Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2019

Floor Speech

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Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, the President is holding the country hostage, putting hundreds of thousands of families at great risk.

The President has manufactured a crisis at the border that has no basis in fact and has used the wall to incite fear. Vital agriculture programs, which millions of families and farmers depend on, are at risk.

At the U.S. Department of Agriculture, farm service loans are stalled, family farmers need the capital to buy seed and equipment for the approaching planting season. Rural development programs are at risk.

Food stamps, food banks, and food programs are down to their last dollars. School lunch programs and other nutrition programs are at risk. Forty-seven million Americans could go hungry.

Let's take a look at the Food and Drug Administration, because our food supply is at risk. When you go to the grocery store, you can't be sure that the product you are buying is safe because almost all food safety inspectors have been furloughed. The FDA remains understaffed for food surveillance and food recall operations.

The Commissioner of the FDA, Scott Gottlieb, said routine food safety inspections are not taking place. The FDA has stopped posting warning letters. Routine inspections of food facilities are not taking place, and FDA's work finalizing guidance and implementing rules related to the Food Safety Modernization Act is in limbo.

Foodborne illness kills 3,000 Americans every year, and because of the President's manufactured crisis, the safety of every American is in question. We have a duty to our constituents and their safety. We cannot stand by while this President holds the country hostage. Their physical and their financial well-being is at stake.

Let's pass this bipartisan bill so that hungry families can eat, consumers can be safe, and farmers can do their job.

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