[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 92 (Thursday, June 28, 2001)]
[House]
[Pages H3744-H3772]
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, 2002
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mrs. Biggert). Pursuant to House Resolution
183 and rule XVIII, the Chair declares the House in the Committee of
the Whole House on the State of the Union for the consideration of the
bill, H.R. 2330.
{time} 1402
In the Committee of the Whole
Accordingly, the House resolved itself into the Committee of the
Whole House on the State of the Union for the consideration of the bill
(H.R. 2230) making appropriations for Agriculture, Rural Development,
Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies programs for the
fiscal year ending September 30, 2002, and for other purposes, with Mr.
Goodlatte in the chair.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The CHAIRMAN. Pursuant to the rule, the bill is considered as having
been read the first time.
Under the rule, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Bonilla) and the
gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur) each will control 30 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Bonilla).
Mr. BONILLA. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Chairman, we are delighted today to be presenting the
Agricultural Appropriations bill for fiscal year 2002. I want to
acknowledge the good work of the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur), my
ranking member, who has contributed to this process over the last few
weeks.
It has been a pleasure working with her and all the members of the
Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug
Administration and Related Agencies on both sides of the aisle.
I believe we have produced a good bipartisan bill that deals with a
lot of the specific issues that Members are concerned about in their
districts around the country, ranging from research projects to
inspection issues, to FDA issues, to just any possible issue that has
come up. There have been 2500-plus requests from individual Members,
and we have done our best to accommodate that.
Mr. Chairman, I am just delighted that we have seen good, strong
bipartisan support for the effort we have undertaken in putting this
bill together.
Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to bring before the House today the fiscal
year 2002 appropriations bill for Agriculture, Rural Development, the
Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies.
My goal this year has been to produce a bipartisan bill, and I
believe we have done a good job in reaching that goal.
The subcommittee began work on this bill in early March, before the
administration produced its budget. We had 6 public hearings
[[Page H3745]]
beginning on March 8. The transcripts of these hearings, the
administration's official statements, the detailed budget requests,
several thousand questions for the record and the statements of members
and the public are all contained in six hearing volumes.
In order to expedite action on this bill, we completed our
subcommittee's hearings on May 6.
The subcommittee and full committee marked up the bill on June 6 and
June 13 respectively.
We have tried very hard to accommodate the requests of Members, and
to provide increases for critical programs. We received 2,532
individual requests for specific spending, from almost every Member of
the House. Reading all of the mail I received, I can confirm to you
that the interest in this bill is completely bipartisan.
This bill does have significant increases over fiscal year 2001 for
programs that have always enjoyed strong bipartisan support. Those
increases include:
Agricultural Research Service, $79 million;
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, $55 million;
Food Safety and Inspection Service, $25 million;
Farm Service Agency, $201 million;
Natural Resources Conservation Service, $77 million; and
Food and Drug Administration, $120 million.
I would like to say that I am very happy that we were able to provide
significant increases for the Food and Drug Administration. I think it
is vitally important for that agency to have the resources to perform
its public health mission. We are able to provide FDA the following
increases above last year's level:
$15 million to prevent outbreak of BSE, or Bovine Spongiform
Encephalopathy, which is commonly known as ``Mad Cow disease'';
$10 million to increase the number of domestic and foreign
inspections, and to expand import coverage in all product areas;
$10 million to reduce adverse events related to medical products;
$10 million to better protect volunteers who participate in clinical
research studies;
$9 million to provide a safer food supply;
$23 million to complete construction of the replacement facility in
Los Angeles that we initiated last year;
And full funding of increased pay costs for existing employees.
I want to stress how important this is. In the past, FDA and all
other agencies in this bill were forced to reduce the level of services
provided to the public, in order to absorb legislated payroll
increases. This year, we want to be sure that does not happen. I am
sure that we all want to see that there is no slippage in research,
application review, inspections, loan servicing, and all the other
payroll-intensive operations that are financed through our bill. We
worked hard to find these resources. I am glad we were able to do it,
and I am sure the agencies will put them to good use.
Mr. Chairman, we all refer to this bill as an agriculture bill, but
it does far more than assisting basic agriculture. It also supports
human nutrition, the environment, and food, drug, and medical safety.
This is a bill that will deliver benefits to every one of our
constituents every day no matter what kind of district they represent.
I would say to all Members that they can support this bill and tell
all of their constituents that they voted to improve their lives while
maintaining fiscal responsibility.
The bill is a bipartisan product with a lot of hard work and input
from both sides of the aisle. I would like to thank the gentleman from
Florida, (Chairman Young), and the gentleman from Wisconsin, (Mr.
Obey), who serve as the distinguished chairman and ranking member of
the Committee on Appropriations. I would also like to thank all my
subcommittee colleagues: the gentleman from New York (Mr. Walsh); the
gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Kingston); the gentleman from Washington
(Mr. Nethercutt); the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Latham); the gentlewoman
from Missouri (Mrs. Emerson); the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Goode);
the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. LaHood); the gentlewoman from
Connecticut (Ms. DeLauro); the gentleman from New York (Mr. Hinchey)
the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Boyd).
In particular, I want to thank the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms.
Kaptur), the distinguished ranking member of the subcommittee, for all
her good work on this bill this year and the years in the past.
Mr. Chairman, I would like to include at this point in the Record
tabular material relating to the bill.
Mr. Chairman, I include the following Comparative Statement of Budget
Authority for the Record:
[[Page H3746]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TH28JN01.001
[[Page H3747]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TH28JN01.002
[[Page H3748]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TH28JN01.003
[[Page H3749]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TH28JN01.004
[[Page H3750]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TH28JN01.005
[[Page H3751]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TH28JN01.006
[[Page H3752]]
Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Chairman, let me rise to say that this is a good bill that, in
fact, is getting better at every stage of the legislative process.
The gentleman from Texas (Mr. Bonilla), chairman of the Subcommittee,
and our committee staff have worked to draft a fair bill within tight
budget allocations; but the underlying amounts in different sections of
the bill are far from what is necessary, given many of the needs of
rural America and our food assistance programs.
This is the first bill managed by our new chairman, the gentleman
from Texas (Mr. Bonilla). Let me congratulate him on his maiden voyage
as chairman of the Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food
and Drug Administration and Related Agencies and thank the gentleman
for his cooperation throughout.
What we all learn together, hopefully, will put us in a position to
continue to work towards the best possible bill for America's future.
I want to thank the subcommittee staff: Hank Moore; Martin Delgado;
Maureen Holohan; Joanne Orndorff; Jim Richards; Roger Szemraj; and our
detailee, Leslie Barrack.
I also want to thank our new minority staff member, Martha Foley,
very much for her hard work.
Mr. Chairman, let us put this bill in perspective. To begin with,
overall we have a spending level for 2002 of $74,360 billion of which
$15,669 billion is discretionary spending, plus an additional $150
million for the Hinchey apple disaster provisions.
Several times today already, each of us have been touched by
agriculture and other agencies in this bill: the food that we have
eaten; some of the fabrics we are wearing; perhaps, even the blended
fuels that were used in the vehicles that brought us to work; or the
medications or vitamins that we take on any day.
We have been benefited by the research in this bill, by education and
training, by inspection services that are operating at red alert levels
now to keep hoof and mouth disease and mad cow disease out of this
country, and by marketing services that take the bounty of this land
around the world.
Truly, this is the committee that is concerned about food, fiber, the
fuels of the future, and the condition of our forests.
Mr. Chairman, nearly 80 percent of the spending in this bill is
mandatory spending, including our farm price support programs. Only
one-fifth of the bill, 20 percent, is discretionary. Half of the
spending in the bill is for food programs which keep America's people
the best-fed people on Earth.
The bill, as reported, is about $260 million in discretionary
spending above the President's request, but a little more than $3
billion below this year's level due to the absence of natural disaster
and other emergency farm provisions.
Earlier, during the discussion on the rule, we discussed several
improvements that should be included in this bill that amendments could
make possible, but amendments that were denied in the Committee on
Rules.
There was an amendment offered by the gentlewoman from Connecticut
(Ms. DeLauro) that would recognize that we need more money for the WIC
program, the Women, Infants, and Children feeding program, due to the
fact that participation is running 80,000 people more per month than
the administration had expected predominantly due to higher
unemployment levels.
The amendment of the gentleman from New York (Mr. Hinchey) and others
makes room for helping small specialty crop producers who are facing
hard times. He has been successful in dealing with one sector, the
apple sector, in this bill.
My own effort adopted by the full committee insists that the
integrity of producer votes is protected in the pork checkoff program.
It directs funds be spent only on those programs that the producers
have approved and this directive has been included in the final bill.
Mr. Chairman, there are also other elements that we still need to
work through as we amend here on the floor and then as we move to the
Senate: one is the Global Food for Education program, which the
gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern) and the gentlewoman from
Missouri (Mrs. Emerson) have championed here in the House; improved
food safety and increased food inspection need more attention; also new
biofuels funding, including ethanol, biodiesel, and biomass-related
fuel production to help move America toward energy independence.
There are six titles in this bill, and I just want to highlight a
couple major points in each of those.
In Title I, Agricultural Programs, we have been able to take the
first steps to fund relocation of some of our important laboratories in
Arizona, as well as consolidating and modernizing our key agricultural
research facilities in Ames, Iowa.
We are just so happy to be able to make progress there, the most
important labs in our country that protect the entire livestock
production in our Nation, as well as maintain the best veterinary
service that the world knows.
In the APHIS, Animal Planned Health Inspection Service, we have been
able to improve by $2 million and increase the buildings account for a
facility at the Miami International Airport.
In our conservation programs, the NRCS has scored below the
administration request by $25 million.
In rural development in title III, the bill increases these important
programs by $87 million over the research request, in the important
account of water and wastewater disposal grants funding is included at
a level of $75 million over the request.
There is a million dollars included for rural cooperative development
grants beyond the request, and $3 million to restore the rural
telephone loan program that the administration proposed to end.
In Title IV, Domestic Food Programs, the $18 million in increases
above the request will help us to expand the TEFAP program, Temporary
Emergency Food Assistance Program, and the Commodity Supplemental Food
Program, looking at five new States, Wisconsin, Washington,
Pennsylvania, South Dakota, and Missouri.
I mentioned the sufficiency of the WIC program level a little bit
earlier. We have to keep our eye on that particularly as we move
towards conference with the Senate.
In title V, we have provided a level of 9 million additional dollars
in the PL480 title I program above the request level.
In title VI in the Food and Drug Administration, we have provided
more than $100 million over the 2001 enacted level. In addition, the
bill includes a contingent appropriation of $2.9 million for continued
funding of last year's prescription drug importation provision.
Finally, I mentioned the pork checkoff and the apple programs as
being included in the final bill that is coming to the floor.
Overall, this bill is a good one and is getting better. It should be
one that truly embraces the needs and the challenges of the 21st
century.
I will support it and encourage our colleagues to support it. But I
also will definitely vote for a number of amendments being offered here
on the floor today that can make this bill a hallmark of the best
America can do when we as a Congress have the will to do.
Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. BONILLA. Mr. Chairman, I yield such time as he may consume to the
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Young), the Chairman of the Committee on
Appropriations, my friend.
Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Chairman, I first want to congratulate the
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Bonilla). This is the gentleman's first year
as a chairman of a Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food
and Drug Administration and Related Agencies, and he has done an
outstanding job.
The gentleman came as a seasoned Member. The gentleman took over this
very important role as chairman of the subcommittee, and he not only
has produced a good bill, but he produced it in record time.
Although, he is a new chairman, he was the first one with a markup,
and I congratulate the gentleman.
Mr. Chairman, I also congratulate the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms.
Kaptur), the ranking minority member,
[[Page H3753]]
who worked very well in partnership to produce a pretty good bipartisan
bill.
As usual, there will be some differences, as we proceed, and proceed
we will, but I will urge Members to support the bill and be very
logical and realistic as we approach the issue of amendments.
Now, on the subject of amendments. We are trying to accommodate
Members, as I announced yesterday, to assess where we were in the
afternoon and see if there was some way to get Members out of here at a
reasonable time this evening.
It is pretty obvious we cannot complete consideration of this bill
today, so I see no reason to go on into the late hours of the night or
the wee hours of the morning.
However, in order to arrive at a reasonable adjournment time today,
it is going to be necessary for Members to be willing to limit some
debate, to agree to some time limits, which the gentleman from
Wisconsin (Mr. Obey) and I are working on this very minute.
Also, I would like for the Members to know that if Members have an
amendment that they would like to have considered on this bill, it
would be a good idea if they would advise the gentlewoman from Ohio
(Ms. Kaptur) or the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey) on that side or
myself and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Bonilla) on this side so that
we can put those potential amendments into the list of the universe of
amendments that we have to deal with.
We will be better able to manage this bill if we can do that. I put
Members on notice that it would be a good idea to do that as soon as
possible.
{time} 1415
Mr. OBEY. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?
Mr. YOUNG of Florida. I am happy to yield to the gentleman from
Wisconsin.
Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, I would simply like to repeat what the
gentleman just said. For the benefit of all Members on the floor or all
Members whose staff may be watching in their offices, every Member is
coming up and telling us they want to get out of here early tonight. It
is my understanding that the leadership intends to try to make that
happen. But we need to know which Members intend to offer their
amendment and which Members do not intend to offer their amendments.
So I would ask every single Member on our side of the aisle, if they
are contemplating an amendment or a colloquy, because yesterday we took
almost 2 hours on colloquies, if they are contemplating any of that,
they need to let us know immediately, because we need to do two things.
We need, first of all, to try to establish which amendments are going
to be offered today and how much time is going to be taken on them. We
have had the cooperation of five or six Members who have told us that
they will be happy to settle for 10 minutes a side, for instance. We
need to fill out the rest of that. We need to know how far we are going
to get in the bill today. Then if we can reach agreement on that, then
that enables us to have some idea, perhaps, of what we can package so
that we know what we are facing when we get back.
But what I would urge Members not to do to us is to neglect to
contact us now, then see their point in the bill passed, so their
amendment is not in order, and then try to redraft their amendment as a
look-back at the end of the bill. We will not save any time that way.
