GRAIN INSPECTION Part 1-A U.S. SENATE, SUBCOMMITTEE ON MARKETING AND STABILIZATION OF PRICES OF THE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE AND FORESTRY, Washington, D.C. Subsequent to the June 19, 1975, hearing on grain inspection, Senator Humphrey, in a letter to Hon. J. Phil Campbell, Under Secretary, U.S. Department of Agriculture, requested that several questions be answered to clarify points which surfaced during Mr. Campbell's testimony before the Subcommittee on Foreign Agricultural Policy and the Subcommittee on Agricultural Products, Marketing, and Stabilization of Prices. The questions submitted by Senator Humphrey and Mr. Campbell's answers thereto follow: LETTER FROM SENATOR HUMPHREY TO HON. J. PHIL CAMPBELL, UNDER SECRETARY, U.S.D.A., JUNE 27, 1975 U.S. SENATE, COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE AND FORESTRY, Hon. J. PHIL CAMPBELL, Under Secretary, U.S. Department of Agriculture, DEAR MR. SECRETARY: I appreciate your testimony before the Subcommittee on Foreign Agricultural Policy and the Subcommittee on Agricultural Production, Marketing, and Stabilization of Prices on June 19. I believe that your testimony and the exchanges of questions and answers with committee members were most helpful in obtaining a better understanding of the problems that we currently face with our grain inspection system. However, a quick review of the hearing transcript has indicated several points which need clarification. Therefore, I am requesting that you provide answers to the attached questions by noon, July 2, so that these questions and answers can be included as an appendix to the hearing record. Hopefully, you will respond in full detail to each of these questions so that it will not be necessary to have you or Secretary Butz reappear before the subcommittees. (157) ARY ARY exports. I will appreciate your cooperation in this endeavor. With best wishes. Sincerely, HUBERT H. HUMPHREY, Chairman, Enclosure. Subcommittee on Foreign Agricultural Polic QUESTIONS FOR UNDER SECRETARY CAMPBELL, JUNE 27, 1975 1. Please describe exactly how our grain marketing and inspec system operates-from the point of first sale at the country elevato the time that the grain is received by a foreign buyer. Please desc each step in the marketing chain and for each step provide a deta description of: (a) The nature of the inspection, grading, sampling, or we ing done at each step. (b) Who performs these functions-Federal, State or pri employees? (c) The authority and responsibility that each of these emp ees has to act to curb such criminal acts as bribery, misgrad short weighing, and theft. (d) Any inherent conflicts of interest that any of these ployees may have due to relationships and interdependenc inspectors, graders, and weighers with owners of elevators, grain companies, and with grain shippers. 2. Secretary Campbell, in your testimony on June 19, you indic that the following actions have been taken to correct deficiencies in grain inspection system: (a) Reorganization of the Grain Division of the Agricult Marketing Service in 1974 and installation of new leadership (b) Initiation of a training and recruiting program to hire upgrade present personnel. (c) Shifting of personnel to meet changing workloads on a tinuing basis. Would you explain, in detail, the change in procedures mad each of these three steps? Explain any improvement in the Grain vision that has resulted from these changes. 3. For fiscal year 1976 and the six previous fiscal years, supply following information: (a) The amount of funds and the manpower requested by Chief of the Grain Inspection Branch to the Grain Division (b) The amount of funds and manpower for the Grain Ins tion Branch requested by the Director of the Grain Divisio the Administrator of the Agricultural Marketing Service; (c) The amount of funds and manpower for the Grain Ins tion Branch requested by the Administrator of the Agricult Marketing Service to the Secretary; (d) The amount of funds and manpower requested for Grain Inspection Branch by the Secretary to the Office of N agement and Budget; (e) The amount of funds and manpower for the Grain Inspection Branch requested by the administration in the annual budget request; and (f) The amount of funds appropriated for the Grain Inspection Branch by the Congress. 4. What system of work measurement do you use in determining your manpower needs for grain inspection? 5. List by year the number of grain supervision inspections over the last 10 years. 