Rosa speaks

TK: Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., chairwoman of the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee, delivered remarks on the the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives as the House began consideration of the fiscal year 2008 Agriculture, Rural Development, and Food and Drug Administration Appropriations Bill (H.R. 3161).

Below are some excerpts of her remarks that speak to food safety(provided by her office) :


“Mr. Chairman, I'm pleased to present to the House H.R. 3161, the fiscal year 2008 appropriations bill for Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies. This is a critical time for our nation, and we have a chance to acknowledge and honestly confront some our toughest challenges.

“Our top priority has always been to move with a clear purpose and direction toward several key goals: strengthening rural America, protecting public health, improving nutrition for more Americans, transforming our energy future, supporting conservation, investing in research, and finally, enhancing oversight.

“It begins with our Fiscal Year 2008 Mark providing a total discretionary resources of $18.8 billion -- $1 billion or (5.7%) above 2007 and $987.4 million or (5.5%) above the budget request. To be sure, a full 95% of the increase above the budget request or $940 million is used to restore funding that was either eliminated or cut in the president’s budget.

“Protecting Public Health is another of our priorities and our Subcommittee stepped up. The bill provides $1.7 billion for the Food and Drug Administration, that’s $128.5 million over 2007 and $62 million over the budget request. In addition, $7 million in the manager’s amendment in order for us to be able to inspect produce coming in from foreign countries. This is what the commitee hopes will be the first step in a fundamental transformation in the regulation of food safety at FDA. The Committee directs the FDA to submit a plan to begin changing its approach to food safety when it submits the fiscal year 2009 budget, giving the Committee time to review the plan before the funds to implement it become available on July 1, 2008. We can help with additional resources, but there also needs to be a corresponding commitment from management to perform its duties.


TK: We had heard about the plus spending for the FDA from DeLauro. However, the manager's amendment that provides $7 million to inspect produce from other countries is a new wrinkle and bears some investigation. Also notable is committee's direction to the FDA to "change its approach" to food safety.