Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny Act of 2011

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I rise to offer a motion that would exempt country of origin labeling from the regulations affected by this legislation. This is the final amendment to the bill, which will not kill it or send it back to committee. Instead, we will move to final passage on the bill, as amended.

We have had a heated debate over this act. I have very strong concerns about it. But however one feels about the legislation before us, we should all be able to agree on fundamental principles.

First, that it is the responsibility of this institution and of government to see that the health and the safety of American families are protected. This includes protecting Americans from unsafe and contaminated food. And, second, the consumer should be able to know where the food and products they buy come from so that they can make informed decisions about their purchases, as they should be able to in a free market.

That is what country of origin labeling does, and it is why my final amendment simply exempts country of origin labeling from the underlying bill before us. It gives us an opportunity to come together in a bipartisan way to protect the health and safety of our constituents and to give the American public the information they need and clearly want to make informed decisions for their families.

More than 40 other countries we trade with have a country of origin labeling system in place, and the majority of American consumers continue to support country of origin labeling.

We know that food-borne illnesses are a major public health threat. They account for roughly 48 million illnesses, 100,000 hospitalizations and over 3,000 deaths in this country every year. Every year one in every six Americans become sick from the food that they eat. Our youngest and oldest Americans are the most vulnerable to these illnesses, and right now roughly 80 percent of the seafood and 60 percent of the fruits and vegetables consumed in the United States have been produced outside our borders.

Amid all this imported food, our ability to ensure that food products are safe and not contaminated is dwindling. The FDA inspects less than 2 percent of the imported food in its jurisdiction. Yet, 70 percent of the apple juice we drink was produced in China, roughly 90 percent of the shrimp that we eat was produced outside of the United States. Across this 2 percent, the FDA finds a frighteningly large number of shipments with dangerous food safety violations, including the presence of pathogens and chemical contamination.
Families should be able to know where their food is coming from. Just this morning, a Japanese food producer announced the recall of 400,000 cans of infant formula after traces of radioactive cesium were found in the company's milk powder. And after the Fukushima disaster earlier this year, Americans were concerned about the safety of seafood imports.

I do not want to single out any one country. Sadly, food-borne disease outbreaks are frighteningly normal, both here and abroad. We recently experienced a listeria outbreak in cantaloupes which sickened at least 139 people and killed 29 more. Germany saw an E. coli crisis this summer that killed dozens and sickened thousands. In 2010, we saw a salmonella outbreak in crushed pepper that sickened 272 people, and another salmonella outbreak that resulted in the recall of over half a billion eggs and almost 2,000 Americans becoming ill.

Country of origin labeling does not lead to American job losses or bankrupt the food industry; it simply lets consumers know where their food comes from.

That is particularly important in this economy, when not only food inspectors, but food producers are stretched thin. Consumers should be able to know when they are buying foods that were grown, raised, or produced right here in America.

They have the right to know where their food was produced and to make their own choices about the food that they buy.

In the past, there has been a bipartisan consensus that country-of-origin labeling is a good idea, that it keeps families safe, and that it supports American farmers. In fact, the chairman, my counterpart on the Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Subcommittee, Congressman Rehberg of Montana, has been a leader in ensuring strong country-of-origin labeling. We should continue that bipartisan commitment today. Exempt country-of-origin labeling from the REINS Act.

I urge my colleagues to stand up for public health, consumers' right to know, and American businesses. Support this final amendment.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source