6. You stated that if you doubled the number of Federal supervisory personnel you could not prevent wrongdoing. Since it is obvious that doubling the number of Federal supervisory personnel would enable them to better supervise the licensed inspectors, why did you make this statement? 7. How many Federal supervisory personnel would it take to adequately supervise the licensed inspectors? Be precise. 8. What are the standards licensed grain inspectors must meet before being employed by an official inspection agency? 9. What examination do you now require of licensed grain inspectors? 10. Describe the training procedures that are employed by official inspection agencies for licensed grain inspectors. 11. You stated in your testimony on June 19 that written examinations have been required for licensing since September 30, 1974. What kind of examination was required previous to that date? 12. How many of the currently licensed inspectors have ever been subject to a written examination? 13. Describe in detail your training program for Federal grain inspection personnel. Explain why it takes from 1 to 3 years to train a Federal grain inspector. 14. What records do you require that official inspection agencies keep pursuant to section 12 of the U.S. Grain Standards Act? 15. What procedures do you have for auditing the records of official inspection agencies? 16. When were these procedures initiated? 17. What are the tolerances of inspection grades on shiplots and sublots (what percentage of grain is allowed to be of a lower grade)? 18. Provide the number of shiploads of grain leaving U.S. ports in the last 10 years and the number of complaints registered by foreign buyers over the same period. 19. What procedure does the Grain Inspection Branch have for safeguarding the integrity of the samples of grain? 20. Explain the system of coordination between the Grain Inspection Branch and the Food and Drug Administration with regard to food contaminants. 21. Do you see any problem in giving the Grain Inspection Branch the responsibility for the weighing, as well as grading, of grain? If so, explain. 22. What recourse or appeal is available to a buyer-seller who has a dispute on weight under the present system? 23. What would you suggest as an appeal procedure on grain weights? 24. I understand that an employee of the Grain Division, Willard W. Griffin, made reports to his superiors in 1971 and 1972 about irregularities in the inspection system and the need for better inspection procedures. Would you furnish all such reports made by Mr. Griffin in 1971 and 1972 for the record? 25. Mr. Otto Collins promised to provide the name of the person in the USDA who told Mr. Willard W. Griffin to back off his investigation. Please provide this name, together with a written report on the matter, for the record. LETTER FROM HON. J. PHIL CAMPBELL, UNDER SECRETARY, U.S.D.A., TO SENATOR HUMPHREY, JULY 9, 1975 DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, Hon. HUBERT H. HUMPHREY, OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY, Chairman, Subcommittee on Foreign Agricultural Policy, Committee on Agriculture and Forestry, U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C. DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: In answer to your request of June 27, 1975, enclosed are responses to additional questions with respect to your ongoing investigation of the national grain inspection system. Sincerely, Enclosures. J. PHIL CAMPBELL, REPLIES FROM UNDER SECRETARY CAMPBELL TO QUESTIONS SUBMITTED BY SENATOR HUMPHREY, JUNE 27, 1975 Question 1. Please describe exactly how our grain marketing and inspection system operates from the point of first sale at the country elevator to the time that the grain is received by a foreign buyer. Please describe each step in the marketing chain and for each step provide a detailed description of: A. The nature of the inspection, grading, sampling, or weighing done at each step. B. Who performs these functions-Federal, State, or private employees? C. The authority and responsibility that each of these employees has to act to curb such criminal acts as bribery, misgrading, short weighing and theft. D. Any inherent conflicts of interest that any of these employees may have due to relationships and interdependence of inspectors, graders and weighers with owners of elevators, with grain companies, and with grain shippers. Answer. See attachments I and I(A). [ATTACHMENT I] GRAIN INSPECTION ACTIVITIES UNDER U.S. GRAIN STANDARDS ACT 1A. and 1B.-Marketing and inspection activities are fairly well defined into five marketing steps and are listed separately. The term, "in |