[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 81 (Wednesday, June 9, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1184-E1185]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   AGRICULTURE, RURAL DEVELOPMENT, FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, AND 
               RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2000

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                             HON. ZACH WAMP

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 8, 1999

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 1906) making 
     appropriations for Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and 
     Drug Administration, and Related Agencies for the fiscal year 
     ending September 30, 2000, and for other purposes:

  Mr. WAMP. Mr. Chairman, I rise today out of concern regarding funding 
for the Food Contact Notification (FCN) program in H.R. 1906, the FY 
2000 Agricultural, FDA and Related Agencies Appropriations bill. This 
program is new and provides for the expeditious review of new food 
contact substances. Food contact substances are products like plastic, 
paper, and aluminum wraps that are used as containers for food 
products.
  It is not commonly known that these materials must be reviewed for 
their safety before being marketed, because they touch food products. 
As a result, the Food and Drug Administration Modernization Act of 1997 
included FCN to reduce the time and cost involved in marketing a new 
food packaging material. Although FDA began the initial phase of 
setting up this program, with $500,000 designated for the program in FY 
1999, the program cannot continue unless the Congress provides $3 
million for FY 2000.
  Mr. Chairman, this program is a terrific example of real regulatory 
reform--it reduces the agency's workload by streamlining regulation, 
reduces regulatory burdens on the plastics, paper, and aluminum 
industries, increases the potential for new and improved products to 
reach consumers, and does all these things without compromising public 
safety.
  As you well know, the Congress is not able to fund every program and 
we have to make some very difficult choices. However, I believe it 
would unfortunate to let this good idea languish. While the 
Administration and the Appropriations Committee may prefer funding this 
program with user fees, discussion of such a proposal has not even 
begun. Even if agreement was near, it will be difficult to enact the 
authorization this year. As we move to Conference, I urge the Chairman 
and Ranking Member of the House Agricultural Appropriations Committee 
to seriously consider funding this program at the authorized level in 
the event that a fee system is not enacted in time for FY 2000.

[[Page E1185]]



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