WASHINGTON D.C. – U.S. Reps. Mike Thompson (CA-5) and Jared Huffman (CA-2) this week passed an amendment in the U.S. House of Representatives that would provide the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Office of Inspector General (OIG) with $1 million in additional resources to protect our nation’s food supply and help the OIG conduct more efficient investigations into food recalls, like the recall at Rancho Feeding in Sonoma County.

The amendment, which is fully paid for, was offered to H.R. 4800, the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2015.

“With the Rancho recall, I witnessed firsthand the need for USDA’s inspectors to have more resources so they can conduct better and more efficient investigations,” said Thompson.

“From the beginning of the Rancho recall, public safety has been our number one concern,” he said. “We can’t let food get out that puts the health and safety of the American public at risk. That is why it is important that the Office of Inspector General has sufficient resources so they can do their job and ensure our food is safe. This amendment provides them with that support.”

“The Rancho recall clearly demands a serious investigation. Many of my ranching constituents are facing serious financial losses and they can’t get any information from USDA about what happened. We have more information from CNN than we have gotten from USDA – this is completely unacceptable,” said Huffman.

“The public has a right to know what happened, how the process broke down, and who will be held responsible for it. Our amendment ensures the USDA Inspector General’s office has the resources needed to swiftly complete the investigation, close the case, and ensure we get answers so we can prevent this from happening again,” Huffman added.

In February, Rancho Feeding, a Sonoma County-based slaughterhouse, recalled all 8.7 million pounds of beef it processed in 2013.

The USDA was slow to share information about the nature of the recall and what would happen to the beef already processed by Rancho.

The recall put jobs, businesses, and livelihoods at risk, and the length of the USDA investigation, coupled with the lack of information, increased uncertainty for business and consumers.

Specifically, Thompson and Huffman’s amendment transfers $1 million from the USDA Departmental Administration account to the USDA OIG.

These resources will help ensure that the OIG, the office tasked with ensuring the integrity of USDA operations, has the support it needs from Congress to do its job and ensure our food is safe.

Thompson represents California’s Fifth Congressional District, which includes all or part of Contra Costa, Lake, Napa, Solano and Sonoma counties.