Step aside

Here is more from Rep. Rosa DeLauro on a now familiar topic, food safety:

Congresswoman Rosa L. DeLauro (CT-3), chairwoman of the House Agriculture, Food and Drug Administration Appropriations Subcommittee, issued the following statement about Health and Human Services Secretary Michael O. Leavitt requesting additional authority to allow the Food and Drug Administration with explicit extraterritorial jurisdiction for criminal conduct occurring outside the United States that threatens the health and safety of U.S. consumers. "For the Administration to finally recognize that the laws governing the safety of imported food and drugs need strengthening represents the early arrival of April Fool's Day. "The problems plaguing the safety of imported products have been known for years, and go far beyond foreign firms denying U.S. officials access to their facilities. There are other major issues that could have been addressed by the Administration, such as mandatory recall authority and equivalency standards, but were repeatedly dismissed and ignored. The recommendations in their import plan last year were either completely inadequate or included common sense initiatives that could have been easily implemented five years ago. "The Administration lacks the credibility to weigh-in on improving food and drug safety laws. They should step aside and allow those of us in Congress who have been trying to resolve these problems for years to move these issues forward."