DeLauro zeroes out funding for animal ID

(6/11/2009)

Sally Schuff

New funding for the troubled National Animal Identification System (NAIS) was dropped today from the fiscal 2010 spending bill. Agricultural appropriations subcommittee chairwoman Rosa DeLauro (D., Conn), who has been a strong critic of how the U.S. Department of Agriculture has handled millions of dollars spent on the program, said “continued investments into the current NAIS are unwarranted” until USDA comes up with a better plan.

“After receiving $142 million in funding since fiscal year 2004, (USDA’s Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service) has yet to put into operation an effective system that would provide needed animal health and livestock market benefits,” she said.

DeLauro noted that USDA currently is conducting a series of NAIS listening sessions nationwide, and funding will be suspended until the conclusion of those sessions and until USDA “provides details as to how it will implement an effective ID system.”

Tags: NAIS NAIS Bad Idea

7 thoughts on “DeLauro zeroes out funding for animal ID”

AFTER REFLECTION on Delauro’s pulling of the funding I think it is a mistake to see the DeLauro thing as a victory but only as a skimish. I believe we may
be reading into it what we want and a bit of common sense that is completely missing in DC. DeLauro is withholding money not because it is a bad program, but because she is upset that USDA can’t make it work and hasn’t achieved mandatory NAIS yet.

Remember when the Feds wanted the states to all go to a 55 MPH speed limit. They withheld money as an extortion tactic until the states complied. This is what DeLauro is doing…. holding up desperately needed finances… THE DOG FIGHT HAS JUST BEGUN.

~ Drew ~

I agree with Drew. DeLauro has been pushing this for a long time. This is just another tactic. Us NoNAISers have learned over the past several years how to read between the lines.