finds that since domestic horse slaughter ceased in 2007, the slaughter horse market has shifted to Canada and Mexico.

From 2006 through 2010, U.S. horse exports for slaughter increased by 148 and 660 percent to Canada and Mexico, respectively. As a result, nearly the same number of U.S. horses was transported to Canada and Mexico for slaughter in 2010—nearly 138,000—as was slaughtered before domestic slaughter ceased.

Available data show that horse prices declined since 2007, mainly for the lower-priced horses that are more likely to be bought for slaughter. GAO analysis of horse sale data estimates that closing domestic horse slaughtering facilities significantly and negatively affected lower-to-medium priced horses by 8 to 21 percent; higher-priced horses appear not to have lost value for that reason. Also, GAO estimates the economic downturn reduced prices for all horses by 4 to 5 percent.

Animals in Crisis: Using The Laws We Have, Getting The Laws We Need -- Conference

This Conference on Animal Law will take place on October 15-17, 2010 at Lewis & Clark Law School, Portland, Oregon.

Dr. Sheri Speede of In Defense of Animals-Africa, and Katrina Sharman, general counsel for Voiceless, the Animal Protection Institute (Australia), will deliver two special keynote addresses. Dr. Speede and Ms. Sharman will present along with an exciting list of speakers, including: Joyce Tischler, founder and general counsel at the Animal Legal Defense Fund, Steven M. Wise, acclaimed author and founder of the Center for the Expansion of Fundamental Rights, Katherine Meyer, partner at Meyer, Glitzenstein & Crystal, Nancy Perry, vice president of governmental affairs at the Humane Society of the U.S., Pamela Frasch, assistant dean and executive director of the Center for Animal Law Studies at Lewis & Clark Law School, Carter Dillard, director of litigation at the Animal Legal Defense Fund and Kathy Hessler, professor and director of the Animal Law Clinic at Lewis & Clark Law School, among others.

Several topics will be explored, including:

•Current animal law litigation and legislation
•The Gulf oil spill
•Humane labeling regulation and enforcement
•Laws that mandate and prohibit reporting animal abuse
•Primates in captivity
•Federal subsidies & CAFOs (confined animal feeding operations)
•Using environmental laws to assist animal law objectives, and
•Explorations on how the animal advocacy movement has changed and progressed