If Members have amendments, we need them to be prepared now to bring
them up today in the regular order on the bill so that we can get out
of here at a reasonable time.
Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time.
Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for those
comments. We are working hard. Now, if we get the cooperation of the
membership, we can accomplish quite a bit of consideration on this bill
today and still get us out of here at a reasonable time, and we will
talk about that time a little later once we see what the universe of
amendments will be for today.
With that, again, I want to congratulate the gentleman from Texas
(Chairman Bonilla).
Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from
Connecticut (Mrs. DeLauro), a very hard-working and able member of our
subcommittee.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chairman, I want to thank the gentleman from Texas
(Chairman Bonilla) and to the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur), the
ranking member of the committee. I thank them for their leadership.
Given the kind of budget constraints that we have, there was a lot of
hard work and a good bill that has been produced, though there are a
few critical issues that remain that we need to continue to work on.
I also want to say thank you to this subcommittee and the associate
staff for all of their help.
The bill addresses many of the urgent needs of American families. Let
me just take a moment to focus on the crisis in agriculture today.
America's economy and security relies on the strength of agriculture.
Yet America's farmers are facing the toughest times since the Great
Depression.
Connecticut is a leader in New England's agriculture, in eggs,
peaches, milk production per cow. The Nation's oldest agriculture
experiment station is just up the street from my home in New Haven.
Like other farmers, Connecticut farmers face plunging commodity prices
and soaring gas prices. Urban sprawl puts it in the top 10 States in
lost farmland. This spring, record low temperatures eliminated almost
40 percent of our peach, pear, grape and apple crops.
I am proud of the funding for programs that reach out and help our
farmers: rural development, conservation, pest management, commodity
marketing assistance.
This bill also funds food safety efforts, but in my view, as I have
expressed before in the House today, does not go far enough. It needs
to do more. Americans are more likely to get sick from what they eat
today than they were a half century ago, and outbreaks of food sickness
are expected to go up by more than 15 percent over the next decade.
Each year 5,000 Americans die from food-borne illnesses, 76 million
get ill, and 325,000 are hospitalized. Just 2 days ago, the Excel
Corporation recalled 190,000 pounds of ground beef and pork because of
possible contamination by deadly E. coli.
The Food and Drug Administration inspects all food except meat,
poultry and eggs. Yet to cover the 30,000 U.S. companies that make this
food, the FDA has only 400 inspectors. For the 4.1 million imported
food items entering the country, the FDA has less than 120 inspectors.
To address this crisis facing the families, I will offer an amendment
to increase the funds for inspections and other food safety
initiatives.
As we move toward the conference, I also would like to work with the
chairman to address the funding shortage that threatens WIC. If the
administration's unemployment predictions come true, this essential
nutrition program for low-income families, which yields more than $3 in
savings to the government in reduced spending on programs such as
Medicaid, will, in fact, not have enough funds to serve all who are
eligible, all eligible women, infants and children.
I look forward to working with the gentleman from Texas (Chairman
Bonilla) and the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur) to address these
important issues and others as we debate the bill.
Mr. BONILLA. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from
Colorado (Mr. Tancredo).
Mr. TANCREDO. Mr. Chairman, I, too, want to rise in, in a way,
admiration of the committee for their work on this particular piece of
legislation, on this bill. It is truly commendable in a situation where
profligate spending in this body is the norm, it is commendable to have
a bill coming here that is only 1.5 percent above last year's spending
and only 1.7 percent above the President's request.
There is no particular program in the bill with which I rise to take
issue. I do wish, however, to just briefly discuss a point of concern
that I have with the general tenor of our agricultural support
payments. It is the fact that welfare, whether it is provided for able-
bodied individuals or large corporate farmers, has a corrupting
influence on both. The welfare farm subsidies keep land prices high,
makes it harder for
[[Page H3754]]
small farmers to enter into the market. Farm subsidies decrease the
incentive for efficiency, which would greatly benefit the agricultural
sector.
This is a list, by States, I have a list here from CBO of those
States that receive a percentage of their net farm income as a result
of government payments. It is quite astounding. In 1999, the State of
Illinois had 112 percent of its net farm income a government check;
Indiana, 93 percent; North Dakota, 93 percent; Iowa, 87 percent;
Missouri, 78 percent; Montana, 77. At least 12 States have government
checks representing more than 50 percent of their net farm income. This
is an unsustainable activity, and I urge the committee to think
carefully about it in the future.
Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New
York (Mr. Hinchey), a member of our subcommittee who single-handedly
turned this bill on end and was able to get language to deal with
specialty crop producers across our country, a very, very hard-working
and distinguished member of our subcommittee.
Mr. HINCHEY. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms.
Kaptur), ranking member, for her leadership on this committee and on
this issue. I also want to express my appreciation to the chairman of
the subcommittee. I think that the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Bonilla),
in his first year as chairman of the subcommittee, has produced a very
good bill, and it has been a pleasure working with him in this
endeavor.
This bill adds $260 million to the President's request for the U.S.
Department of Agriculture. It increases funding for farm programs,
conservation, rural development, education and research, nutrition, and
food safety. When you add in the $5.5 billion in emergency agricultural
spending that the House passed earlier this week, total funding for
these programs is substantially increased over last year.
As with any of these bills, of course, it could be even better. I
think we should have made in order the amendment of the gentlewoman
from Connecticut (Ms. DeLauro) to increase funding for food safety as
well as the amendment of the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur) to fund
the Global School Lunch Initiative.
But the gentleman from Texas (Chairman Bonilla) has written a
balanced bill that addresses important priorities for rural America.
The bill also includes $150 million for a market loss assistance
program for apple growers. I offered this provision in committee with
the gentleman from New York (Mr. Walsh) and the gentleman from New York
(Mr. Sweeney), and it was adopted by a strong bipartisan vote of 34 to
24.
I appreciate everything that the gentleman from Texas (Chairman
Bonilla), the gentleman from Florida (Chairman Young) and the gentleman
from California (Chairman Dreier) have done to protect this funding.
I also would like to thank the gentleman from Washington (Mr.
Hastings) and the gentleman from New York (Mr. Reynolds) for their
parts in writing the rule as well.
The U.S. apple industry is suffering serious financial hardships for
the fifth straight year as a result of low prices, bad weather, and
plant diseases. During this time, the total value of U.S. apple
production fell more than 25 percent, and losses from the 2000 crop
alone will probably top $500 million. This is a nationwide figure and
includes losses, not only in New York, but also in Massachusetts,
Michigan, Washington State, Pennsylvania, and every other place where
apples are grown as a commodity crop.
Some of the apple losses can be blamed on foreign competition, the
Chinese, for example, who were found guilty of dumping apple juice
concentrate into the United States at prices below production costs.
Increased tariffs have not significantly improved the price of apple
juice in the last year.
Apple producers in New York and the Northeast watched the value of
their crop decline as a result of severe hail damage. In Michigan,
growers suffered a crippling epidemic of fire blight that destroyed
thousands of acres of orchards.
Compared with the billions of dollars that Congress routinely sends
to commodity producers, $150 million is a drop in the bucket. This
payment, however, will mean the difference between life and death for
many growers across the country.
Mr. Chairman, apple growers face the same market, regulatory, trade
and weather conditions that make the double AMTA payments necessary for
row crop farmers. It is preposterous that our foreign policy
differentiates so radically between them.
This is a good bill, Mr. Chairman. I am happy to support it.
Mr. BONILLA. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from
Alabama (Mr. Riley).
Mr. RILEY. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk that I
intend to withdraw, but first I would like to engage the chairman in a
colloquy.
Mr. Chairman, I rise to acknowledge a job well done by the chairman
and the ranking member. Agricultural programs are often arcane and seem
to benefit only the agricultural community, but through the chairman's
leadership, the committee has produced a sound bill that benefits not
only the agricultural community, but the Nation as a whole.
It is my understanding that the constraints placed upon the committee
prevented funding for nearly all new research projects. One such
unfunded project would have been undertaken by researchers at Auburn
University, one of the leading agricultural research institutions in
the country. This project sought to ensure public health through the
development of improvements in poultry.
Mr. Chairman, this study, which I strongly support, will continue
safely and efficiently producing poultry, and in an effort to address
the environmental, human and animal concerns, I ask for your immediate
consideration of a $1.3 million human health, poultry-byproduct study
at Auburn University. This study will determine the risks associated
with poultry production and the contributions the poultry community can
make to environmental stewardship and food safety through the
development of innovative techniques documenting the presence of
pathogens in the various phases of the production cycle and instituting
techniques to eliminate them. This study, Mr. Chairman, will safeguard
public health, the end-use consumer and the environment, all at minimal
taxpayer expense.
Mr. BONILLA. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?
Mr. RILEY. I yield to the gentleman from Texas.
Mr. BONILLA. Mr. Chairman, first, I want to acknowledge that the
gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Riley) has worked very hard on this issue
that is very important to Auburn University, and I would be pleased to
work with the gentleman as we go to conference on this issue. It is
going to be a difficult issue, and the gentleman and I have had
discussions about that before, but we are going to give it our best
shot. Again, I know how significant and how important it is to the
folks in Alabama.
Mr. RILEY. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman from Texas (Chairman
Bonilla) for his time and his consideration. I look forward to working
with him.
Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from
Florida (Mr. Boyd), a member of our subcommittee, a rancher, and one of
the most knowledgeable members of our subcommittee.
Mr. BOYD. Mr. Chairman, I want to thank the gentlewoman from Ohio for
yielding me this time. I want to commend the gentleman from Texas (Mr.
Bonilla), my chairman, and the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur), my
ranking member, and their staff for their good work they have done on
this bill.
{time} 1430
Is it perfect? No, it is not perfect, but few things are. I believe
this bill is as fair and as balanced a bill as is possible given the
302(b) allocations that we are working with.
The committee has produced a bill that is less than the committee
appropriated last year but slightly more than the President requested
for discretionary spending. We provide an additional $60 million for
the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, that is APHIS, which is
responsible for conducting inspections and quarantine activities to
protect animals and plants from disease and pests. Personally, I
[[Page H3755]]
believe we need to invest even more resources in this area. As we
continue to enter trade agreements, making our borders more vulnerable
to pests and diseases, and more and more people are traveling to and
from our country, we put our farmers in a vulnerable situation.
Many of my colleagues have heard me talk about Citrus Canker in
Florida time and again. In 1995, it was reintroduced through the Miami
Airport and has now spread throughout the urban areas into the
commercial groves and is threatening a $9 billion industry, a $9
billion industry, in Florida. We are spending hundreds of millions of
dollars to fight this disease. If it is not eradicated, it could spread
to other citrus States like Texas and California. It just makes more
sense to invest the resources on the front end to make sure we are able
to stop it at the borders.
Also, the threat of hoof and mouth disease entering our country is
very real. We need to make sure APHIS has the resources to keep this
terrible disease from spreading through our country.
The bill also provides an additional $75 million for ag research,
which is of utmost importance to our farmers and consumers and to all
the Nation.
More and more we see soil and water conservation linking groups that
never before could seem to agree on anything. I am pleased that this is
an area that the committee recognizes as being critical and has
provided an additional $70 million over last year for a total of $783
million for conservation operations.
There is additional funding for rural housing and development,
programs that are important to all of rural America.
Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to rise in support of this bill and
encourage my colleagues to support the bill also.
Mr. BONILLA. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Chairman, I would like to inquire as to our remaining
time on both sides, please.
The CHAIRMAN. The gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur) has 13\1/2\
minutes remaining, and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Bonilla) has 21
minutes remaining.
Ms. KAPTUR. Could I ask the gentleman if he has any additional
speakers.
Mr. BONILLA. Not at this time, but there may be more coming.
Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman
from Georgia (Mr. Bishop), a distinguished member of the authorizing
committee.
Mr. BISHOP. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding me
this time.
Mr. Chairman, this Congress can make historic progress in making
agricultural programs that enable farm producers to survive in today's
markets and to continue providing the highest quality commodities at
the lowest cost to consumers.
The House has already passed a bill providing immediate farm relief,
and the Committee on Agriculture has moved aggressively to draft a new
multiyear farm bill to secure greater long-term stability. Today, we
are considering a bill for the next fiscal year that provides $260
million more than the President's budget; more for research, including
some $7 million more in Georgia; more for crop insurance; more in rural
electric and communications loans; more for child nutrition and WIC
programs; and sets aside more than $79 billion over 10 years in new
emergency aid, including $7.4 billion for next year.
While I support a higher overall agriculture budget, it is time to
move the process forward and resolve any differences in House and
Senate negotiations. Our goal is to save our agricultural system at a
time of crisis, and today we can take another step in that direction.
Mr. Chairman, while I am concerned that the bill does not give enough
help to small and disadvantaged farmers and research and capacity
grants for the 1890 Land Grant Universities, I support the amendment of
the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Mrs. Clayton) to do that.
Today, Mr. Chairman, we can move the process forward to bring more
help to American agriculture. I urge my colleagues to join in support
of this bill. It is a good bill, it moves the process forward, takes
drastic steps in the right direction; and, hopefully, we can do what we
need to do for America's agriculture.
Mr. BONILLA. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from
Texas (Mr. Thornberry).
Mr. THORNBERRY. Mr. Chairman, I thank the distinguished chairman, the
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Bonilla), for yielding me this time; and I
rise for the purpose of a brief colloquy.
As I am sure the chairman is aware, a serious threat has sprung up in
wheat growing areas making the lives of our already-struggling farmers
even more difficult. A fungus called Karnal bunt has been found in my
district as well as in the district of our colleague, the gentleman
from Texas (Mr. Stenholm). While Karnal bunt poses no threat to humans
or animals, it can make wheat kernels and flour ground from them
unpalatable. At this time, a few counties have been quarantined. It
appears it has been well contained, but we will have issues of
compensation and appropriate action before us.
I have been working with the chairman and ranking member of the full
committee, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Combest) and the gentleman
from Texas (Mr. Stenholm), as well as the chairman of the Subcommittee
on Conservation, Credit, Rural Development and Research, the gentleman
from Oklahoma (Mr. Lucas), but I would request the distinguished
gentleman's continued assistance in working with USDA and the
administration to deal with this issue appropriately and to deal with
those who have been affected fairly.
