Politics can be as unpredictable as the weather. And a recent vote by the Eastern Shore’s Congressman, Andy Harris, proves that point. Though Harris represents an agricultural region and chairs the ag subcommittee on the powerful House Appropriations Committee, the legislator recently voted against a federal program that protects the American food supply from the import of unapproved animal and plant materials.
As the previous Congress neared its end in late December, Harris voted No on Senate Bill 759. This measure laid the groundwork for funding of the school that trains dogs, mostly beagles, to sniff out pests and diseases on wild and agricultural items coming into the country. Because the hound has been the favorite canine worker in the program, it has been nicknamed the Beagle Brigade.
Although Harris voted No, the bill passed the House and is now law. The USDA training center for detector dogs, located near Atlanta, can rely on funding beyond user-paid fees that rise and fall erratically with the economy, as was the previous practice. In recent slumps, an association of American pork producers provided resources, according to Congressional testimony. That situation struck observers as a potential conflict of interest.
Despite strong partisanship in Congress in recent years, the beagle measure passed unanimously in the Senate and even enjoyed bi-partisan sponsorship there. No dollar figure was included nor yet forecast by the Congressional Budget Office; the bill simply said the school for detector dogs would be “permanent.” Of the 11 senators who endorsed the bill in the Senate, five were Republicans – Ernst and Grassly of Iowa, Ricketts of Nebraska, Crapi of Idaho and the new vice president of the U.S., J. D. Vance of Ohio. It was introduced by Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock of Georgia.
The bill also passed easily with both parties onboard in the House (381 for, 20 opposed). Harris was one of the 20 No votes. Three messages given to Harris staff in Washington and an email, all seeking his reason for opposition, got no response over a span of a week..
Public perception of the program has been generally positive. Beagles and beagle-mixes are preferred, the Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) asserts, because of ”their keen sense of smell, non-threatening size, …., and gentle disposition with the public.” The agency says it finds all animals for the brigade at shelters.
Over the course of the program’s 40 years, a total of 150,000 interceptions of illicit items have “prevent(ed) the introduction of harmful plant pests and foreign animal disease from entering the U.S.” (CBP post entitled Agriculture Dogs.)
The actual inspections have been performed by agents of the CBP since 2003. They take place at border crossings, preclearance locations, and international passenger airports, where returning Americans are shocked to learn the pressed flowers they innocently collected and the smoked sausage in their carry-on pose threats and are not allowed. Inspections of commercial volumes of fruits and vegetables are conducted at air cargo terminals, ports, and warehouses. Even mail facilities that see heavy international business will receive visits.
From its beginnings with one dog at the Los Angeles airport in 1984, then under Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (often called Aphis for short, which still runs the training school), the Beagle Brigade has grown to about 180 teams of dog and handler, CBP reports. Though no specific mention of the program was found in reviewing Harris sources, the website andyharris.com had the following on its second page on January 22, 2025:
“It’s been my honor to represent all of you and to stand up for your needs in Washington – needs like fighting invasive species in our waterways and on our crops, but also fighting for lower prescription prices and keeping the FDA and CDC accountable.”
Linda G. Weimer
Kent County
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