WASHINGTON, July 14 (UPI) -- U.S. Department of Agriculture officials were both grilled and commended at a congressional hearing Wednesday for their handling of mad cow disease.
The hearing -- a joint session of the House committees on Government Reform and Agriculture -- came a day after the release of a scathing report from the USDA's inspector general citing numerous shortcomings in the agency's mad cow disease surveillance plan that possibly reduced the chances of detecting the deadly illness.
Some committee members, such as Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., primarily focused on the findings of the IG report, including the USDA's failure to test many of the animals considered most likely to have mad cow disease and its problems with obtaining samples from cows that die on the farm.
Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman and other USDA officials testified that many of the issues raised in the IG report had been rectified in their new surveillance plan, which began June 1.
Other committee members, including Rep. Doug Ose, R-Calif., praised the USDA for doing an excellent job dealing with mad cow disease and ensuring the U.S. beef supply is safe.
