LAWMAKERS TO FDA: WHERE DOES THE FOOD SAFETY MONEY GO?: House Appropriations Chair Rosa DeLauro and Rep. Sanford Bishop, chairman of the Ag Appropriations Subcommittee, are pressing the FDA for answers on how the agency is spending hundreds of millions of dollars Congress has allotted for food safety. "We write to express concern over the lack of transparency related to the budget for food programs at the Food and Drug Administration," the lawmakers wrote to acting FDA commissioner Janet Woodcock late last week. Where have all the food inspections gone? DeLauro and Bishop note that FDA's Office of Regulatory Affairs, or ORA — the arm of FDA that does inspections and other field activities — receives about 70 percent of the money Congress appropriates for the foods side of FDA. They want to know how the office is spending the money because it appears food safety activities have been dwindling, a trend that started before the pandemic. Between fiscal year 2018 and 2019, ORA's food funding was relatively flat at $732 million but "key indicators of performance declined significantly," the lawmakers said. Domestic inspections decreased 18 percent; visual exams of imported food products decreased by 25 percent; and sampling of imported products decreased 21 percent, the letter states. Congress has questions: DeLauro and Bishop, two of the lawmakers who hold FDA's pursestrings, want to know why the agency has apparently cut back on food inspections. They want a full accounting of food inspection staffing levels and why there are so many inspector vacancies. Lawmakers are also asking for an estimate of how much domestic and foreign food safety inspections cost. Thought bubble: These are pretty basic questions for appropriators to be asking about how FDA functions, which suggests the agency has not been as forthcoming as lawmakers would like. The inspection mandate debate: The letter comes after top FDA officials recently floated scaling back the agency's inspection mandate under the landmark Food Safety Modernization Act, which includes a requirement to inspect all high-risk food facilities at least once every three years and other food facilities at least once every five years. Consumer lobby is not happy: Top voices in consumer advocacy are already raising concerns about the direction FDA is headed. "The letter asks some very important questions about how the food safety budget is managed at the FDA and calls into question the validity of the agency's recent proposal to reduce FSMA's inspection frequency requirements," said Brian Ronhom, director of food policy at Consumer Reports. 'It would be a mistake': Mike Taylor, former deputy commissioner for foods and veterinary medicine at FDA, where he was the driving force behind FSMA, also expressed concern. "The domestic facility inspection mandate was a crucial part of the legislative agreement that made FSMA possible and provides a crucial measure of accountability for FDA and the food industry, as well as an assurance to consumers that at least some minimum level inspection will occur," Taylor said. "It would be a mistake to repeal it." LET THE TRADE TALKS BEGIN: Leading trade officials from the U.S., Mexico and Canada will launch two days of talks today as the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement nears its one-year anniversary, reports POLITICO's Doug Palmer. But U.S.-Mexico immigration and labor tensions are casting a shadow over any celebrations. Tit-for-tat labor cases: The trade leaders will likely have to confront complaints that U.S. and Mexico have filed against each other over labor issues, including Mexico's grievances over how migrant workers are treated in the United States at meatpacking facilities and in the agricultural industry broadly. The risk: Automotive and agricultural trade between the two countries could be hurt if the disputes escalate and trade sanctions are imposed. Mexican ag barriers: U.S. farm groups and farm state lawmakers have been alarmed by several agricultural actions taken by Mexico over the past year, issues that were hashed out when U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai testified last week before the Senate Finance Committee. The issues include Mexico's policies on genetically modified corn and the herbicide glyphosate and a new food-labeling law aimed at combating obesity. Canadian dairy case: The dairy industry is also trying to prod Canada to open up its market more quickly to milk, cheese and other dairy products from the United States. Tai told the House Ways and Means Committee last week that she took the case seriously and hoped to resolve it through discussions with Canada rather than through litigation. In contrast to the blunt language of her predecessor, Tai also said it was too early to say Canada had violated its dairy commitments. You win some: But the U.S. has also notched some recent trade victories, such as one concerning Mexico's longstanding import restrictions on U.S. potatoes. As Morning Ag readers may remember, the Mexican Supreme Court recently ruled that the government can no longer restrict imports of U.S. potatoes to within 16 miles from the border, clearing the way for talks between the two countries on increased trade. Stay tuned to Pro's coverage for details on the three-country talks. MISSISSIPPI RIVER REOPENS, HIGHLIGHTING INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDS: The Coast Guard on Friday lifted a traffic shutdown on the Mississippi River near Memphis that was blocking more than a thousand barges and disrupting grain shipments because of a fractured bridge over the river, as Reuters reports. Why it matters: The Mississippi River is a critical waterway for Midwestern farmers sending corn, soybeans and other commodities to New Orleans for export. The temporary shutdown highlights how much agriculture depends on upgrades to America's crumbling roads, bridges and other so-called hard infrastructure. But, but, but: As MA readers may recall, farm groups have been strangely quiet about President Joe Biden's push for a $2.5 trillion infrastructure package. That's largely because of skepticism about how Congress might offset the heavy spending, including tax changes that could potentially hit farmers unless they're carved out. U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other business groups, too, are betting that Biden will not succeed in pushing through any tax-the-rich initiatives in a final deal, as POLITICO's Ben White writes. | 
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