Mr. STENHOLM. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?
Mr. THORNBERRY. I yield to the gentleman from Texas.
Mr. STENHOLM. I thank my friend for yielding to me, and I would like
to say that the situation the gentleman has described is accurate, but
here are the facts to date:
Seven producers affected, 10 elevator operators affected, 17 fields
tested positive, 1.4 million bushels contaminated, and 21 bushels yet
to be tested. An elevator operator in my district first discovered the
fungus and bunted kernels in a load of grain delivered to his facility.
For these and many other reasons, I join my colleagues in working
with USDA to contain this outbreak and ensuring the critical assistance
provided to producers, elevator operators, and others in agribusiness
who have seen their livelihoods put on hold.
So we look forward to working with my colleague, with the chairman,
and with USDA, who are on top of this, and APHIS, to make sure that we
contain it. It is extremely important to our industry.
Mr. BONILLA. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?
Mr. THORNBERRY. I yield to the gentleman from Texas.
Mr. BONILLA. I thank my friend for yielding, and I would be more than
happy and enthusiastic about helping my friend work on this problem.
This is not a new problem for wheat producers. Accordingly, we will
work to do everything possible to get USDA to act in a proper way, not
only with the problem but to assist producers with whatever
ramifications may occur.
Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?
Mr. THORNBERRY. I yield to the gentlewoman from Ohio.
Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Chairman, I would like to thank my chairman for
generously yielding that minute, and I just want to say that I share
the gentleman's deep concern about what this particular condition can
do to our export market.
We had a situation a couple of years ago where we had USDA officials
up before our committee and we asked where on the continent does Karnal
bunt exist. I said was it Canada? No, we do not have it in Canada. Is
it in the United States? No, it is not in the United States. I said,
how about Mexico? Absolutely. I said, How did it get over the border?
And this goes back to NAFTA and these inspection issues. They could not
say whether it came in seed in a car trunk or whether some bird carried
it over. But, honestly, we have to work together to try to deal with
the conditions that can come in here from other countries.
I would just express to the chairman of the Subcommittee on
Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and
Related Agencies, to
[[Page H3756]]
the ranking member on the authorizing committee, and to the gentleman
from Texas (Mr. Thornberry) that this Member is vitally interested in
that problem, and he has my full cooperation on it.
Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself 30 seconds to say, however,
that the costs of remediating that should not only be borne by the
public sector. That is, if we are going to have problems related to
trade, those participating in trade ought to bear the costs of what
goes wrong in the transaction. What has been happening within USDA is
we have been transferring the cost of trade to the public sector, and
the private entities that benefit have not been carrying their fair
share of the load.
So let us hope we can find a solution to that that is fair to all.
Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from North
Carolina (Mrs. Clayton), a very, very esteemed member of the
authorizing committee, and one of the hardest-working Members of this
Congress.
Mrs. CLAYTON. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding me
this time. I want to commend both the chairman and the ranking member
for their time and effort. They have been given a very difficult task
of meeting the ever-demanding needs of the agricultural sector in the
face of a difficult economy for agriculture, but also in the face of a
number of environmental threats and trying to move us into the 21st
century. They also have been given a very tight allocation, and I
understand they are trying to work within the budget. I am on the
Committee on the Budget, so I know the constraints that were imposed
upon them.
There are many things they did very, very well; and I want to commend
them on that. Indeed, they did increase allocations for APHIS, which I
will talk a little more about, and that is desperately needed. Those
are some current threats that they are trying to provide sufficient
funds to address those issues. They also recognized the ever-demanding
need for research for agricultural communities and our institutions.
Again, I think we have an opportunity to make sure as we increase those
research dollars that there is some equity and parity among the
institutions that we have. I will have a chance to discuss that a
little later.
So I want to commend them for all the things they have done. However,
I do want to point out a couple of areas that I think we should give
consideration to in the future. Although there were new dollars for
APHIS, there is still environmental impact issues that we just heard
about, the issue of the wheat. The funding in the bill is certainly to
be commended. I had raised an amendment in the supplemental that was
not approved, although in the notes that went forward, they
acknowledged there was a need; and I want to say that we need to at
least make the case to our Senator friends that we need to do even
more. And as we write the farm bill, hopefully, we will be mindful of
that fact.
Nutrition, which is very dear to my heart, I want to commend the
Committee on Appropriations for what they have done in increasing those
areas. However, I would be remiss if I did not mention that WIC has
identified that there is a need for 100,000 more eligible pregnant
women and their children who may not receive basic needs. This is an
issue I think we can do better on. I do not have an amendment for it,
do not propose to have an amendment on it; but I just wanted to
acknowledge that it is an area where I think we all would acknowledge
we need to do more.
In conclusion, Mr. Chairman, I plan to vote for this bill. I also
plan to try to make this bill even better. It is a good bill that could
be better.
My final point is that I had hoped that the Kaptur amendment for the
global lunch program would have been in order by the Committee on
Rules. That is not the problem of the agriculture appropriation, but it
is an issue for this Congress to recognize that we have an opportunity
here to not only feed our children but to respond to hungry children
across the world.
Mr. BONILLA. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself 4 minutes.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?
Mr. BONILLA. I yield to the gentlewoman from Connecticut.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for agreeing to this
colloquy.
I want to address the pressing need of adequate funding for the WIC
program. At current funding levels, States may be unable to serve
approximately 200,000 low-income mothers, infants and children. From my
State of Connecticut alone, 1,300 people would not be served.
We know that the WIC program currently serves about 47 percent of all
infants born in the United States, and we know the WIC dollars are
excellent investments. Every dollar spent on WIC yields more than $3 in
savings to the government in reduced spending on programs such as
Medicaid.
WIC has contributed to better birth outcomes and reduction in
childhood anemia, key indicators of the health of American children.
The program provides mothers, infants, and children with nutritious
supplemental food packages, nutrition education and counseling, and a
gateway to pre- and post-natal health care. The program also reduces
fetal deaths and infant mortality and reduces low birth-weight rates.
I might just say we have an average participation rate for this
fiscal year at about 7.2 million. That reflects the average
participation for the first half of the year through March. That
historically is the kind of participation that we have seen in the
past. December and February are always the lowest participation months.
Last year, average participation for the first half of the year was
nearly 50,000 below average participation for the year as a whole.
According to the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, average WIC
participation for the first 8 months of fiscal year 2001 was 80,000
higher than average participation for the first 6 months of the year.
Mr. Chairman, I have a concern that when unemployment increases, as
it is doing, so does the poverty rate. And we need to understand that
the WIC participation cannot increase as unemployment rises if none of
the families that are eligible for WIC as a result of increased
unemployment enroll.
{time} 1445
I think if we are looking at the kinds of unemployment rates where
there is the view that that unemployment rate is going to rise, then we
are going to see an additional number of people who need to take
advantage of the WIC program. We should do this now. State WIC programs
make their decisions this fall about how to run their programs. As we
move toward conference, and there are 302(b) reallocations, I would
like to work with the chairman to address the potential funding
shortage for the WIC program. If the administration's unemployment
predictions come true, we will see that this very essential program
will not have enough funds to serve all eligible women, infants and
children.
Mr. BONILLA. Mr. Chairman, reclaiming my time, I would be pleased to
work with the gentlewoman from Connecticut (Ms. DeLauro) on this issue.
This program has widespread support of the Members in the whole House.
As a result of the gentlewoman's efforts, the subcommittee has placed a
priority on the program. We are aware that WIC participation levels can
fluctuate above and below those forecast in administration budgets.
I look forward to continuing my work with the gentlewoman to address
the changes that may be brought on by adjustments in caseloads, and I
thank the gentlewoman from Connecticut (Ms. DeLauro) for her efforts.
Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from
Vermont (Mr. Sanders).
Mr. SANDERS. Mr. Chairman, even the New York Yankees sometimes lose,
and it has been known that on occasion the Los Angeles Lakers lose a
ballgame. But, Mr. Chairman, one organization never loses, and that
organization has hundreds of victories to its credit and zero defeats
in the United States Congress, and that is the pharmaceutical industry.
For decades now, good people in the House and Senate, Democrats and
Republicans, have attempted to do something about lowering the cost of
prescription drugs in this country so that Americans do not have to pay
by far the highest prices in the world for the medicine they need. And
year after year with lies, distortions, well-paid
[[Page H3757]]
lobbyists, massive amounts of advertising, and millions in campaign
contributions, the pharmaceutical industry always wins. Americans die
and suffer because they cannot afford the outrageous cost of
prescription drugs, and we remain the only country in the
industrialized world that does not in one way or another regulate the
cost of prescription drugs.
As part of this bill, the gentlewoman from Connecticut (Ms. DeLauro),
the gentleman from New York (Mr. Crowley), the gentleman from
California (Mr. Rohrabacher) and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Paul)
and I will be introducing an amendment which is exactly the same as the
Crowley amendment that 363 Members of this House voted for last year.
This amendment will serve as a placeholder so we can move the
reimportation bill forward that was passed overwhelmingly last year,
but was not implemented.
In a globalized economy, prescription drug distributors and
pharmacists should be able to purchase and sell FDA safety-approved
medicines at the same prices as in other countries. The passage of
reimportation will lower the cost of medicine by 30 to 50 percent and
enable Americans to pay the same prices as people in Canada, Europe,
Mexico and all over the world.
Mr. Chairman, this amendment is supported by the Alliance for Retired
Americans; the Children's Foundation; Church Women United; The
Communication Workers of America; Families U.S.A.; The National
Education Association; Network, a national Catholic social justice
lobby; the Presbyterian Church; Public Citizen; The Service Employees
International Union, SEIU; and the Universal Health Care Action
Network.
Mr. Chairman, every time anyone comes up here to take on the
pharmaceutical industry, their disinformation campaign goes forward;
and this time in opposition to this amendment the issue is, quote/
unquote, ``safety.'' Every Member here should understand that this
amendment does nothing to compromise safety, it only makes it possible
to move the reimportation bill that we passed last year forward.
Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from
Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern), who has fought so hard for the Global
Food and Education Initiative.
Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of this bill; and like
many of my colleagues, I hope more funds may become available as we
move forward in the appropriations process for critical programs that
protect American farmers, conserve our soil and water, provide food aid
abroad, and address hunger at home.
I would like to speak for a few moments about one such program. The
Global Food for Education Initiative began last year as a pilot
program. I want to make clear based on the report language accompanying
this bill that the committee expects this program to continue through
fiscal year 2002, and in turn this program will provide approximately 9
million hungry children in 38 countries with at least one nutritious
meal each day and a chance to go to school.
The report accompanying H.R. 2330 contains strong and explicit
language in support of this program saying, ``The committee expects the
Secretary of Agriculture shall continue in fiscal year 2002 the Global
Food for Education Initiative program implemented in 2001 at the level
implemented in fiscal year 2001. The assistance provided under this
section shall be in addition to other demands for section 4169(b) and
Public Law 480 title II commodities.''
Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Bonilla), the
gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur), and the gentlewoman from Missouri
(Mrs. Emerson) for their leadership. This program, first proposed last
year by former Senators George McGovern and Bob Dole, needs to be
permanently established and authorized. Nothing illustrates this more
than the difficult debates in the Committee on Appropriations and the
Committee on Rules, where Members of both parties who support this
initiative were faced with a difficult scoring issue because the
program is funded under CCC authority.
The gentlewoman from Missouri (Mrs. Emerson), the gentlewoman from
Ohio (Ms. Kaptur), and the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Hall) have
introduced H.R. 1700 to make this pilot initiative a permanent program
so that this debate never happens again. I call upon my colleagues to
join the broad bipartisan coalition of Members who have cosponsored
H.R. 1700.
Mr. Chairman, I respectfully ask Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman
to use her executive authority to extend funding for this program for
fiscal year 2002. I also call upon the Secretary to provide immediately
the basic administrative funding requested by such organizations as
Catholic Relief Services and CARE so that they may carry out the pilot
program in an efficient and productive manner. For the past 50 years,
these organizations have implemented many of our best food and
development programs. They are proven partners, and they guarantee that
our food aid programs have an American face and character on the
ground. Along with our farmers, they are among our best ambassadors
abroad, and they deserve our support.
Mr. Chairman, I thank the chairman and ranking member for their work
on this bill, and I urge my colleagues to support it.
Mr. BONILLA. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to myself.
Mr. ANDREWS. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?
Mr. BONILLA. I yield to the gentleman from New Jersey.
Mr. ANDREWS. Mr. Chairman, the Repaupo Creek watershed in my district
in New Jersey is in urgent need of a replacement tide gate and dike
restoration project. The project is needed for several reasons, the
most important of which is to provide flood protection for the
residents of Logan and Greenwich Townships in Gloucester County. The
Department of Agriculture's Natural Resource Conservation Service has
the authority to undertake projects on watersheds that are smaller than
250,000 acres. This project meets that requirement.
Although the Repaupo Creek is a small watershed, the tide gate sits
on the Delaware River, and there is some question whether a waiver will
be required to do this project.
Given the urgent need for this work to be completed, and given that
New Jersey officials of the Department of Agriculture have expressed a
desire and willingness to work on this project, I ask the chairman on
behalf of the subcommittee to agree that there is jurisdiction under
present law for USDA to do the work repairing the Repaupo tide gate.
Mr. BONILLA. Mr. Chairman, reclaiming my time, while I have not
examined this issue in particular in detail, I assure the gentleman
from New Jersey that I will work with him on this and will consider
inserting language into the final report regarding this matter.
Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
(Ms. KAPTUR asked and was given permission to revise and extend her
remarks.)
Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Chairman, as we close down general debate, I want to
state my sincere thanks to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Bonilla) for
his openness in working through this bill. He has been responsive to
all of our Members. We have had some testy moments at the subcommittee
and full committee levels, but we have managed to keep walking forward;
and I congratulate the gentleman on this first bill that he has brought
to the full House.
