DeLauro Questions FDA, Rural Development In Agriculture Appropriations Bill

DeLauro Questions FDA, Rural Development In Agriculture Appropriations Bill

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congresswoman Rosa L. DeLauro (Conn.-3), ranking member of the House Appropriations Agriculture Subcommittee, delivered the following opening statement today during the subcommittee markup of the Fiscal Year 2006 Agriculture Appropriations bill.

"Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am pleased to join you today for the first markup in my capacity as ranking member. It has been a pleasure working with you and your staff to put together the FY 2006 Agriculture Appropriations bill. I also want to take a moment to recognize my friend Marcy Kaptur, who served for years in this position and left very big shoes for me to fill - Marcy, thank you for all of your good work over the years.

"We have had a productive series of hearings leading up to today's markup, with one notable exception. I am concerned that we have yet to hear testimony from the Food and Drug Administration, an agency facing serious management challenges, which could have equally serious consequences on our nation's public health. The FDA has been unresponsive to inquiries from Members on how they allocate their resources and how the agency is managed. While I understand the Acting Commissioner was prepared to testify, he was prevented from doing so by the Administration. Therefore, I will offer an amendment during this markup to withhold five percent of funds from the FDA's central offices until the head of this agency testifies before our committee. This is a matter of accountability to the Congress.

"Beyond the FDA, this bill includes a range of programs critical to our nation's agriculture base and rural America. The farm programs and international trade promotion and advocacy that help our farmers across the country and sell our products have profound implications on our nation's overall economy and our quality of life. I want to mention a few programs in particular:

"The mark progresses in reversing cuts made by the president on rural development programs, providing $80 million more than the president's request for rural water and sewer grants, for example. However, I am concerned that this number remains below the level in last year's House bill and well below the level in 2004. Rural America faces serious economic development challenges - from affordable housing and clean drinking water, to sewage systems and access to remote educational and medical resources. I am afraid that this funding shortfall will lead to long-term deficiencies in rural infrastructure.

"On food safety, the administration's proposed user fees for the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) could have hampered significant work on meat and poultry safety, and on the important issue of BSE, and I am pleased those fees are not included in the mark. I remain concerned about cuts that were made in FSIS and FDA for planned responses to potential bio-terrorism and I plan to work with the Chairman to see what can be restored.

"On WIC, I understand it is possible to reduce the overall budget request without reducing the number of people served. But we might want to look at report language we have included in the past to ensure that we are not, in fact, reducing access and jettisoning families in need.

"It is unfortunate that the mark includes a one-year limitation on implementation of Country of Origin Labeling. Country-of-origin labeling would give people the information they need to make an informed choice to protect the safety of their families. And 35 other countries we trade with, including Canada, Mexico and members of the EU, already have a country-of-origin labeling system in place. I hope this limitation does not lead us down the road to making COOL entirely voluntary.

"On foreign food aid, the subcommittee bill restores $222 million of funds under PL 480, which the Administration had planned to move to the State Department. However, again, we remain well below the funding level of the past few years for that critically important aid program, and I hope that is something we can address.

"I am pleased that the mark does not include the Administration's proposal to end the stable funding on which our agriculture research institutions depend, a proposal that could have closed many important research institutions, including in my state. This would have had a devastating effect on our country's capacity for food safety research and agriculture and life sciences research.

"I believe there will only be a few amendments today, including one I plan to offer to prevent any funds allocated under the bill from being spent on "covert propaganda," a disturbing trend we have seen emerging in recent years, and one emphasizing the need to have a hearing with FDA this year. But I expect this markup to go quickly, and look forward to a broader discussion when we reach full committee markup.

http://www.house.gov/delauro/press/2005/May/agapprops_fda_05_16_05.html