"We do not need
FDA from Field to Fork"
--REP JERRY MORAN
July 16, 09


http://metavid.org/wiki/Stream:House_proceeding_07-16-09_03/0:25:48/0:26:25


9:36 PM
July 28, 09

Tomorrow this bill likely goes before
the House for 40 minutes that can
cost more than 2 Billion to enforce.

Here is a report from
Represtive
that makes a lot of sense.

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/record.xpd?id=111-h20090716-62


THE EXPANDING POWER OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND ITS INTRUSION INTO AMERICA'S BUSINESS
The United States House of Representative

Jul 16, 2009
Section 62


What's this?
The Congressional Record is the official journal of Congress's daily proceedings.

Though often a transcript of the debates on the House and Senate floors,
like C-SPAN transcripts, the Congressional Record
can be significantly modified by Members of Congress
after the fact. Entries in the Congressional Record
can reflect the edited, prepared versions of statements
actually made on the floor, and on very rare occasions
can contain seeming entire debates between Members
of Congress that never took place.

Only floor proceedings are a part of the Record,
and so committee meetings are not available this way.


Primary Source
This excerpt from the Congressional Record comes
from THOMAS (section 62).

In This Section...

Rep. Moran [R-KS1]: Mr. Speaker, unfortunately,
here we go again--yet another attempt to expand
the power of the Federal Government and to intrude
further in America's business. Just like...
Record Text

THE EXPANDING POWER OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
AND ITS INTRUSION INTO AMERICA'S BUSINESS --
(House of Representatives -
July 16, 2009)


Chair: Under a previous order of the House,
the gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Moran)
is recognized for 5 minutes.

Rep. Jerry Moran [R-KS1]: Mr. Speaker, unfortunately,
here we go again--yet another attempt to expand the power
of the Federal Government and to intrude further in America's business.
Just like with cap-and-trade, which was forced upon Members
without proper consideration, here comes another bill
from the Energy and Commerce Committee.
This time it is H.R. 2749, the Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009.

I do believe that our Nation has the safest food supply system
in the world, and I also agree that we should continue
to examine that supply system to make certain that
we continue to improve upon it. However, H.R. 2749
will not make us a better food safety country.
Instead, it will expand the Federal bureaucracy,
and it will impose unnecessary costs on a struggling ag economy.
This legislation represents a dramatic shift in Federal policy that could,
just like cap-and-trade, devastate agriculture.

This legislation was considered by the Energy
and Commerce Committee just a couple of weeks ago.
Now, just like cap-and-trade, the Democratic leadership
wants to bypass the expertise of the Committee on Agriculture
and bring this bill to the floor, this time under
a suspension of the rules--no further consideration,
no markups by other committees of jurisdiction, no amendments,
just a vote.

One provision of H.R. 2749 that is of particular
concern is section 103.
This section would require the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
to set on-farm performance standards. For the first time,
we would have the Federal Government telling
our farmers and ranchers how to grow crops and raise livestock.

The cultivation of crops and the production of food animals
is an immensely complex endeavor involving a vast range
of processes. We raise a multitude of crops and livestock
in numerous regions, using various production methods.
Imagine if the government is allowed to dictate
how all of that is done. Chaos will ensue. Unfortunately,
that is what H.R. 2749 allows.

Those who have never been on a farm will be allowed
to tell a producer how to conduct his or her operations.
We will not improve food safety by allowing the Food and Drug
Administration to tell our farmers what to do.
We will improve food safety by allowing farmers and ranchers
to do something that they and their ancestors have been doing for generations.

There are other problems with this bill as well--new penalties,
recordkeeping requirements, traceability, registration mandates,
user fees--all things that do nothing to prevent food-borne diseases
and outbreaks but that do plenty to keep regulators busy
and that increase costs.

I raised these concerns today in a hearing
of the House Agriculture Committee, which was reviewing food safety.
The witnesses representing the FDA tried to reassure
the committee by telling us not to worry,
that they knew what they were doing
and that they would consult with the Department of Agriculture.
However, the FDA has no expertise in crop and livestock production practices, and I have little confidence that the FDA
will work with the USDA.

In fact, a recent example of the FDA's
unwillingness to accept the expertise of the USDA
was demonstrated this week. It involved another bill, H.R. 1549,
which would restrict--in fact, eliminate--the use of animal antibiotics.
H.R. 1549 would institute a ban on the
nontherapeutic uses of antibiotics, which is a
nother ill-conceived concept concerning a very complex issue.
Yet we learned today that no consultation by the FDA
has occurred with the USDA.

In a hearing earlier this week before
the House Rules Committee,
the FDA suddenly shifted its course and
supported this ban. No new research or scientific analysis
was presented. Again, apparently no consultation
with the USDA occurred. So much for collaborating
with the Department of Agriculture.

Mr. Speaker, we must stop rushing legislation
through Congress without careful, thoughtful
and complete consideration. Congress rarely gets things
right when we have ample time to properly consider policy changes,
but it never makes good decisions when rushed by arbitrary timetables.
H.R. 2749 needs to be referred to the Committee on Agriculture
to allow for necessary improvements to this food safety bill, i
improvements which will actually improve the food safety
of our country and will not shut down agriculture.

We do not need FDA from farm to fork.



 

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