Mr. Chairman, regarding the issue of Karnal bunt and the wheat supply
in Texas, a couple of years ago post-NAFTA, we had a situation in
Arizona and in Texas, and I believe even in parts of California, where
it was suspected that this fungus had moved into our wheat supply. This
is a really serious issue. It essentially can make our wheat product
unexportable. Already we are having trouble in our wheat markets as
China now exports to us more wheat than PNTR ever anticipated. Now we
have this real contamination inside our country.
We need USDA's attention to this issue. I am going to enter into the
Record a Sunday, June 24 article from the Associated Press on this
question. It explains one of the reasons we fought so hard in this
budget and in this bill for additional help for the inspector general,
additional help for the
[[Page H3758]]
Animal, Plant Health Inspection Service so we could have timely
inspections and also avoid of these problems in the first place.
Mr. Chairman, this bill is not perfect. Let us hope as we move toward
the Senate it can be made even better. But we ask for the membership's
support. In closing down this general debate period, I would hope that
we can move through the amendments in a very expeditious manner so
Members can catch airplanes late tonight in order to get home.
[From the Washington Post, June 24, 2001]
USDA Wheat Disease Reaction Faulted
growers say the spread of karnal bunt fungus could be crippling
(By Roxana Hegeman)
Anthony, Kan.--Bureaucratic bungling by the U.S. Department
of Agriculture has allowed the spread of a plant disease that
could prove as devastating to wheat exports as foot-and-mouth
disease has been to European livestock, farm groups said.
Wheat growers in Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas say the USDA
responded too slowly to an outbreak of Karnal bunt at the
southernmost edge of the nation's wheat belt just as harvest
season was getting underway.
Karnal bunt is a fungus that is harmless to people but
sours the taste and smell of flour made from infected
kernels. It also slightly cuts production in infected fields.
The disease's main impact is economic: 80 countries ban
imports of wheat grown in infected regions.
That could be as crippling for American growers, who last
year produced nearly $6 billion of wheat, as would be the
discovery of foot-and-mouth disease in U.S. livestock, said
Brett Myers, executive vice president of the Kansas Wheat
Growers Association.
Europe's foot-and-mouth outbreak has cost millions of
dollars for the slaughter of some 3 million animals and a ban
on exports.
The suspected Karnal bunt contamination was first reported
to the USDA on May 25, and Michael Bryant, co-owner of the
elevator in Olney, Tex., that found it.
But it was seven days before the USDA's Animal and Plant
Health Inspection Service (APHIS) confirmed the finding, and
15 days passed before it quarantined the first affected
counties.
``Their reaction to the situation was not as timely as we
would have liked,'' said Kansas Agriculture Secretary Jamie
Clover Adams.
Charles P. Schwalbe, deputy director of APHIS's plant
protection and quarantine program, said his agency sent the
sample away for testing at a national lab instead of using a
local one to make sure it had accurate and legally defensible
information before taking action.
``The decisions that emerge . . . mean livelihood to people
from time to time,'' Schwalbe said.
The Karnal bunt found in Throckmorton and Young counties in
Texas were the first confirmed cases in the nation's wheat
belt, an area extending from central Texas to Alberta,
Canada.
On June 19, concern grew as the USDA added neighboring
Archer County to the quarantined area, followed by Baylor
County the next day. One elevator has also been quarantined
in Fort Worth, about 150 miles southeast.
Karnal bunt, which originated in India, was first detected
in the United States in 1996 in Arizona and California. It
has since spread to southern Texas and New Mexico.
In Arizona the amount of land used to grow wheat dropped
almost 50 percent after a quarantine was imposed in 1996 in
four counties, according to the Arizona Agricultural
Statistics Service.
But Arizona is a minor durum wheat producer, and U.S. wheat
growers have reassured overseas buyers that the disease was
far from the nation's major winter wheat producing region.
Winter wheat, which is planted in the fall and harvested in
the spring, accounts for about two-thirds of U.S. wheat and
is used primarily for bread. Durum wheat is used for pasta.
With half the winter wheat going to the export market, the
discovery of the disease at the southernmost edge of the
nation's breadbasket just as the wheat harvest was moving
north sent shock waves through the wheat belt.
State regulators feared that custom harvesters--cutters who
follow the ripening wheat harvest from Texas to the Canadian
border--would spread the fungus.
Oklahoma, just 50 miles from the two Texas counties where
the disease was first discovered, immediately closed its
borders and ordered combines coming into the state to be
blocked and inspected. Harvesters from infected areas without
a USDA certification of cleanliness were turned back.
``We need to preserve our heritage and our wheat industry.
The spread of Karnal bunt in Texas should be considered a
threat to Kansas wheat,'' said Kansas Gov. Bill Graves (R).
Kansas is the nation's biggest wheat producer, with a $1
billion crop and nearly 10 million planted acres.
Rep. Frank D. Lucas (R-Okla.) has been pursuing the issue
after a request from growers for a congressional
investigation into the USDA's handling. His office said he
has not decided whether to ask for an inquiry.
Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. BONILLA. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from
Washington (Mr. Nethercutt), a very distinguished member of the
subcommittee.
Mr. NETHERCUTT. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding me
this time and for his kind remarks.
Mr. Chairman, I am delighted to stand in support of this bill. We
have had a lively and valuable discussion on both sides of the aisle on
various issues.
Mr. Chairman, I think the subcommittee chairman has done a wonderful
job to put this bill together in essentially record fashion. I am
grateful to him for his leadership.
I am supportive of this bill because it has a strong research
component for agriculture, production agriculture, to be sure that it
has the tools and the information and the technology necessary to
compete in a world market. That is what we need for our farmers.
{time} 1500
I also am pleased that this bill under the chairman's leadership has
increased food safety and inspection. We have the safest food supply in
the world and we must make sure that we acknowledge that and do not
denigrate it in debate on the issue, because we have a very safe
system. We need to keep it safe. We will keep it safe with the
resources that are available in this bill.
At the subcommittee and the full committee level, I had raised the
issue of ecoterrorism. When we spend multimillions of dollars on
agriculture research but yet some of that research gets destroyed by
extremists, ecoextremists who seek to destroy agriculture research,
then we need to make sure we, as taxpayers and as Members of this body,
protect that research.
This is not the place or the time for that issue and the discussion
surrounding it, but it is an issue that we need to attend. My
expectation is that we will attend to it as we go through the
legislative process later in this year. But I think those of us who
care deeply about agriculture need to be critically aware that
ecoterrorism is a reality in this country. We need to protect the
research and the researchers.
I urge my colleagues to support this bill.
Mr. BONILLA. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from
Connecticut (Mrs. Johnson).
Mrs. JOHNSON of Connecticut. Mr. Chairman, I want to thank the
gentleman for this opportunity to express my strong support for his
bill and point out a small provision of it that is extremely important
to the farmers of the northeastern part of the Nation, particularly to
those in Connecticut. I strongly support the increase in funding for
the EQIP program, the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, because
it will help us achieve our national attainment goals in the area of
clean water.
The AFO/CAFO regulations are expensive. My State has adopted all of
the implementing policy to assure compliance with the AFO/CAFO
regulations; and the only reason frankly, the only possible way that
small farmers can survive these costly regulations is through the
technical assistance that the EQIP funds provide to them to help them
determine what projects will, in fact, contain runof. These funds give
them some help in offsetting the costs of developing manure management
programs and other modern approaches that will enable them to make a
significant contribution to the cleanliness of our waterways and also,
in the long run, to the revitalization of Long Island Sound.
In New England, we have very steep, hilly farms. We also have more
rainfall than other parts of the country. So the burden on us is,
frankly, far higher than the burden on other parts of the country. We
are not a part of the country that benefits much from the farm bill
through its crop assistance and other programs, but so some of its
conservation dollars, and these EQIP dollars, are extremely important
to us. I thank the chairman for uncapping them and making more
resources available for compliance with the AFO/CAFO requirements.
Mr. BONILLA. Mr. Chairman, our Committee has worked hard to bring a
good bill to the House. We have made prudent recommendations for the
use of the budgetary allocation available to us, and we have done
yoeman
[[Page H3759]]
work in keeping the bill free of contentious issues such as trade
policy, that have caused concern in prior years. I think we have a very
good bill, and I know that we will have a good debate. In closing, I
would certainly hope that everyone would support this bill on final
passage.
Mr. KIND. Mr. Chairman, today the House is considering funding for
the fiscal year 2002 Agriculture appropriations bill. This bill
provides funding for U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Food and
Drug Administration.
As a Member of Congress from a large agricultural district who is
also concerned about this Nation's long-term fiscal health, I am
concerned that this measure is yet another repeat of past agriculture
spending packages--where Congress is providing fewer-and-fewer farmers
with financial assistance.
The failure of this Congress to make fundamental changes to existing
agriculture policy, which had led to many farmers being driven off
their land due to the perverse financial incentives, is beyond
reasonable belief.
It is my hope that future agriculture policy will be equitable,
providing federal assistance--when needed--to all producers. It is my
hope that future agriculture policy respects the broad diversity of
rural America. It is my hope that future agriculture policy provides
for clean and safe drinking water, along with improved soil and air
quality.
Mr. Chairman, this measure obviously covers more than just financial
assistance to American farmers. In addition, it provides important
funding for nutrition programs, food inspection, and safety. For these
reasons, it is very important that this measure is passed.
Mrs. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Chairman, in January 1997, when the
Asian Longhorned Beetle was first spotted in the United States right in
the heart of Brooklyn, I called on the Department of Agriculture to do
everything in its power to eradicate this tree-killing beetle before it
devastated the Northeast urban forestry network. The strong efforts
from the Agriculture Department, in close coordination with State and
city agencies, slowed the beetles spread significantly, but sadly, New
York has lost more than 5,000 trees in less than 6 years from beetle
infestation.
In recent years, I have held numerous community forums on the issue
to raise awareness about the beetle's devastating effects and to
discuss strategies to prevent the spread of beetle infestation.
I have also worked closely with my colleagues in the New York
delegation to secure adequate funding to stop the beetle before it
spreads deeply throughout the Northeast region and into the rest of the
country.
My aim has always been the protection of our farmlands, our trees and
our forests through the containment and complete eradication of the
Asian Longhorned Beetle.
This year's Agriculture Budget provides crucial resources toward that
end, with $35 million appropriated to fight the Asian Longhorned
Beetle, citrus canker, and the plum pox virus. This is a significant
increase in funding for a very significant problem. Unchecked, costs
from the spread of the Asian Longhorned Beetle could rise as high as
$41 billion nationwide.
I want to thank Congressman Bonilla and Congresswoman Kaptur for
including these significant funds to battle the beetle.
I also want to note that the Interior budget currently includes
almost $24 million for the U.S. Forest Service for the Cooperative Land
Forest Health Management program specifically to fight the spread of
the gypsy moth and the Asian Longhorned Beetle.
Resources for the fight against beetle infestation are especially
important to New York City. Just this month, 60 trees from Calvary
Cemetery in my district in Queens were cut down, chipped, and burned to
the root because of beetle infestation. Additional trees were recently
cut down in Astoria and Woodside Queens.
In fact, since the beginning of this year, the Brooklyn, Queens
region has lost close to 300 more trees to beetle infestation.
Manhattan has lost more than 50 tress and the Bayside area lost more
than 150 trees. The total loss for the New York City, Long Island area
is up to 5,300 trees.
The beetle is simply devastating large portions of the region. With
new resources, we will be able to fund areas where there have been
significant shortfalls. We will be able to train our residents to
identify the beetle and respond appropriately if they spot one. We will
be able to increase funds for tree inspections, removal, and
reforestation efforts.
Also, we will continue to move forward with new treatments for
healthy trees that help prevent beetle infestation. In short, we will
battle this menace on all fronts to protect our trees, our environment,
and our quality of life.
Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Chairman, this Member rises in support of H.R.
2330, the Agriculture appropriations bill for fiscal year 2002.
This Member would like to commend the distinguished gentleman from
Texas (Mr. Bonilla), the chairman of the Agriculture Appropriations
Subcommittee, and the distinguished gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur),
the ranking member of the subcommittee, for their hard work in bringing
this bill to the floor.
Mr. Chairman, this Member certainly recognizes the severe budget
constraints under which the full Appropriations Committee and the
Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee operated. In light of these
constraints, this Member is grateful and pleased that this legislation
includes funding for several important projects of interest to the
State of Nebraska.
First, this Member is pleased that H.R. 2330 provides $461,000 for
the Midwest Advanced Food Manufacturing Alliance (MAFMA). The alliance
is an association of 12 leading research universities and corporate
partners. Its purpose is to develop and facilitate the transfer of new
food manufacturing and processing technologies.
The MAFMA awards grants for research projects on a peer review basis.
These awards must be supported by an industry partner willing to
provide matching funds. During the seventh year of competition, MAFMA
received 39 proposals requesting a total of $1,382,555. Eleven
proposals were funded for a total of $348,147. Matching funds from
industry for these funded projects total $605,601 with an additional
$57,115 from in-kind funds. These figures convincingly demonstrate how
successful the alliance has been in leveraging support from the food
manufacturing and processing industries.
Mr. Chairman, the future viability and competitiveness of the U.S.
agricultural industry depends on its ability to adapt to increasing
worldwide demands for U.S. exports of intermediate and consumer good
exports. In order to meet these changing worldwide demands,
agricultural research must also adapt to provide more emphasis on
adding value to our basic farm commodities. The Midwest Advanced Food
Manufacturing Alliance can provide the necessary cooperative link
between universities and industries for the development of competitive
food manufacturing and processing technologies. This will, in turn,
ensure that the U.S. agricultural industry remains competitive in an
increasingly competitive global economy.
This Member is also pleased that this bill includes $200,000 to fund
the National Drought Mitigation Center (NDMC) at the University of
Nebraska-Lincoln. This project is in its fourth year and has assisted
numerous States and cities in developing drought plans and developing
drought response teams. Given the nearly unprecedented levels of
drought in several parts of our country, this effort is obviously
important.
Furthermore, this Member is also pleased that the measure provides
$700,000 for efforts at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln to improve
biomass for feedstocks. The research will benefit the environment and
the agricultural economy. It also holds the potential to greatly reduce
the nation's dependence on foreign sources of energy.
