Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack was asked to co-lead a team tasked with addressing the supply chain crisis but never attended a meeting.
After the Functional Government Institute submitted a Freedom of Information Act request to the Department of Agriculture, records showed that meetings between the secretary and those designated to serve on the team have not participated in any meetings for the Supply Chain Disruptions Task Force, the institute said, according to documents obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.
The task force was established by President Joe Biden in February 2021 after the supply chains were crippled that year by pandemic-era restrictions and increases in spending. The Biden administration said it has “drastically expanded” the manufacture of vaccines and other essential supplies, as well as improving semiconductor chip production practices to strengthen the supply chain.
EGG SMUGGLING INTO US SKYROCKETS AMID RISING PRICES
Records show that, despite these successes, Vilsack did not have a meeting with the task force after its launch. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, who was the other co-chairman of the task force, did not attend any meetings because he was on paternity leave beginning in August 2021.
The Department of Agriculture produced 19 pages of records showing all of Vilsack’s memos, meeting minutes, and calendar entries and invitations through July 28, 2022. Fourteen pages were public statements from the Agriculture Department and the White House, and the remaining five were briefing materials for the task force’s launch event, according to the report.
Vilsack’s name was only mentioned twice in the 19-page records in a 2021 press release, which detailed the Agriculture Department investing $4 billion to strengthen the food system. A February 2022 press release stated that the department would commit $215 million to the food supply chain, claiming that Vilsack has played an integral role in bringing industry, labor, and federal partners together to address the supply chain.
The United States is still facing supply chain issues, particularly in the egg industry. The Agriculture Department reported a lower-than-usual egg inventory due to bird flu, which in turn made the cost of eggs rise dramatically. There was a 210% price spike the week before Christmas.
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Egg-smuggling at the U.S. borders with Mexico and Canada has skyrocketed as the public turns abroad for its eggs.
On the other side, supplies for children, including fever- and pain-relieving medicine and baby formula, have consistently been in short supply due to a surge in the flu and the coronavirus among children.
