Several Developments Pose Challenges to Inspection Program

APHIS’ inspection workload has increased dramatically since 1990 because of growth in imports and exports, increased travel, and increased smuggling. Responding to the growing importance of trade to the national economy and to recent trade agreements, APHIS has taken an active role in facilitating trade. APHIS Changed Its Inspection Program to Address the New Challenges

APHIS made a number of changes to its inspection program to respond to the demands of its growing workload. To improve its ability to select passengers for inspection, APHIS is refining the list of risk characteristics that inspectors use in selecting passenger bags for inspection. APHIS Implemented Program to Determine Pest and Disease Risks at Ports

In October 1996, APHIS began implementing the AQI Results Monitoring Program, which is intended to measure the effectiveness of its inspections nationwide and provide information on which ports of entry pose the highest risk of having harmful pests and diseases enter the country. Furthermore, APHIS has little assurance that it is deploying its limited inspection resources efficiently and effectively because of weaknesses in the staffing models it uses for making such decisions. However, APHIS officials have not yet determined how to incorporate this information into the models. In view of APHIS’ increasing workload, it is critical that the agency be able to allocate its limited inspection resources to the ports of entry with the highest risks of pest and disease introduction. Major contributors to this report are listed in appendix V.

Objectives, Scope, and Methodology

The objective of our review was to assess the effectiveness of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) in minimizing the risks to agriculture from pests and diseases entering the United States. Specifically, we (1) identified recent developments that challenge the Agricultural Quarantine and Inspection (AQI) program’s resources and ability to carry out its mission, (2) reviewed APHIS’ efforts to cope with these developments, and (3) reviewed the effectiveness of the inspection program in keeping pace with workload changes. We discussed with APHIS officials (1) shifts in staffing and funding, (2) programs used to reduce the inspection workload at U.S. ports of entry, (3) program priorities, (4) the implementation and use of the results monitoring program and staffing models, and (5) inspection coordination with the other Federal Inspection Service (FIS) agencies. Inspection staffing levels rose about 44 percent from fiscal year 1990 through 1996. To detect pests and contraband, AQI staff use a range of strategies, such as screening, detector dogs, and x-rays.
Why GAO Did This Study

GAO reviewed the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service's (APHIS) efforts to minimize the risks to agriculture from pests and diseases entering the United States, focusing on: (1) recent developments that could challenge the ability of APHIS' Agricultural Quarantine and Inspection program to carry out its mission; (2) APHIS' efforts to cope with these developments; and (3) the effectiveness of the inspection program in keeping pace with workload changes.

What GAO Found

GAO noted that: (1) several developments are challenging APHIS' ability to effectively manage its inspection program; (2) key among these is the rapid growth in international trade and travel since 1990, which has dramatically increased the amount of cargo and the number of passengers that inspectors are to examine; (3) in addition, policy changes that emphasize facilitating trade and customer service have put pressure on APHIS to carry out its increased inspection responsibilities more quickly in order to speed the flow of passengers and trade; (4) APHIS has taken several steps to cope with these developments; (5) it increased funding and staffing for inspections by about 78 percent and 44 percent, respectively, from fiscal year (FY) 1990 to 1996; (6) the agency has attempted to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of its inspections by: (a) using other inspection techniques in addition to visual inspections, such as x-ray technology and detector dogs, to pinpoint prohibited agricultural products, such as untreated fruits, vegetables, and meats from countries that present a higher risk for pests and diseases; and (b) coordinating with other Federal Inspection Service agencies to maximize inspection activities; (7) APHIS began implementing its results monitoring program in FY 1997 to better understand which ports of entry and commodities pose the highest risks of entry for harmful pests and disease; (8) despite these changes, inspectors at the ports GAO visited are struggling to keep pace with increased workloads; (9) heavy workloads have led to inspection shortcuts, which raise questions about the efficiency and overall effectiveness of these inspections; (10) on a broader scale, APHIS' efforts to address its workload problems are hampered by inadequate information for determining how to best deploy its inspectors; (11) in particular, its current staffing models, mathematical formulas used to help determine inspection staffing needs, are not based on reliable information and do not incorporate risk assessment factors similar to those being developed in its results monitoring program; and (12) consequently, APHIS has little assurance that it is deploying its limited inspection resources at the nation's ports of entry that are most vulnerable to the introduction of pests and diseases.