Another important project funded by this bill is the Alliance for
Food Protection, a joint project between the University of Nebraska and
the University of Georgia. The mission of this alliance is to assist
the development and modification of food processing and preservation
technologies. This technology will help ensure that Americans continue
to receive the safest and highest quality food possible.
This Member is also pleased that the legislation funds the following
ongoing Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service
(CSREES) projects at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Food
Processing Center: $42,000; non-food agricultural products: $64,000;
sustainable agricultural systems: $59,000; Rural Policy Research
Institute (RUPRI) (a joint effort with Iowa State University and the
University of Missouri): $1,300,000.
In addition, this Member is pleased that the bill directs the
Agriculture Research Service to collect and focus $300,000 at the
University of Nebraska-Lincoln to address sorghum fungal plant
pathology concerns. This funding will fill a critical need for fungal
pathology research for sorghum in the central Great Plains and the
United States.
This Member would also note that H.R. 2330 includes $99.77 million
for the section 538, the rural rental multifamily housing loan
guarantee program. The program provides a Federal guarantee on loans
made to eligible persons by private lenders. Developers will bring 10
percent of the cost of the project to the table, and private lenders
will make loans for the balance. The lenders will be given a 100
percent Federal guarantee on the loans they make. Unlike the current
section 515 direct loan program, where the full costs are borne by the
Federal Government, the only costs to the Federal Government under the
538 Guarantee Program will be for administrative costs and potential
defaults.
[[Page H3760]]
Mr. Chairman, this Member certainly appreciates the $3.1 billion
appropriation for the Department of Agriculture's Section 502
Unsubsidized Loan Guarantee Program. The program has been very
effective in rural communities by guaranteeing loans made by approved
lenders to eligible income households in small communities of up to
20,000 residents in nonmetropolitan areas and in rural areas. The
program provides guarantees for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages for the
purchase of an existing home or the construction of a new home.
Mr. Chairman, in conclusion, this Member supports H.R. 2330 and urges
his colleagues to approve it.
Mr. LARGENT. Mr. Chairman, I rise today to express my support for
H.R. 2330, the FY 2002 Agriculture appropriations bill. I am pleased
that the Appropriations Committee has both supported our farmers and
displayed fiscal discipline by remaining close to the President's
budget request. This responsible bill addresses the needs of our
nation's farmers and ranchers while keeping in mind the desire of
American consumers to buy affordable and safe agriculture products.
I want to commend the full committee for passing a number of
important amendments. Specifically, I am pleased that employees of the
Farm Service Agency will be better able to deliver farm ownership, farm
operating, and disaster loans through improved salary and expense
funding and through additional resources for agricultural credit
programs. This assistance will come as a welcome relief as the workload
of this vital agency has grown in response to a weakening farm economy.
I am also pleased with the investment this bill makes in the future
safety and health of our citizens and our environment. The research
that will be facilitated and advanced through this bill will ensure the
continued quality of our food supply by improving safeguards. The
conservation programs within the bill also reflect foresight. The
desire of farmers to preserve American soil exemplifies the respect and
attachment they have for the land in which they are invested.
Lastly, I am encouraged by the Distance Learning and Telemedicine
Program which will link rural Americans with resources and
opportunities previously available only in urban areas. As we seek a
prosperous future for our rural residents, we must find ways to
stimulate local economies. This bill advances that goal through
education and enhanced services that will enable individuals and
families to stay in their hometowns while receiving education and
health services. Using technology to provide useful links between rural
and urban areas will slow the flight to cities and preserve smaller
towns and municipalities, which are vital pieces of the American
fabric.
I commend the chairman and all of the members of the committee for
crafting this responsible bill.
Mr. TANCREDO. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to H.R. 2330, the
Agriculture Appropriations Act, a bill considered on the floor today
which makes appropriations for the Department of Agriculture and
related agencies. But more specifically, I rise in strong opposition to
the increase provided in the bill for the Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) and would like to call the House's attention to a problem that
one of my constituents has been having with the agency and one that I
believe deserves careful consideration by the oversight committees in
this chamber.
Recently, the FDA gave final approval of my constituent's Pre-Market
Application for both total and partial joint implants after an
exhaustive and blatantly biased 2-year review, but not before costing
his company over $8 million in legal fees, lost wages, and profits.
In April 1999, I received a phone call and letter from TMJ Implants,
a company located in Golden Colorado, in my district, which had been
having problems with the review of its Premarket Approval Application
of the TMJ Total and Fossa-Eminence Prosthesis. Up until last year, the
company was the premier market supplier of temporomandibular joint
prosthesis.
Over the last 2 years, I have taken an active interest and an active
role in monitoring the progress of TMJ Implants' application, which was
finally approved in February. On numerous occasions, I met with Dr. Bob
Christensen, president of TMJ Implants, to find out information about
the approval of the partial and total joint, and personally talked to
FDA Commissioner Jane Henney and to members of the Agency about the
status of the company's applications. I was also, and continue to be,
in contact with the House Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight, which has
sole jurisdiction over the FDA and issues relating to abuse and the
internal operations of the agency.
Specifically, I closely followed this case since my office's first
contact with Dr. Christensen and TMJ Implants in early May 1999, after
a meeting of the FDA's Dental Products Panel of the Medical Devices
Advisory Committee was held to review the company's PMA and recommended
approval of the PMA by a 90 vote. From this point onward, the FDA
engaged in an obvious pattern of delay and deception and even went as
far as to remove TMJ Implants' Fossa-Eminence Prosthesis from the
market, which had been available for almost 40 years. This had done
nothing more than to cause harm to patients and cost the company
millions of dollars.
This was done at the same time that the application for TMJ Concepts,
a competitor of TMJ Implants, sailed through the process. Several
allegations have come to light over the last two years detailing the
fact that several Agency employees have worked under the direction of
TMJ Concepts' associates.
The agency went so far as to reconvene a new Medical Devices Advisory
Committee late last year, with a clear majority of its members lacking
the required expertise, which denied the company's application.
It was not until Mr. Bernard Statland, the new Director of the Office
of Device Evaluation (ODE) was brought in that the logjam was broken
the PMA was quickly approved.
As the above demonstrates, several concerns remain about the process
that has taken place over the last two years. It is no secret that
everyone involved in this case believes that there have been
significant question raised about the process--the sluggish pace of the
review of the engineering data for both the total and partial joint
and, more importantly, the constant ``moving of the goal posts'' during
the review of both PMAs.
Over the last 2 years, my office has received numerous letters from
physicians all across the country--from the Mayo Clinic to the
University of Maryland--each describing the benefit of the partial
joint and the fact that the partial and total joint results in
immediate and dramatic in pain, an increase in range of motion and
increased function.
While I am, of course, pleased that the application has been approved
by the FDA after much delay, the circumstances of the last 2 years
calls into question the integrity of the agency and, it is for this
reason that I bring it to the House's attention.
Dr. Christensen is a true professional and a pioneer in his field and
holder of the first patents. His implants are widely accepted as
effective and safe throughout the dental and surgery community--indeed,
several of my constituents have literally had their lives changed by
the procedure. I am convinced that the work of TMJ is and always has
been based on solid, scientific principles and the removal of the
implants work of TMJ is and always has been on solid, scientific
principles and the removal of the implants from the market had been
erroneous, contrary to the Agency's earlier findings and the statutory
standard that should be applied. This was devastating to thousands in
the general public and devastating to the financial status of the
company.
Later this year, the House of Representatives will consider
legislation reauthorizing the Food and Drug Administration and I would
like to urge the House Commerce Committee to hold hearings on the TMJ
Implant case and to conduct a thorough investigation into the FDA's
review of the Premarket Approval Application of the TMJ Fossa-Eminence
Prosthesis.
I would like to take this opportunity to submit into the Record two
articles from FDAWebview which shed light on the TMJ Implant case.
[From FDAWebview, Feb. 28, 2001]
``Full Disclosure'' Standard in TMJ Approval Opens New FDA Era
Instead of FDA tying itself in knots trying to guarantee no
inappropriate patient exposures to implanted devices--and
stalling a product in mid-review as a result--yesterday's
approval of the TMJ Implants Fossa-Eminence Prosthesis set a
new ``full disclosure'' labeling standard that lifts that
self-imposed burden from the agency and should expedite other
product reviews. TMJ Implants' pre-1976 jaw joint devices was
stalled for 20 months in a classification PMA review until
new Office of Device Evaluation (ODE) director Bernard
Statland broke the logjam. In doing this, he was implementing
one stage of a bold new Center policy on innovative public
use of clinical device information articulated last year by
Center director David Feigal--placing such FDA-held
information in the hands of physicians and patients.
According to one of the two attorneys who steered the TMJ
Implants submission through its FDA ordeal, Mike Cole
(Bergeson & Campbell), yesterday's approval is the first he's
seen in 25 years of dealing with ODE where the agency stepped
back from its ``appropriate use'' worries and left them to
physicians and patients to decide, based on full disclosure
in labeling of the device's real-world limitations--including
the availability of no-device alternative therapies.
Under the Fossa-Eminence labeling's Warnings section is a
boxed statement headed, ``The medical literature reports,''
with four bulleted statements:
That many cases of Internal Derangement resolve after non-
surgical treatment, or, in some cases, with no treatment at
all.
That the complexity of contributing factors in this patient
population must be considered in the diagnosis and decision
to surgically treat patients.
[[Page H3761]]
That replacement surgery, therefore, should be utilized
only as a last resort after other treatment options are
exhausted or determined not to be warranted in the medical
judgment of the physician/dentist in consultation with the
patient.
That the Wilkes classification is a guide in determining
the severity of the disease. This classification should not
be relied on as a sole criterion for surgical treatment.
``It really is a striking difference in philosophy,'' Cole
told FDA Webview. ``It discloses that a lot of patients have
responded without surgery . . . It describes situations where
the doctor arrives at the diagnosis that surgery may be
appropriate, but it doesn't prejudge it. Over the years,
there have been all these notable instances of concern
about off-label use of products and misuse of products,
and part of it comes, I think, from a mentality that we
have to be 100% sure that it will be used appropriately.
As a result, manufacturers have started submitting
applications with more and more restricted indications
statements in them because that can get through system.''
Cole and colleague David Rosen (McDermott, Will & Emery)
believe the TM) Implants devices had been logjammed at FDA
for so long simply because reviewers were afraid the products
would be used inappropriately--an FDA syndrome that has
effected many other products over the years. ``A lot of
times, what it really comes down to is demands for more data,
more data, more data,'' Cole explained, ``because the
reviewers are not comfortable with the idea that the device
ought to be on the market, or available. The way out of that
is to keep asking for more information.''
In TMJ Implants' case, he said, review leader Susan Runner
``held what I think was a very honest and sincere concern
about the device being used in cases where patients might
respond without surgical treatment. Because the studies
hadn't been set up to prove exactly what I think we had
demonstrated, she had this really deep-seated concern about
the product being used, and it just went round and round in
circles. We had no apparent instances of misuse of the
device, but we were getting nowhere.
``When we had this meeting with Dr. Statland, he got up
with a whiteboard and started talkng abut the data, and he
said to his people, `You know, we've got a lot of information
here; what we need to do is figure out how we're going to
present this information to the doctor so that the doctor and
the patient understand exactly where surgery fits in this and
make sure we discuss the limitations of the data.' For the
first time that I've heard this in 25 years dealing with
Center, he said: `We'll discuss this information in the
labeling and we'll let the doctors and the patients decide
whether they want to use the device--we won't decide for
them.''
Statland, Cole said, stopped the reviewers' agonizing at
the point where reasonable assurance of safety and efficacy
had been demonstrated, thus preventing the agency from
continuing to stray into attempts to secure an absolute
guarantee that the product would not be used improperly. ``In
a way it's a kind of subtle point, but in a way it's also a
sledgehammer point. When Dr. Statland said `This is what
we're going to do,' it was over.''
____
[From the FDAWebview, Feb. 27, 2001]
Toughest Device Approval Clears Last of Embattled Firm's Implants
Ending a 20-month, $6 million ordeal for Colorado-based TMJ
Implants Inc., CDRH Office of Device Evaluation director
Bernard Statland 2/27 approved the last and most important of
the company's two PMAs--for the TMJ Fossa-Eminence
Prosthesis. Without his personal involvement in the review--
including private discussions with several oral surgeons, it
would still be bogged down, observed TMJ Implants' attorney,
former FDAer David Rosen (McDermott, Will & Emery) who with
Mike Cole (Bergeson & Campbell) helped propel the tortured
review to its successful conclusion; Rosen ranks this
approval at the top of the toughest FDA approvals he has
experienced, inside or outside the agency, including both
generic drugs and medical devices.
At one point, FDA reviewers allegedly predicted the Fossa-
Eminence, or partial jaw joint, would never be approved. The
only device of its type every marketed, it attracted heavy
reviewer skepticism. Then, last month, the company's two-part
total joint, of which the Fossa-Eminence is a component, was
approved. This seemed like a consolation prize, because the
total had been only a small part of the company's business.
TMJ Implants CEO Robert Christensen recalls an FDA manager
asking whether the company could not be satisfied just with
the total while the agency continued to consider the partial.
``I told them we could not survive on the total,'' he said.
In 1998, as it was moving against his pre-1976 devices
pending classification and PMA submission, FDA approved a new
competitor's total joint, indicating agency satisfaction with
that technology, especially the competitor's plastic cup
(Christensen's devices are all-metal).
The final labeling of the Christensen Fossa-Eminence now
actually gives his partial device more indications than he
originally asked for, and effectively restores the device to
all of its marketed uses before FDA's classification process
removed it from commerce 20 months ago (the company had
reduced the indications it was requesting based on FDA and
advisory panel suggestions). The new approval lists these
indications:
Internal derangement confirmed to be pathological in origin
by both clinical observation and radiographic findings, where
the patient has moderate to severe pain and/or disabling
dysfunction and has not responded to less invasive,
conventional therapy;
Inflammatory arthritis involving the temporomandibular
joint not responsive to other modalities of
treatment; Recurrent fibrosis and/or bony ankylosis not
responsive to other modalities of treatment;
Failed tissue graft;
Failed alloplastic joint reconstruction.
