Harkin Calls for Schedule on GAO Recommendations

September 26, 2000

Sen. Tom Harkin (D_IA) has asked Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman for a schedule on implementing a General Accounting Office recommendation on enforcement of the Packers and Stockyards Act released last week. The report recommended that USDA develop a teamwork approach between economists in the Grain Inspection Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) and attorneys in USDA's Office of General Counsel (OGC) and that USDA determine the number of attorneys needed to participate in the investigations.

"GAO has provided sound recommendations which USDA should carry out as soon as it is practical," Harkin said in the letter to Glickman. "We also need further legislation to address consolidation and vertical integration in agriculture including providing additional authority for USDA." Harkin also asked Glickman to determine additional actions Congress may need to take for USDA to carry out GAO's recommendations and to otherwise ensure effective enforcement of the Packers and Stockyards Act.

"Congress must do its part to provide adequate resources for USDA to do its job of addressing the accelerating pace of consolidation and economic concentration in agriculture to ensure that small producers are treated fairly," Harkin said.