Washington, DC – Today, U.S. Representative Jill Tokuda (HI-02) announced she led 32 of her colleagues in a letter urging the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to urgently re-hire terminated Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) agricultural inspectors.
Since February, USDA has terminated at least 5,692 probationary employees, including a reported 200 workers in the plant protection and quarantine program of APHIS. Court orders to reinstate employees have not immediately gone into effect, which has increased the risks of pests and invasive species decimating our nation’s agriculture and economy.
“APHIS agricultural inspectors serve a critical role in protecting and preserving fragile environmental resources and ecosystems that we depend on to grow the food, fuel, and fiber this country runs on. In Hawaiʻi, we are an island state where we greatly depend on these inspectors to ensure a secure exchange of goods and to be the first and best line of defense against invasive species and other threats,” said Rep. Tokuda. “A lapse in the reinstatement of these important federal workers could cause significant and irreparable damage to our agriculture, environment, and economy.”
To better understand and prepare for the impacts of a current decrease in the number of APHIS agricultural inspectors, the letter also requests more details about their termination and reinstatement, as well as measures to maintain a robust agricultural inspection operation in the future.
The letter to the USDA can be found here.
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