These indications all had to be justified by a prospective
clinical study that Christensen and oral surgeons using these
devices had provided, but that CDRH's Division of Dental,
Infection Control and General Hospital Devices had difficulty
evaluating. Statland told FDA Webview he injected himself
into the review because it was ``stuck.'' It helped that his
wife once had a TMJ condition that did not require surgery--
he learned as much as he could about ``this very complex
problem, which has many causes and many different
treatments.''
As he got into the TMJ Implants controversy, he discovered
that the parties' positions had hardened through
communication breakdowns, which he was able to soften.
``There was venting on both sides,'' Statland said.
``The message is,'' he told us, ``that those companies that
are very conscientious in prospective studies, that have the
data, find that that speaks much louder than anything else.
Anecdotal information is fine, opinions of various people and
declarations are fine, but we have to look at the numbers. I
think that's the take-home lesson.''
With TMJ Implants, Statland said, FDA played ``a
consultative role,'' although he would not address
Christensen's complaints that the early stages of the review
were far from consultative. ``I'm pro-technology,'' he
stressed. ``I want good devices to be out there. Those things
are going to help people. At the same time, I want full
disclosure, so people can make good decisions.''
Rosen acknowledged that after Statland began opening up the
issues dividing the company from reviewers, there were holes
in the data (e.g., patients lost to follow-up) that the
company had provided and that reviewers apparently didn't
know how to assess. After one round-table discussion, on 2/9,
he and Mike Cole worked through the weekend to extract from
the company's prospective clinical study data a subset
analysis of patients who had at least three years' experience
with the Fossa-Eminence implant. On 2/13, he presented this
to the reviewers, and it answered all of their questions.
That left only the labeling, which then moved quickly to
completion.
Christensen, who had enlisted legal, political and media
help in his frustration with the process, told us 2/27 he is
now ``very pleased'' with the result, although he thinks FDA
owes him for some of his extraordinary costs in restoring his
two devices to the market. He has resumed full marketing
efforts. By his calculations, he has $6 million to $8 million
in losses to make up.
Mr. BONILLA. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.
The CHAIRMAN. All time for general debate has expired.
Pursuant to the rule, the bill shall be considered for amendment
under the 5-minute rule and the amendment printed in House Report 107-
118 is adopted.
During consideration of the bill for amendment, the Chair may accord
priority in recognition to a Member offering an amendment that he has
printed in the designated place in the Congressional Record. Those
amendments will be considered read.
The Clerk will read.
The Clerk read as follows:
H.R. 2330
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the
following sums are appropriated, out of any money in the
Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for Agriculture, Rural
Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related
Agencies programs for the fiscal year ending September 30,
2002, and for other purposes, namely:
TITLE I
AGRICULTURAL PROGRAMS
Production, Processing, and Marketing
Office of the Secretary
For necessary expenses of the Office of the Secretary of
Agriculture, and not to exceed $75,000 for employment under 5
U.S.C. 3109, $3,015,000: Provided, That not to exceed $11,000
of this amount shall be available for official reception and
representation expenses, not otherwise provided for, as
determined by the Secretary: Provided further, That none of
the funds appropriated or otherwise made available by this
Act may be used to pay the salaries and expenses of personnel
of the Department of Agriculture to carry out section
793(c)(1)(C) of Public Law 104-127: Provided further, That
none of the funds made available by this Act may be used to
enforce section 793(d) of Public Law 104-127.
Amendment Offered by Ms. Kaptur
Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.
[[Page H3762]]
The Clerk read as follows:
Amendment offered by Ms. Kaptur:
In title I, under the heading ``Office of the Secretary''
insert after the first dollar amount the following:
``(reduced by $1,700)''.
In title V, under the heading ``Foreign Agricultural
Service''-``salaries and expenses'' insert after the second
dollar amount the following: ``(increased by $1,700)''.
Ms. KAPTUR (during the reading). Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous
consent that the amendment be considered as read and printed in the
Record.
The CHAIRMAN. Is there objection to the request of the gentlewoman
from Ohio?
There was no objection.
Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Chairman, throughout the consideration of our bill at
the subcommittee level and full committee level, we very, very much
wanted to have a straightforward appropriation for continuation of the
Global Food for Education program. Thus far we have been unable to
achieve that in the base bill and have only been able to achieve report
language that essentially says that we, as the Congress, expect that
the Secretary of Agriculture will continue a program begun last year
that is moving our surplus commodities and food commodities around the
world to 38 countries, feeding over 9 million needy children. This
program is a win-win for America's farmers and ranchers and definitely
a win-win for hungry children around the world, including young girls
who are encouraged to go to school and receive a decent ration in
whatever country they might live.
Unfortunately, in the base bill, there is not $300 million
appropriated to continue this program straightforwardly. Rather, all we
have is some language that says to the Secretary, ``We think it's a
great idea; we hope you can figure out a way to continue the program;
and we expect you to continue the program.''
The purpose of this amendment as drafted would be to symbolically
take $1,700 from the Secretary's own accounts and to make those
available to the Foreign Agricultural Service. Now, we know $1,700 is
not a whole lot, you might be able to buy some stationery with that,
but the number 1700 happens to be the number of the McGovern-Emerson
bill, which is the bill that would permanently authorize this program
for which we would appropriate necessary funds in any fiscal year.
Now, the program as it currently operates is having a tremendous
impact around the world. In fact, there are some countries where
organizations are now building schools, albeit humble schools, maybe
thatched roof schools, where children are coming to receive this food.
It has gotten tremendous support from so many of our nongovernmental
organizations, like Catholic Charities, like ACDI/VOCA, like Mercy
Corps, like CARE, the very organizations that the World Food Program
works through all across the world to feed those who are most in need.
So the purpose of this amendment as drafted really is to say, look,
why are we involved in this budget charade of saying to the Congress:
if we directly appropriate $300 million, we can't do that because we
break some sacrosanct budget rule here and, therefore, we can't
appropriate real dollars. So we'll just put report language in the
bill. Compare this to the other option that, well, if it goes over to
the Secretary, she can spend the dollars out of the Commodity Credit
Corporation and it doesn't score.
I do not think there is a person in my district that would understand
this kind of budget charade. So the purpose of this amendment is really
to draw attention to what is happening here and to say that a large
number of our Members on this side of the aisle really want this
program to have permanently appropriated dollars. We want to be able to
do that as a House. We are handcuffed in the procedures allowed through
subcommittee and full committee in order to achieve that.
It is not my intention to move forward with this amendment because I
do not want to do a fig leaf. I want to do a real appropriation. But I
want to use this amendment as a mechanism to allow others who support
this program to speak and to, in the strongest language possible, let
the administration know that we are serious. Quite frankly, as this
bill moves to conference, it is my intention, working with some of my
other colleagues, to bring this up in the other body.
Mrs. EMERSON. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word.
Mr. Chairman, I rise to enter into a colloquy with the gentleman from
Texas (Mr. Bonilla) as well as the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr.
McGovern) and the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur) with regard to the
continuation of the Global Food for Education Initiative.
Mr. Chairman, the Global Food for Education Initiative was
implemented as a pilot program during fiscal year 2001. The Department
of Agriculture used $300 million of discretionary funds from the
Commodity Credit Corporation to start this pilot program.
I have joined with the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern)
and others in introducing the George McGovern-Robert Dole International
Food for Education and Child Nutrition Act of 2001 so that we actually
can authorize this program for a 5-year period. However, it is unlikely
that this authorizing legislation will be approved in time to provide a
seamless transition from the pilot to the authorized program for fiscal
year 2002.
An amendment was offered to continue the pilot program at the current
level of funding during our markup in the agriculture appropriations
subcommittee, but we determined that, for lots of reasons, it would not
be part of our bill today. However, I was pleased at the efforts of the
gentleman from Texas to include language explaining that the House of
Representatives expects the Department of Agriculture to continue the
GFEI pilot program in the fiscal year 2002.
Mr. Chairman, it is my hope that the committee supports the
international school feeding programs. I would like to see the GFEI
continued for the next fiscal year. Is it the gentleman from Texas'
expectation that the Department of Agriculture will continue to fund
this program at its current level in fiscal year 2002?
Mr. BONILLA. Mr. Chairman, will the gentlewoman yield?
Mrs. EMERSON. I yield to the gentleman from Texas.
Mr. BONILLA. It is hard to speculate as to what the Department is
going to do, but I can assure her that this is something that we are
all concerned about. I know the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur) has
worked on this as well, along with the gentleman from Massachusetts
(Mr. McGovern), the gentleman from New York (Mr. Walsh), and others.
The subcommittee included report language that encourages the Secretary
to continue this program at the same level as the current fiscal year.
Accordingly, I will be pleased to work with the gentlewoman to see that
USDA continues a program they initiated administratively.
Mrs. EMERSON. I thank the gentleman.
Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Chairman, will the gentlewoman yield?
Mrs. EMERSON. I yield to the gentleman from Massachusetts.
Mr. McGOVERN. First of all, I want to thank the gentlewoman from
Missouri for yielding and for her incredible leadership on this issue;
and I want to thank the gentleman from Texas for his work on this issue
and for the strong language included in the fiscal year 2002
agriculture appropriations report. I appreciate the gentleman's words
and his dedication to the continuation of this important program. I
look forward to working with him and others on this committee to try to
persuade Secretary Veneman to make sure that she does continue this
program at the current level.
Mr. Chairman, I include for the Record a letter of support for this
program co-signed by former Senators Bob Dole and George McGovern.
Washington, DC,
June 12, 2001.
Hon. C.W. Young,
Chairman, House Appropriations Committee, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: We would like to encourage you to ensure
that funding continues for fiscal year 2002 for the
President's Global Food for Education Initiative.
It would be tragic to initiate school feeding programs that
benefit 9 million children, only to have those programs
abruptly terminated.
We hope that you will support continuing funding for this
program in fiscal year 2002 at the same levels as fiscal year
2001 when you consider the FY02 Agriculture Appropriations
Bill in Committee this week.
Sincerely,
George McGovern.
Bob Dole.
[[Page H3763]]
Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Chairman, will the gentlewoman yield?
Mrs. EMERSON. I yield to the gentlewoman from Ohio.
Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Chairman, I wanted to thank the gentlewoman from
Missouri for her tremendous leadership on this issue and also the
gentleman from Massachusetts, Mr. McGovern. The two of them have been
vigilant all through our efforts in subcommittee and full committee. I
want to thank the gentleman from Texas, Mr. Bonilla, for trying to do
as much as he could do. I would hope that we might even consider doing
a joint letter to the Secretary as we move toward conference, if that
is possible, in order that this program be given the serious attention
that it demands at the Department of Agriculture. I want to thank all
my colleagues for their tremendous efforts.
Also, I understand Senator Dole has gone through a bit of a procedure
at the Cleveland Clinic recently. If he is watching this, I hope our
remarks make him feel better. I also want to thank Senator McGovern who
has been such a stalwart supporter and innovator, a genius really on
this program. We thank him for traveling up here recently to join us in
a press conference in front of the Capitol. We hope in their stead here
today that we do what is necessary to continue this program.
Mrs. EMERSON. I thank the gentlewoman from Ohio. The gentleman from
Massachusetts and I thank the gentleman from Texas for his
clarification on this issue.
Mr. OBEY. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the requisite number of
words.
Mr. Chairman, I would like to make a few observations about the
conversation that we have just heard with respect to this proposal. I
think the key words that Members ought to keep in mind were the words
of the subcommittee chairman. When he was asked whether or not he did
expect the Department to, in fact, continue this program, he correctly
pointed out that it is always difficult to predict what any agency,
including USDA, will do. That is precisely why, in my view, the
committee should have adopted the amendment that we tried to have
attached in full committee and why this House should have voted on it
today.
{time} 1515
Here is the situation that we face on this issue. We have had, for
the past year, a pilot program going on which in essence takes the
value of surplus food in this country and uses it to provide nutrition
for young children abroad.
We have been asked by former Senator George McGovern and former
Senator Bob Dole, who each on occasion was honored with the nomination
of his party to the Presidency of the United States, we have been asked
by both of them to continue the program and to make it a long-term
commitment. That is something we ought to do.
I would submit that no one in the history of the Congress knows more
about child nutrition than George McGovern and Bob Dole. They devoted a
good deal of their life to seeing to it that children in this country
were adequately nourished, and they are trying to also do something to
recognize that we have responsibilities to people around the world who
are not as fortunate as we are.
The problem we have is that when the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms.
Kaptur) and others sought to offer the amendment, we were told if we
offer the amendment and if we do that in this bill, then this bill will
be scored and that will hurt us vis-a-vis the Budget Act.
I would simply say I think this is a sad example of how we have been
tied up by some of the ludicrous accounting rules that get in the way
of our achieving needed policy goals.
We are stuck in a battle of accountants and the lawyerly
interpretation of what accountants tell us and, as a result, we are
prevented from doing something which we obviously ought to do.
We have one problem. The agency has not decided to proceed. This
Congress had a choice. It could tell the agency to get off the dime and
proceed or it could pass the buck. For bookkeeping reasons, this
Congress has decided to pass the buck. I think that is unfortunate. It
seems to me that if the Congress had indicated today, through an
amendment on this legislation, that we were directing them to proceed,
the agency would have proceeded. We would then have not had the
accounting problem and we could have, in fact, delivered on this
program.
We have a simple choice. We have surplus commodities in this country.
The question is, will the taxpayers be asked to pay money in order to
store them or will they be asked to pay money in order to ship them so
they can be used to provide nutrition for young children abroad who
need them?
That is a win-win proposition, both for those kids and our farmers.
It ought to also help our consciences as well, and I think it is indeed
unfortunate that we have been prevented from offering the amendment
today.
Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Chairman, if the gentleman will yield, I reserve the
right, as we move toward conference, to reinject this issue into the
debate as we further perfect this bill.
Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent to withdraw the amendment.
The CHAIRMAN. Is there objection to the request of the gentlewoman
from Ohio?
There was no objection.
The CHAIRMAN. The amendment is withdrawn.
The Clerk will read.
