DOGE Catch-All

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DOGE’s Cuts at the USDA Could Cause US Grocery Prices to Rise and Invasive Species to Spread​

Thousands of US Department of Agriculture employees, including food inspectors and disease-sniffing-dog trainers, remain out of work, leaving food to rot in ports and pests to proliferate.

www.wired.com

DOGE’s Cuts at the USDA Could Cause US Grocery Prices to Rise and Invasive Species to Spread

Thousands of US Department of Agriculture employees, including food inspectors and disease-sniffing-dog trainers, remain out of work, leaving food to rot in ports and pests to proliferate.
www.wired.com www.wired.com

“… Dog trainers are just one example of the kind of highly specialized USDA staff that have been removed from their stations in recent weeks. Teams devoted to inspecting plant and food imports have been hit especially hard by the recent cuts, including the Plant Protection and Quarantine program, which has lost hundreds of staffers alone.

…“It’s causing problems left and right,” says one current USDA worker, who like other federal employees in this story asked to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation. “It’s basically a skeleton crew working now,” says another current USDA staffer, who noted that both they and most of their colleagues held advanced degrees and had many years of training to protect US food and agriculture supply chains from invasive pests. “It’s not something that is easily replaced by artificial intelligence.”

“These aren’t your average people,” says Mike Lahar, the regulatory affairs manager at US customs broker behemoth Deringer. “These were highly trained individuals—inspectors, entomologists, taxonomists.”

… Lahar and other supply chain experts warn that the losses could cause food to go rotten while waiting in ports and could lead to even higher grocery prices, in addition to increasing the chances of potentially devastating invasive species getting into the country. These dangers are especially acute at a moment when US grocery supply chains are already reeling from other business disruptions such as bird flu and President Trump’s new tariffs. …”
 
nycfan said:

DOGE’s Cuts at the USDA Could Cause US Grocery Prices to Rise and Invasive Species to Spread​

Thousands of US Department of Agriculture employees, including food inspectors and disease-sniffing-dog trainers, remain out of work, leaving food to rot in ports and pests to proliferate.

www.wired.com

DOGE’s Cuts at the USDA Could Cause US Grocery Prices to Rise and Invasive Species to Spread

Thousands of US Department of Agriculture employees, including food inspectors and disease-sniffing-dog trainers, remain out of work, leaving food to rot in ports and pests to proliferate.
www.wired.com www.wired.com

“… Dog trainers are just one example of the kind of highly specialized USDA staff that have been removed from their stations in recent weeks. Teams devoted to inspecting plant and food imports have been hit especially hard by the recent cuts, including the Plant Protection and Quarantine program, which has lost hundreds of staffers alone.

…“It’s causing problems left and right,” says one current USDA worker, who like other federal employees in this story asked to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation. “It’s basically a skeleton crew working now,” says another current USDA staffer, who noted that both they and most of their colleagues held advanced degrees and had many years of training to protect US food and agriculture supply chains from invasive pests. “It’s not something that is easily replaced by artificial intelligence.”

“These aren’t your average people,” says Mike Lahar, the regulatory affairs manager at US customs broker behemoth Deringer. “These were highly trained individuals—inspectors, entomologists, taxonomists.”

… Lahar and other supply chain experts warn that the losses could cause food to go rotten while waiting in ports and could lead to even higher grocery prices, in addition to increasing the chances of potentially devastating invasive species getting into the country. These dangers are especially acute at a moment when US grocery supply chains are already reeling from other business disruptions such as bird flu and President Trump’s new tariffs. …”
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“…
The USDA cuts are being felt especially in coastal states home to major shipping ports. USDA sources who spoke to WIRED estimate that the Port of Los Angeles, one of the busiest in the US, lost around 35 percent of its total Plant Protection and Quarantine staff and 60 percent of its “smuggling and interdiction” employees, who are tasked with stopping illegal pests and goods from entering the country. The Port of Miami, which handles high volumes of US plant imports, lost about 35 percent of its plant inspectors.

Navigating the workforce cuts has “been absolute chaos,” says Armando Rosario-Lebrón, a vice president of the National Association of Agriculture Employees, which represents workers in Plant Protection and Quarantine program.

“These ports were already strained in how they process cargo, and now some of them have been completely decimated,” Rosario-Lebrón says. "We could be back to pandemic-level issues for some goods if we don't fix this."

