Allies in Congress back plan to cut $$ for scofflaws

Several powerful allies on Capitol Hill agree with the ILWU that lawbreaking companies do not deserve public subsidies--and they've let the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture know.

Blue Diamond Growers has been getting some serious subsidies from the U.S. government for many years now. Since 2003, the USDA's Market Access Program (MAP) has given Blue Diamond and the California Almond Board more than $9 million to market California almonds overseas. Blue Diamond's status as a proven labor law-breaker hasn't stopped this funding.

Now the Agriculture Dept. is rewriting the rules for the MAP. The ILWU went to the agency's hearings on the rules changes, and proposed restrictions on funds for companies like Blue Diamond that violate the law.

Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), chair of the Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee, wrote a strong letter to the Acting Secretary of Agriculture to support such a change in the MAP rules. Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) co-signed.

Reps. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) and George Miller (D-CA) wrote a similar letter. DeLauro chairs the Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee and Miller chairs the Committee on Education and Labor.

DeLauro and Miller noted that MAP participants must respect all the laws of foreign countries in which they operate.

"American workers should be extended the same courtesy, and domestic laws should be given the same respect," they wrote. "When a MAP recipient violates federal laws, the USDA should take assertive action and punish the violator, if necessary," they said, mentioning Blue Diamond by name.

You will find both the Harkin-Boxer letter and the DeLauro-Miller letter attached to this story.

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