The Clerk read as follows:
Executive Operations
chief economist
For necessary expenses of the Chief Economist, including
economic analysis, risk assessment, cost-benefit analysis,
energy and new uses, and the functions of the World
Agricultural Outlook Board, as authorized by the Agricultural
Marketing Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1622g), and including
employment pursuant to the second sentence of section 706(a)
of the Organic Act of 1944 (7 U.S.C. 2225), of which not to
exceed $5,000 is for employment under 5 U.S.C. 3109,
$7,704,000.
national appeals division
For necessary expenses of the National Appeals Division,
including employment pursuant to the second sentence of
section 706(a) of the Organic Act of 1944 (7 U.S.C. 2225), of
which not to exceed $25,000 is for employment under 5 U.S.C.
3109, $12,869,000.
Ms. LEE. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word.
Mr. Chairman, I rise to enter into a colloquy with the chairman of
the committee. I had intended to offer an amendment today to provide
funding to make it easier for students to purchase organic and whole
foods in the school breakfast and lunch programs, but I will not offer
my amendment today. I want to thank the gentleman from Texas (Mr.
Bonilla), and the ranking member, the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms.
Kaptur) for their support of my intention to assist schools in
purchasing healthy foods for their school breakfast and lunch programs.
This would include organic, locally grown and fresh produce. At a
time when our children's health is threatened by such conditions as
obesity and type II diabetes, it is more important than ever to ensure
that they have healthy options when they eat at school.
Currently, our tax dollars buy a high fat, high caffeine, fast food
diet, which is turning into an extremely expensive public health
problem. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
youth nutrition and obesity are an epidemic in the United States. The
Healthy Farms and Healthy Kids Report states that the awful irony is
that our multibillion dollar investment is yielding a multibillion
dollar public health crisis in school-aged children while at the same
time 85 percent of family farmers who are perched precariously on the
edge of urban sprawl are threatened with extinction. In many school
districts in my State of California and around the Nation, urban,
rural, and suburban, it is a real challenge to serve fresh, ethnically
diverse meals prepared on-site from whole ingredients obtained by local
farms.
With the commitment from the schools and the community, things can be
better. In my district, for example, in Berkeley, California, they are
facilitating a district-wide food systems-based curriculum supporting
garden classrooms and cooking programs in every school.
In Berkeley, local funding has allowed the schools to have a garden
in every school, and they are opening fresh salad bars with organic and
other fresh foods. So this will help our schools and our local farmers
and, of course, our students. With large purchasers like schools, we
believe we will
[[Page H3764]]
demonstrate that we can bring more healthy foods into our schools while
lowering the costs but still supporting our farmers. So I would just
like to ask the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Bonilla) for his help really
in the future to secure funds to make it easier to get healthy foods
from our farms to our children and to our schools, of course. I look
forward to working with him and our ranking member, the gentlewoman
from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur), to ensure that this provision could possibly be
contained in the final version of the fiscal year 2002 Agricultural
Appropriations Act.
Mr. BONILLA. Mr. Chairman, will the gentlewoman yield?
Ms. LEE. I yield to the gentleman from Texas.
Mr. BONILLA. Mr. Chairman, I would be happy to work with the
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee) and the folks at USDA to provide
some positive direction in this area. There is not a parent out there
that is not concerned about good nutrition for children so I thank the
gentlewoman for bringing this up and would look forward to again trying
to direct USDA, somehow working with the gentlewoman on this issue of
organic foods.
Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Chairman, will the gentlewoman yield?
Ms. LEE. I yield to the gentlewoman from Ohio.
Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Chairman, I just wanted to say to the gentlewoman
from California (Ms. Lee) that I fully support her efforts. I think she
has raised an exceedingly important issue for our country. Without
question, the nutrition of our children will yield the health of the
future generation. The high use of sugar and high fats in the diets of
our youth are creating an untenable, extremely unhealthy situation in
this country that even the Surgeon General has recognized.
One of the hardest challenges we face within the U.S. Department of
Agriculture is to get the nutrition part of the agency, which has over
half of its budget, to talk to the production side, which is the part
the gentlewoman is talking about. That is producers, organic producers,
small farmers, must be linked to our local school districts. This has
been a tough job.
I really support the gentlewoman on her efforts. Her goals of helping
our children, I think, are commendable and also getting the Department
of Agriculture to see its responsibilities toward our youth by working
with farmers who can provide that fresh product in fruits and
vegetables, with ethnic and racial sensitivity at the most local of
levels, which is where we all live.
So I look forward to working with the gentlewoman as we move the bill
in the other body and hopefully we can strengthen this measure as we
move forward. I thank the gentlewoman so very much for bringing up this
very important issue today.
Ms. LEE. Mr. Chairman, I want to thank the chairman and our ranking
member for their colloquy and for their assistance and look forward to
working with them. I come from an urban community. I look forward to
working with our rural and suburban and urban legislators on this.
The CHAIRMAN. The Clerk will read.
The Clerk read as follows:
office of budget and program analysis
For necessary expenses of the Office of Budget and Program
Analysis, including employment pursuant to the second
sentence of section 706(a) of the Organic Act of 1944 (7
U.S.C. 2225), of which not to exceed $5,000 is for employment
under 5 U.S.C. 3109, $7,041,000.
Office of the Chief Information Officer
For necessary expenses of the Office of the Chief
Information Officer, including employment pursuant to the
second sentence of section 706(a) of the Organic Act of 1944
(7 U.S.C. 2225), of which not to exceed $10,000 is for
employment under 5 U.S.C. 3109, $10,325,000.
common computing environment
For necessary expenses to acquire a Common Computing
Environment for the Natural Resources Conservation Service,
the Farm and Foreign Agricultural Service and Rural
Development mission areas for information technology,
systems, and services, $59,369,000, to remain available until
expended, for the capital asset acquisition of shared
information technology systems, including services as
authorized by 7 U.S.C. 6915-16 and 40 U.S.C. 1421-28:
Provided, That obligation of these funds shall be consistent
with the Department of Agriculture Service Center
Modernization Plan of the county-based agencies, and shall be
with the concurrence of the Department's Chief Information
Officer.
Office of the Chief Financial Officer
For necessary expenses of the Office of the Chief Financial
Officer, including employment pursuant to the second sentence
of section 706(a) of the Organic Act of 1944 (7 U.S.C. 2225),
of which not to exceed $10,000 is for employment under 5
U.S.C. 3109, $5,384,000: Provided, That the Chief Financial
Officer shall actively market and expand cross-servicing
activities of the National Finance Center.
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration
For necessary salaries and expenses of the Office of the
Assistant Secretary for Administration to carry out the
programs funded by this Act, $652,000.
Agriculture Buildings and Facilities and Rental Payments
(including transfers of funds)
For payment of space rental and related costs pursuant to
Public Law 92-313, including authorities pursuant to the 1984
delegation of authority from the Administrator of General
Services to the Department of Agriculture under 40 U.S.C.
486, for programs and activities of the Department which are
included in this Act, and for alterations and other actions
needed for this Department and its agencies to consolidate
unneeded space into configurations suitable for release to
the Administrator of General Services, and for the operation,
maintenance, improvement, and repair of Agriculture
buildings, $187,647,000, to remain available until expended:
Provided, That in the event an agency within the Department
should require modification of space needs, the Secretary of
Agriculture may transfer a share of an agency's appropriation
made available by this Act to this appropriation, or may
transfer a share of this appropriation to an agency's
appropriation to cover the costs of new or replacement space
for such agency, but such transfers shall not exceed 5
percent of the funds made available for space rental and
related costs to or from this account.
Hazardous Materials Management
(including transfers of funds)
For necessary expenses of the Department of Agriculture, to
comply with the Comprehensive Environmental Response,
Compensation, and Liability Act, 42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq., and
the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, 42 U.S.C. 6901 et
seq., $15,665,000, to remain available until expended:
Provided, That appropriations and funds available herein to
the Department for Hazardous Materials Management may be
transferred to any agency of the Department for its use in
meeting all requirements pursuant to the above Acts on
Federal and non-Federal lands.
Departmental Administration
(including transfers of funds)
For Departmental Administration, $37,398,000, to provide
for necessary expenses for management support services to
offices of the Department and for general administration and
disaster management of the Department, repairs and
alterations, and other miscellaneous supplies and expenses
not otherwise provided for and necessary for the practical
and efficient work of the Department, including employment
pursuant to the second sentence of section 706(a) of the
Organic Act of 1944 (7 U.S.C. 2225), of which not to exceed
$10,000 is for employment under 5 U.S.C. 3109: Provided, That
this appropriation shall be reimbursed from applicable
appropriations in this Act for travel expenses incident to
the holding of hearings as required by 5 U.S.C. 551-558.
outreach for socially disadvantaged farmers
For grants and contracts pursuant to section 2501 of the
Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 (7
U.S.C. 2279), $2,993,000, to remain available until expended.
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Congressional Relations
(including transfers of funds)
For necessary salaries and expenses of the Office of the
Assistant Secretary for Congressional Relations to carry out
the programs funded by this Act, including programs involving
intergovernmental affairs and liaison within the executive
branch, $3,718,000: Provided, That these funds may be
transferred to agencies of the Department of Agriculture
funded by this Act to maintain personnel at the agency level:
Provided further, That no other funds appropriated to the
Department by this Act shall be available to the Department
for support of activities of congressional relations.
Office of Communications
For necessary expenses to carry out services relating to
the coordination of programs involving public affairs, for
the dissemination of agricultural information, and the
coordination of information, work, and programs authorized by
Congress in the Department, $8,975,000, including employment
pursuant to the second sentence of section 706(a) of the
Organic Act of 1944 (7 U.S.C. 2225), of which not to exceed
$10,000 shall be available for employment under 5 U.S.C.
3109, and not to exceed $2,000,000 may be used for farmers'
bulletins.
Office of the Inspector General
For necessary expenses of the Office of the Inspector
General, including employment pursuant to the second sentence
of section 706(a) of the Organic Act of 1944 (7 U.S.C. 2225),
and the Inspector General Act of 1978,
[[Page H3765]]
$71,429,000, including such sums as may be necessary for
contracting and other arrangements with public agencies and
private persons pursuant to section 6(a)(9) of the Inspector
General Act of 1978, including not to exceed $50,000 for
employment under 5 U.S.C. 3109; and including not to exceed
$125,000 for certain confidential operational expenses,
including the payment of informants, to be expended under the
direction of the Inspector General pursuant to Public Law 95-
452 and section 1337 of Public Law 97-98.
Office of the General Counsel
For necessary expenses of the Office of the General
Counsel, $32,937,000.
Office of the Under Secretary for Research, Education and Economics
For necessary salaries and expenses of the Office of the
Under Secretary for Research, Education and Economics to
administer the laws enacted by the Congress for the Economic
Research Service, the National Agricultural Statistics
Service, the Agricultural Research Service, and the
Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service,
$578,000.
Economic Research Service
For necessary expenses of the Economic Research Service in
conducting economic research and analysis, as authorized by
the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1621-1627)
and other laws, $67,620,000: Provided, That this
appropriation shall be available for employment pursuant to
the second sentence of section 706(a) of the Organic Act of
1944 (7 U.S.C. 2225).
National Agricultural Statistics Service
For necessary expenses of the National Agricultural
Statistics Service in conducting statistical reporting and
service work, including crop and livestock estimates,
statistical coordination and improvements, marketing surveys,
and the Census of Agriculture, as authorized by 7 U.S.C.
1621-1627, Public Law 105-113, and other laws, $114,546,000,
of which up to $25,456,000 shall be available until expended
for the Census of Agriculture: Provided, That this
appropriation shall be available for employment pursuant to
the second sentence of section 706(a) of the Organic Act of
1944 (7 U.S.C. 2225), and not to exceed $40,000 shall be
available for employment under 5 U.S.C. 3109.
Agricultural Research Service
salaries and expenses
For necessary expenses to enable the Agricultural Research
Service to perform agricultural research and demonstration
relating to production, utilization, marketing, and
distribution (not otherwise provided for); home economics or
nutrition and consumer use including the acquisition,
preservation, and dissemination of agricultural information;
and for acquisition of lands by donation, exchange, or
purchase at a nominal cost not to exceed $100, and for land
exchanges where the lands exchanged shall be of equal value
or shall be equalized by a payment of money to the grantor
which shall not exceed 25 percent of the total value of the
land or interests transferred out of Federal ownership,
$971,365,000: Provided, That appropriations hereunder shall
be available for temporary employment pursuant to the second
sentence of section 706(a) of the Organic Act of 1944 (7
U.S.C. 2225), and not to exceed $115,000 shall be available
for employment under 5 U.S.C. 3109: Provided further, That
appropriations hereunder shall be available for the operation
and maintenance of aircraft and the purchase of not to exceed
one for replacement only: Provided further, That
appropriations hereunder shall be available pursuant to 7
U.S.C. 2250 for the construction, alteration, and repair of
buildings and improvements, but unless otherwise provided,
the cost of constructing any one building shall not exceed
$375,000, except for headhouses or greenhouses which shall
each be limited to $1,200,000, and except for 10 buildings to
be constructed or improved at a cost not to exceed $750,000
each, and the cost of altering any one building during the
fiscal year shall not exceed 10 percent of the current
replacement value of the building or $375,000, whichever is
greater: Provided further, That the limitations on
alterations contained in this Act shall not apply to
modernization or replacement of existing facilities at
Beltsville, Maryland: Provided further, That appropriations
hereunder shall be available for granting easements at the
Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, including an
easement to the University of Maryland to construct the
Transgenic Animal Facility which upon completion shall be
accepted by the Secretary as a gift: Provided further, That
the foregoing limitations shall not apply to replacement of
buildings needed to carry out the Act of April 24, 1948 (21
U.S.C. 113a): Provided further, That funds may be received
from any State, other political subdivision, organization, or
individual for the purpose of establishing or operating any
research facility or research project of the Agricultural
Research Service, as authorized by law.
None of the funds in the foregoing paragraph shall be
available to carry out research related to the production,
processing or marketing of tobacco or tobacco products.
In fiscal year 2002, the agency is authorized to charge
fees, commensurate with the fair market value, for any
permit, easement, lease, or other special use authorization
for the occupancy or use of land and facilities (including
land and facilities at the Beltsville Agricultural Research
Center) issued by the agency, as authorized by law, and such
fees shall be credited to this account, and shall remain
available until expended for authorized purposes.
