FMI: Fee outrageous

As Luis notes in this post on the discussion board, the proposed fee on retailers to help pay for COOL oversight is a nonstarter for ag groups and for retailers.

Here is what FMI said yesterday when I asked them about the issue:

From : John J. Motley III, FMI senior vice president of government and public affairs.

"USDA's proposal to charge the industry 'user fees' to pay for COOL compliance inspections is outrageous. It violates the government's own definition of "user fees," which are supposed to provide the user a clear benefit. In this case, USDA is pursuing a backdoor method to pay for a government regulatory program. The only good news is that this idea is opposed by just about everyone affected by COOL, including one of its strongest proponents, the National Farmers Union. This abusive amendment does not even merit consideration by Congress."

TK: Even if it was trying to prompt Congress to repeal the law by pointing out future program costs, USDA AMS wins no points for this clumsy episode, executed apparently without vetting through industry associations first.