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GRAIN INSPECTION

Part 1-A

U.S. SENATE, SUBCOMMITTEE ON
FOREIGN AGRICULTURAL POLICY, AND
SUBCOMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION,

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,
Washington, D.C., June 27, 1975.

tment

Hon. J. PHIL CAMPBELL,
Tnder Secretary, U.S. Department of Agriculture,
Washington, D.C.

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)

As you know, I feel that we must move very quickly to take legislative and administrative action to restore confidence in U.S. grain exports. I will appreciate your cooperation in this endeavor.

With best wishes.

Sincerely,

HUBERT H. HUMPHREY,

Chairman,

Enclosure.

Subcommittee on Foreign Agricultural Policy.

QUESTIONS FOR UNDER SECRETARY CAMPBELL, JUNE 27, 1975

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.

2. Secretary Campbell, in your testimony on June 19, you indicated that the following actions have been taken to correct deficiencies in the grain inspection system:

(a) Reorganization of the Grain Division of the Agricultural Marketing Service in 1974 and installation of new leadership.

(b) Initiation of a training and recruiting program to hire and upgrade present personnel.

(c) Shifting of personnel to meet changing workloads on a continuing basis.

Would you explain, in detail, the change in procedures made by each of these three steps? Explain any improvement in the Grain Division that has resulted from these changes.

3. For fiscal year 1976 and the six previous fiscal years, supply the following information:

(a) The amount of funds and the manpower requested by the Chief of the Grain Inspection Branch to the Grain Division;

(b) The amount of funds and manpower for the Grain Inspection Branch requested by the Director of the Grain Division to the Administrator of the Agricultural Marketing Service;

(c) The amount of funds and manpower for the Grain Inspection Branch requested by the Administrator of the Agricultural Marketing Service to the Secretary;

(d) The amount of funds and manpower requested for the Grain Inspection Branch by the Secretary to the Office of Management 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 in

spectors!

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?

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