House Ag Committee Leaders Press USDA to Restore Grain Inspection to Washington State Port

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) should immediately restore grain inspection services to the Port of Vancouver in Washington State in order to maintain the flow of grain products of the U.S., said House Agriculture Committee majority leadership in an Aug. 7 letter to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack. USDA suspended the inspection services in early July over security threats posed by International Longshore and Warehouse Union picketing, said U.S. Wheat Associates, an agricultural export advocacy organization. The union is locked in a labor dispute with United Grain, said the organization in a briefing. But USDA officials who conducted a recent security assessment said the security threats are insignificant, said the House Agriculture Committee leadership. “Those officials have confirmed that there are no security concerns that would prevent USDA grain inspectors from entering or exiting the facility through the vehicular gate, or by helicopter,” said committee Chairman Frank Lucas, R-Okla., and Rep. Mike Conaway, R-Texas, a subcommittee chairman, in the letter to Vilsack. “As someone who has spent considerable time and energy fighting to open international markets for our agricultural products, we know that you are concerned about the potential loss of those markets due to the closure of this important export terminal.” Moreover, the lawmakers said USDA officials refused to specify the precise threats that warrant suspension of services.