Last week, the USDA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued an audit
report essentially clearing the Beef Board and NCBA of any violations of
laws regulating checkoff spending, and soon after, R-CALF USA called
the report a “colossal whitewash." In response, R-CALF sent an
April 5 letter
to U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and USDA Inspector General
Phyllis Fong, calling the report a "colossal whitewash of monumental
proportions." The group also accused USDA of corruption. “Only within an
agency fraught with corruption and cronyism can a conclusive finding
that the NCBA had improperly charged the beef checkoff fund hundreds of
thousands of dollars nevertheless result in a conclusion by USDA that
NCBA is guilty of no wrong doing. The agency’s pronouncement that such
is the case defies any semblance of logic, impartiality and
credibility.” R-CALF USA urged USDA to denounce the OIG report as a colossal
political sham and whitewash; to permanently suspend the NCBA's
eligibility as a checkoff contractor; to require a complete separation
between the NCBA and the Federation of State Beef Councils; to clarify
that no lobbying group is eligible to contract for beef checkoff funds;
and, to amend the beef checkoff program so the CBB can contract directly
to carry out beef checkoff programs. Read the
full text of the R-CALF complaint...
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