…
Two federal judges and an independent agency that assesses government personnel decisions have already ordered that fired USDA employees be reinstated. Earlier this week, the USDA said that it was pausing the terminations for 45 days and would “develop a phased plan for return-to-duty.” But affected staff remain in the dark about their future, and the Trump administration has signaled it will fight court decisions to reinstate employees, with White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt calling one of the rulings “absurd and unconstitutional.”

As these legal and regulatory battles continue to play out, Hudicka says he anticipates a number of trickle-down effects to happen, such as local market wars over resources, which bigger cities and larger grocery chains will be better equipped for than mom-and-pops and rural communities.

Hudicka says that allowing shipping containers to sit uninspected could also impact other sectors, as the delays will prevent them from being reused for other kinds of goods.

“Those containers are supposed to be moving stuff every day, and now they’re just parked somewhere,” he says. …”
 
nycfan said:
“…
The USDA cuts are being felt especially in coastal states home to major shipping ports. USDA sources who spoke to WIRED estimate that the Port of Los Angeles, one of the busiest in the US, lost around 35 percent of its total Plant Protection and Quarantine staff and 60 percent of its “smuggling and interdiction” employees, who are tasked with stopping illegal pests and goods from entering the country. The Port of Miami, which handles high volumes of US plant imports, lost about 35 percent of its plant inspectors.

Navigating the workforce cuts has “been absolute chaos,” says Armando Rosario-Lebrón, a vice president of the National Association of Agriculture Employees, which represents workers in Plant Protection and Quarantine program.

“These ports were already strained in how they process cargo, and now some of them have been completely decimated,” Rosario-Lebrón says. "We could be back to pandemic-level issues for some goods if we don't fix this."

…
Two federal judges and an independent agency that assesses government personnel decisions have already ordered that fired USDA employees be reinstated. Earlier this week, the USDA said that it was pausing the terminations for 45 days and would “develop a phased plan for return-to-duty.” But affected staff remain in the dark about their future, and the Trump administration has signaled it will fight court decisions to reinstate employees, with White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt calling one of the rulings “absurd and unconstitutional.”

As these legal and regulatory battles continue to play out, Hudicka says he anticipates a number of trickle-down effects to happen, such as local market wars over resources, which bigger cities and larger grocery chains will be better equipped for than mom-and-pops and rural communities.

Hudicka says that allowing shipping containers to sit uninspected could also impact other sectors, as the delays will prevent them from being reused for other kinds of goods.

“Those containers are supposed to be moving stuff every day, and now they’re just parked somewhere,” he says. …”
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I've got a friend who does exactly this kind of invasive species inspection. I guess I need to check on him and his family.
 
They don't need him since they're going to be able to bring back the really, really effective pesticides and herbicides. Make Amerika Great Again.
 
nycfan said:

DOGE’s Cuts at the USDA Could Cause US Grocery Prices to Rise and Invasive Species to Spread​

Thousands of US Department of Agriculture employees, including food inspectors and disease-sniffing-dog trainers, remain out of work, leaving food to rot in ports and pests to proliferate.

www.wired.com

DOGE’s Cuts at the USDA Could Cause US Grocery Prices to Rise and Invasive Species to Spread

Thousands of US Department of Agriculture employees, including food inspectors and disease-sniffing-dog trainers, remain out of work, leaving food to rot in ports and pests to proliferate.
www.wired.com www.wired.com

“… Dog trainers are just one example of the kind of highly specialized USDA staff that have been removed from their stations in recent weeks. Teams devoted to inspecting plant and food imports have been hit especially hard by the recent cuts, including the Plant Protection and Quarantine program, which has lost hundreds of staffers alone.

…“It’s causing problems left and right,” says one current USDA worker, who like other federal employees in this story asked to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation. “It’s basically a skeleton crew working now,” says another current USDA staffer, who noted that both they and most of their colleagues held advanced degrees and had many years of training to protect US food and agriculture supply chains from invasive pests. “It’s not something that is easily replaced by artificial intelligence.”

“These aren’t your average people,” says Mike Lahar, the regulatory affairs manager at US customs broker behemoth Deringer. “These were highly trained individuals—inspectors, entomologists, taxonomists.”

