Rand Paul supports bird flu role of agency he tried to cut

WASHINGTON – Presidential candidate Sen. Rand Paul as recently as 2013 proposed cutting an Agriculture Department agency responsible for studying the spread of poultry diseases such as bird flu, a virus that has killed millions of birds in Iowa the past two weeks.

Paul, a Kentucky Republican, had proposed budget plans as recently as two years ago that backed scrapping the USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service, the National Institute of Food and Agriculture and the Agricultural Research Service, which includes a division responsible for studying ways to predict, treat and control poultry diseases.

Steve Grubbs, Paul's chief Iowa strategist, declined to address specific spending reductions at the USDA or whether the senator continues to support cutting those agencies as he has in past budget proposals.

But Grubbs said Paul favors the government playing an active role in working with farmers to combat bird flu because the virus has spread throughout several states. As a result, the outbreak triggers what's known as the commerce clause in the Constitution, effectively giving the government the power to get involved, he said.

"Sen. Paul recognizes that there are important programs in the USDA related to food safety and disease control that need to be protected and potentially enhanced," said Grubbs. Bird flu and other diseases are "a perfect place for the USDA and other federal agencies to play a role."

The budget items were brought to the attention of the Register by former Lt. Gov. Patty Judge.

On May 1, Gov. Terry Branstad declared a state of emergency in Iowa — an action that could help state agencies assist in the disposal of birds stricken by the virus. The virus, which can kill a poultry flock within 48 hours, has struck in 14 states.

In Iowa, more than two dozen cases of avian influenza have been identified, affecting an estimated 20 million birds that have been infected or must be destroyed to contain the disease.

Government officials are still trying to determine how the disease is spreading and find ways to bring it under control.

Paul has pushed for smaller government, sparring with some GOP leaders during his first term in the Senate, blaming them for being part of the problem. Political analysts believe that if elected president, Paul would move to cut the federal government. He has proposed eliminating several Cabinet-level departments including Commerce, Education and Energy.

A spokesman with the USDA declined to comment on Paul's previously proposed cuts.

Ed Schafer, a former agriculture secretary in the George W. Bush administration and a one-time governor of North Dakota, said agencies such as the Agricultural Research Service are especially vulnerable when lawmakers are looking to rein in spending because their results are difficult to measure right away.

Research programs, he said, are vital to helping agriculture thrive by discovering new advancements in yields, improving water management and finding ways for crops to handle weeds and pests.

"I'm all for Rand Paul's efforts to say we need to trim the cost of government. What the trick is is identifying the priorities and putting the money there," Schafer said. "(Research) is an easy one to cut because there is no immediate benefit seen. It comes in minute, little advances but over the long-term you increase the food supply, you make it safer and more affordable. Research, to me, is more important than some other programs."

Ken Blanchard, a professor of political science at Northern State University in Aberdeen, S.D., said it's almost impossible to remove or drastically overhaul a Cabinet department. He noted that President Ronald Reagan campaigned for the presidency in 1980 by promising to abolish the Education Department, which was signed into law by President Jimmy Carter a year earlier.

"Cabinet agencies are like Dracula. No matter how many times you draw the stake in their heart or expose them to light they are always back again for the next movie," Blanchard said. "You've got so many vested interests that the agency manages to put its tendrils into in so many parts of the rest of the country and various private interests. It's just almost impossible" to make a major change to a Cabinet department, he said.

Contact Christopher Doering at cdoering@gannett.com or reach him at Twitter: @cdoering