Obama does quick
U-turn on prison pork removal, Grassley
demanded data on 'lowest rated' food, by Douglas Earnst, 10/16/15
The Obama administration
did a rapid U-turn on its decision to remove pork products from federal prisons
after a few questions from Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley.
The federal Bureau of
Prisons’ reversal of the Oct. 1 menu change comes just one week after its
spokesman, Edmond Ross, said pork was the “lowest-rated” food among inmates.
“To corroborate the
validity of the claim that prisoners indicated a lack of interest in pork
products, I am requesting copies of the prisoner surveys and responses that
were used to support the determination to no longer serve pork in federal
prisons,” the Republican senator wrote to the agency on Thursday, the Washington Post reported. “Please provide any economic evaluations the Bureau of
Prisons has relied on that detail the cost of pork as compared to beef,
chicken, and non-meat products such as tofu and soy products.”
Pig products were back
on the menu within hours of the letter’s publication.
Grassley also happens to
be the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which oversees the federal
prison system.
Ross had no answers for
the newspaper when asked to describe the policy shift. “I’m not cleared to say
anything and I don’t have answers for you,” Ross said.
The Council on
American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, applauded the original decision to pull
pork products from federal prisons, but insisted it did not pressure officials
on the issue.
Dave Warner, a spokesman
for the National Pork Producers Council, was incredulous when he spoke to the
Post Oct. 9, saying, “We find it hard to believe that a survey would have found
a majority of any population saying, ‘No thanks, I don’t want any bacon.’” The
federal Bureau of Prisons oversees roughly 200,000 inmates.
http://www.wnd.com/2015/10/obama-does-quick-u-turn-on-prison-pork-removal/
Comments
Obama’s
pork ban was a bold nudge, but the pork producers called their Congressmen and
Grassley called Obama’s bluff about a prison inmate survey indicating they
didn’t like pork. Obviously, it was a lie.
Norb
Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader
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