… Lahar and other supply chain experts warn that the losses could cause food to go rotten while waiting in ports and could lead to even higher grocery prices, in addition to increasing the chances of potentially devastating invasive species getting into the country. These dangers are especially acute at a moment when US grocery supply chains are already reeling from other business disruptions such as bird flu and President Trump’s new tariffs. …”
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Thanks, Trumpers.
 
nycfan said:

DOGE representatives visit US Institute of Peace, are turned away​


thehill.com

DOGE representatives visit US Institute of Peace, are turned away

U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP) officials said several members of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) arrived unannounced with FBI agents on Saturday but were denied access to the bu…
thehill.com

“U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP) officials said several members of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) arrived unannounced with FBI agents on Saturday but were denied access to the building after being approached by their counsel.

“They were met at the door by the Institute’s outside counsel who informed them of USIP’s private and independent status as a non-executive branch agency. Following that discussion, the DOGE representatives departed,” Gonzo Gallegos, USIP’s director of communications, said in a statement to The Hill.

… USIP is a national non-partisan organization created by Congress and dedicated to protecting U.S. interests by helping to prevent violent conflicts and broker peace deals abroad according to their website.

It uses federal funding to perform its mission and works closely with the Department of Defense.

A Senate-confirmed Board of Directors made up of the Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense and President of the National Defense University governs the USIP in an effort to align with each presidential administration and their national security efforts.

“As an independent, non-profit organization established by Congress, USIP remains committed to the cooperation and comity with the Trump Administration it has exhibited in its work with seven administrations since its founding under President Ronald Reagan,” Gallegos said after the DOGE visit. …”
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UPDATE:

 
It's interesting how Silence only shows up anymore for these drive-by "hits" where he posts some nonsense about how DOGE is finding all of this fraud, despite all of the clear evidence that DOGE has either been lying or grossly exaggerating about the fraud they've supposedly found and the fact that they have often had no idea of what they're actually doing in terms of investigating agencies, that they have been shown by federal judges to have violated the constitutional rights of federal employees in terminating them with no notice, and just in terms of eliminating necessary jobs, such as cutting nearly all park rangers from many national parks and so on.

It's almost like he isn't really paying attention to any of this, but is just getting his "news" from the usual right-wing sources and then running here to post trolling drive-by hit pieces. And he's stopped discussing almost anything else happening with Trump 2.0, mostly because it's simply indefensible. I mean, we've got other Trumper posters on here who have already been reduced to arguing that Trump's attacks on federal judges and simply ignoring their decisions shouldn't be taken seriously, because he's only "joking". Yes, that is now the best our Trumpers here can do, folks.
 
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FDA staff return to crowded offices, broken equipment and missing chairs​


“…About half the FDA’s 20,000 scientists, attorneys, inspectors and support staff report to the agency’s main campus in White Oak, Maryland, which until the late 1990s was a naval weapons testing facility.

… While many agencies switched to telework work during the COVID-19 pandemic, the FDA began embracing the practice a decade earlier. Most employees had the option to work from home at least two days a week — flexibility that was seen as a competitive perk for recruiting highly trained experts who can often earn more working in industry.


By 7:30 a.m., many on-campus parking lots were full, with cars parked along side streets, according to employees. Some workers reported waiting up to one hour to clear security checkpoints, and photos viewed by the AP showed lines of employees winding out doorways, along sidewalks and around corners.

… Some employees were left to scour the campus for chairs and other essentials.

“People are looting chairs from conference rooms and other buildings,” a staffer said. “We have no supplies. People are hunting around all of the buildings on campus for pads of paper and other basics.”

When employees did get situated, many shared cramped spaces with people from different divisions and teams, making it difficult to hold calls and meetings. Photos shared with the AP show folding chairs and tables setup in hallways and lobbies.

An FDA spokesman said in an email Monday the agency is “is continuing its return-to-office activities to ensure staff remain able to conduct their important public health work.”

All the employees told the AP that they brought their own drinking water Monday. That’s due to a monthslong issue involving Legionella, the bacteria that causes Legionnaires’ disease, which was detected at several FDA buildings. The General Service Administration, which oversees federal buildings, has been working on the issue since last summer. …”
 
nycfan said:


“An internal memo from the Social Security Administration proposes changes to its phone service that could derail the benefits application process for many Americans. …

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It is really hard to escape the notion that this stuff is designed to create “savings” by making it harder for people to get benefits for which they are eligible and call that “fraud prevention”. The only less negative thing I can come up with is that the 20-something bullies Musk has sent in are so inexperienced dealing with elderly and disabled people and so callous that they cannot conceive of people who can’t figure out how to use online systems or who would wait on hold for several hours to do the same thing via phone.
 
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