Providing For Consideration Of H.R. 2749, Food Safety Enhancement Act Of 2009

Floor Speech

Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlelady from North Carolina for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to the rule and the underlying legislation. This bill was brought to the floor yesterday under an expedited rule in order to push the measure through with minimal debate. The bill failed to pass under a two-thirds vote, and that is why we are considering it again today.

I have three main objections to the bill in its current form: the cost to our farmers, the jurisdictional overreach of FDA, and the process the majority has taken to bring this to the floor today.

Let me begin by saying that food safety is among the highest priorities of our farmers, the USDA and the Agriculture Committee. In my view, having a safe and abundant domestic food supply is a crucial public health matter and it is equally imperative to our national security.

Although America has the safest food supply in the world, there are clearly improvements that need to be made to our system. However, this legislation is not a step in the right direction. The bill would do little, if anything at all, to improve food safety, yet will have a substantial impact upon the Nation's 2.2 million farms, many of which are family owned and operated.

Specifically, I am concerned with the increased costs this bill will charge farms in the form of unnecessary fees and registrations. Farmers will not be able to sell their products without paying expensive annual registration fees. Enacting this legislation could place significant new financial and administrative burdens on the Food and Drug Administration. The bill provides the FDA with more regulatory authority over farming activities, when currently such activities are already regulated by the agriculture experts at USDA.

USDA is doing great outreach work on food safety and has a presence in every county across this country. In other words, USDA already is doing a great deal of work on improving food safety, and therefore food safety does not need to be additionally regulated by the FDA. I admit that some modest steps were taken to improve the bill, specifically regarding livestock and row crops, but the minor improvements did not go far enough to improve the overall bill.

The United States Department of Agriculture has a strong record. They work hard to partner with industry, they work hard to provide mechanisms for consumer input, and they work hard on consumer education regarding food safety. Frankly, my confidence lies with the USDA rather than the FDA.

I also have substantial concerns with the process taken to bring this measure to the floor. This legislation bypassed regular order and was not considered by the committee of jurisdiction. This legislation has the greatest impact on our farmers, but never received consideration by the committee tasked with agricultural oversight.

I again strongly urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on the rule.

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