Amendment No. 24 Offered by Mr. Tierney
Mr. TIERNEY. Mr. Chairman, I offer amendment No. 24.
The CHAIRMAN. The Clerk will designate the amendment.
The text of the amendment is as follows:
Amendment No. 24 offered by Mr. Tierney:
In title I, under the heading ``AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH
SERVICE-salaries and expenses'', insert at the end the
following:
SEC. __. REPORT REGARDING GENETICALLY ENGINEERED FOODS.
(a) In General.--Not later than one year after funds are
made available to carry out this section, the Secretary of
Agriculture, acting through the National Academy of Sciences,
shall complete and transmit to Congress a report that
includes recommendations for the following:
(1) Data and tests.--The type of data and tests that are
needed to sufficiently assess and evaluate human health risks
from the consumption of genetically engineered foods.
(2) Monitoring system.--The type of Federal monitoring
system that should be created to assess any future human
health consequences from long-term consumption of genetically
engineered foods.
(3) Regulations.--A Federal regulatory structure to approve
genetically engineered foods that are safe for human
consumption.
(b) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized
to be appropriated to the Secretary of Agriculture $500,000
to carry out this section.
Mr. BONILLA. Mr. Chairman, I reserve a point of order on this
amendment.
The CHAIRMAN. The point of order is reserved.
Mr. TIERNEY. Mr. Chairman, there is probably no more important
responsibility for a government than to protect the well-being of its
citizens. For this reason, it is essential that we properly assess the
best way to ensure the health safety of genetically engineered foods.
This amendment presented at the desk seeks a National Academy of
Sciences study to examine three important health-related aspects of
genetically engineered foods. One, whether or not the tests being
performed on genetically engineered foods really ensure their health
safety and whether or not they are adequate and relevant; two, what
type of monitoring system is needed to assess future health
consequences from genetically engineered foods; and, lastly, what type
of regulatory structure should be in place to approve genetically
engineered foods for humans to eat.
In the year 2000, more than 100 million acres of land around the
world were planted with genetically engineered crops. This is 25 times
as much as was planted just 4 years before. In fact, genetically
engineered food crops planted and marketed by United States farmers
include 45 kinds of corn, canola, tomatoes, potatoes, soybeans, and
sunflowers.
Today, genetically engineered ingredients are found in virtually all
of our foods that are sold on supermarket shelves; and that includes
baby foods, potato chips, soda, and vegetables.
Despite the growing presence of genetically engineered foods and
despite industry assertions that the foods are safe to eat, the public
remains unconvinced. The discovery last year of genetically engineered
Starlink corn that was not approved for humans to eat in taco shells
was a wake-up call. Now that the cat is out of the bag, Starlink's
manufacturers want the Environmental Protection Agency to declare
Starlink safe for human consumption.
Mr. Chairman, that is no way to protect our health. As the Centers
for Disease Control noted earlier this month, we need to properly
evaluate genetically engineered foods before they get into the food
supply. In my home State of Massachusetts, the State legislature is
considering legislation that would impose a 5-year moratorium on the
growing of genetically engineered foods. Similar legislation is pending
in New York. In fact, according to the Grocery Manufacturers of
America, as of March this year there were eight bills in six States
that would ban or put a moratorium on the planting of genetically
engineered crops.
We cannot afford to bury our heads in the sand and let the public's
concerns continue to grow. We need to develop a standard of tests that
can be applied to all genetically engineered food to ensure that it is
safe for our children and ourselves to eat.
[[Page H3766]]
{time} 1530
The Food and Drug Administration does not conduct its own testing of
genetically engineered products. Instead, the Food and Drug
Administration provides guidelines and then relies upon the companies
who produce genetically engineered products to test their safety.
Companies voluntarily share the results of the tests on genetically
engineered products with the Food and Drug Administration.
Under new rules proposed on January 17 by the last administration,
companies in the future will have to give 120 days' notice to the Food
and Drug Administration before producing new genetically engineered
products on the market. But even with these new rules, it remains the
responsibility of the companies that create the market and market these
products to test for their safety. We need to be sure that these
companies are doing the right tests in the right way.
In addition to ensuring that testing methods are adequate, we need to
ensure that our regulatory system is also sufficient to protect our
health. The National Academy of Sciences has said, ``A solid regulatory
system and scientific base are important for acceptance and safe
adoption of agricultural biotechnology, as well as for protecting the
environment and public health.''
Our current regulatory system, in which the Food and Drug
Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the United
States Department of Agriculture share jurisdiction over genetically
engineered food, may not be the best way to ensure the health and
safety of the foods we eat. We need to be certain that testing,
regulation and monitoring of genetically engineered foods over the long
term are effective and appropriate in determining the potential health
effects of eating genetically engineered foods.
Even the center for Science in the Public Interest, an organization
devoted to improving the safety and nutritional quality of our food
supply, has said that the National Academy of Sciences study would
provide regulators with a scientific road map of tests to ensure the
safety of genetically engineered foods so the consumers would feel
secure when they consume them and farmers would be confident that they
have a market for their products.
I think that is what we are looking for, Mr. Chairman. We want
consumers to feel secure when they eat, and we want farmers to be
confident when they market their products. We should heed the words
from that study, and we should fund the study proposed in this
amendment.
Mr. Chairman, I thank the chairman for his attention.
The CHAIRMAN. Does the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Bonilla) insist upon
his point of order?
Mr. BONILLA. I continue to reserve my point of order, Mr. Chairman.
The CHAIRMAN. The gentleman continues to insist on his point of
order.
Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word.
Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the Tierney amendment. I think the
gentleman from Massachusetts raises an excellent point about the need
for further study. The truth is that in 1999, over 100 million acres of
genetically engineered crops were planted in this country, and the
consumption of genetically engineered crops is happening. Yet we really
do not have much information about the effects; we really do not know
much about how this might have some implications for public health.
That is why many States are starting to look at this quite critically,
and the issues that are raised here certainly merit more study.
I think the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Tierney) should be
congratulated for raising this issue and for asking for a more thorough
review of this. I can say that I think most people in this country
would support such a call. People are concerned about the food they
eat, and they are certainly concerned about any new technology which
may, in one way or another, change the functional characteristics of
the food, as well as the properties of the food and the way in which
the food interacts in the human medium.
So I want to thank the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Tierney) for
his work.
Mr. TIERNEY. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?
Mr. KUCINICH. I yield to the gentleman from Massachusetts.
Mr. TIERNEY. Mr. Chairman, I would hope that the chairman would just
know, this is the second year we have presented this motion; and I
think it is a pretty balanced motion.
We are seeking here to both give consumers confidence, that the
gentleman from Ohio points out very clearly is a very big concern for
people; but we also are trying to make sure that farmers know that they
can go to the market with confidence. It is going to do us no good in
terms of the economics of our society to have a bunch of farmers that
are creating a product in which the consumers have no confidence, so
there is no market there.
This particular amendment was a hope to strike the point where we get
the National Academy of Science to determine for us what is the best
testing regime, what is the best way to monitor this as it goes
through, and what is the best way to make sure that we have a
regulatory structure to give the confidence at both of those levels.
Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Chairman, reclaiming my time, the gentleman is
correct on that. As a matter of fact, American farmers are quite
concerned about the impact of genetically engineered products on their
markets, because if their markets begin to dry up, as they have in some
countries, then American farmers are not able to sell what we know is
the best agriculture in the world, here from America. But if the
products are genetically engineered, if there has not been much study
and there is concern about quality, safety and other things, then our
farmers can endure economic loss.
So I want to again thank the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr.
Tierney) for raising this issue, and I hope that the gentleman would
respectfully consider his amendment as being in order.
The CHAIRMAN. Does the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Bonilla) still
insist on his point of order?
Mr. BONILLA. Mr. Chairman, I continue to reserve my point of order.
The CHAIRMAN. The gentleman continues to reserve his point of order.
Mr. SMITH of Michigan. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word.
Mr. Chairman, I commend the gentlemen for their interest in providing
wholesome food. It is important. I would like to point out, however,
that regarding the Starlink corn question, it has now been certified
that there has been no ill effects to humans. That is good news.
I would like to also point out that, because we have been cross-
breeding for 1,000 years, every food item that we buy in a store,
except a couple varieties of fish, have been genetically modified. This
has happened simply because farmers have been looking for ways to
improve the quality and cost of food.
I think it is very important that we continue our scientific effort
with this new technology of genetic modification. We must also consider
the importance of its tremendous potential in developing better food
products and more healthy products. We can develop food products that
have vaccines. Also, especially in the developing countries of this
world, we now have the potential of developing the kind of plants and
seeds that can grow in those arid soils or those other types of
climatic conditions where they could not grow food before. So we need
to proceed in our scientific research.
Just a point before I yield for a comment. We have the best
regulatory system in the world in terms of our oversight of genetically
engineered products. Between the United States Department of
Agriculture, the Food and Drug Administration and the Environmental
Protection Agency, we now have the ability to review, regulate and test
these products that are coming to market to assure safety.
Mr. TIERNEY. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?
Mr. SMITH of Michigan. I yield to the gentleman from Massachusetts.
Mr. TIERNEY. I might respectfully just disagree with the gentleman on
the last point, as I think the National Academy of Science does, when
they indicated that they think this idea of having three different
agencies with overlapping and different responsibilities would be
better served to look at what other kind of regulatory structure we
could put in place that would give us more confidence.
[[Page H3767]]
Also I want to draw a point on the study the gentleman talked about
on Starlink. One, I think we want that kind of information before the
problem arises, and that is partly why I filed this bill; and,
secondly, there is still some controversy swirling around the study the
gentleman talked about and the results of it.
I suspect from the gentleman's comments and the importance he puts on
genetically engineered foods that he favors my bill, which would be a
confidence building measure, if we set up the right kinds of test that
people could have confidence in, if we set up the right kind of
monitoring system that people would know would be something we could
rely on, and if we had the right kind of regulatory structure, it would
benefit people that take the gentleman's position, as well as people
that might be skeptical or more on that.
The idea is to follow the advice of the National Academy and do just
that. Let them give us the advice through this study that I propose, to
tell us what would be the best testing regime, how would you monitor
it, and how would you regulate it.
Mr. SMITH of Michigan. Mr. Chairman, reclaiming my time, I think it
is important, and I hope everyone agrees, that we have to depend on
scientific information and testing, and not emotions, to be the basis
of the decisions we make.
Mr. TIERNEY. Mr. Chairman, at this point in time I understand the
gentleman's objections on technical matters on this, and I ask
unanimous consent to withdraw the amendment.
The CHAIRMAN. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from
Massachusetts?
There was no objection.
The CHAIRMAN. The Clerk will read.
The Clerk read as follows:
buildings and facilities
For acquisition of land, construction, repair, improvement,
extension, alteration, and purchase of fixed equipment or
facilities as necessary to carry out the agricultural
research programs of the Department of Agriculture, where not
otherwise provided, $78,862,000, to remain available until
expended (7 U.S.C. 2209b): Provided, That funds may be
received from any State, other political subdivision,
organization, or individual for the purpose of establishing
any research facility of the Agricultural Research Service,
as authorized by law.
Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service
research and education activities
For payments to agricultural experiment stations, for
cooperative forestry and other research, for facilities, and
for other expenses, $507,452,000, as follows: to carry out
the provisions of the Hatch Act (7 U.S.C. 361a-i),
$180,148,000; for grants for cooperative forestry research
(16 U.S.C. 582a-a7), $21,884,000; for payments to the 1890
land-grant colleges, including Tuskegee University (7 U.S.C.
3222), $32,604,000, of which $998,000 shall be made available
to West Virginia State College in Institute, West Virginia;
for special grants for agricultural research (7 U.S.C.
450i(c)), $82,409,000; for special grants for agricultural
research on improved pest control (7 U.S.C. 450i(c)),
$15,721,000; for competitive research grants (7 U.S.C.
450i(b)), $105,767,000; for the support of animal health and
disease programs (7 U.S.C. 3195), $5,098,000; for
supplemental and alternative crops and products (7 U.S.C.
3319d), $950,000; for grants for research pursuant to the
Critical Agricultural Materials Act of 1984 (7 U.S.C. 178)
and section 1472 of the Food and Agriculture Act of 1977 (7
U.S.C. 3318), $639,000, to remain available until expended;
for the 1994 research program (7 U.S.C. 301 note), $998,000,
to remain available until expended; for higher education
graduate fellowship grants (7 U.S.C. 3152(b)(6)), $2,993,000,
to remain available until expended (7 U.S.C. 2209b); for
higher education challenge grants (7 U.S.C. 3152(b)(1)),
$4,340,000; for a higher education multicultural scholars
program (7 U.S.C. 3152(b)(5)), $998,000, to remain available
until expended (7 U.S.C. 2209b); for an education grants
program for Hispanic-serving Institutions (7 U.S.C. 3241),
$3,492,000; for a program of noncompetitive grants, to be
awarded on an equal basis, to Alaska Native-serving and
Native Hawaiian-serving Institutions to carry out higher
education programs (7 U.S.C. 3242), $2,993,000; for a
secondary agriculture education program and 2-year post-
secondary education (7 U.S.C. 3152(h)), $1,000,000; for
aquaculture grants (7 U.S.C. 3322), $3,991,000; for
sustainable agriculture research and education (7 U.S.C.
5811), $12,000,000; for a program of capacity building grants
(7 U.S.C. 3152(b)(4)) to colleges eligible to receive funds
under the Act of August 30, 1890 (7 U.S.C. 321-326 and 328),
including Tuskegee University, $9,479,000, to remain
available until expended (7 U.S.C. 2209b); for payments to
the 1994 Institutions pursuant to section 534(a)(1) of Public
Law 103-382, $1,549,000; and for necessary expenses of
Research and Education Activities, of which not to exceed
$100,000 shall be for employment under 5 U.S.C. 3109,
$18,399,000.
Amendment No. 22 Offered by Mr. Smith of Michigan
Mr. SMITH of Michigan. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.
The CHAIRMAN. The Clerk will designate the amendment.
The text of the amendment is as follows:
Amendment No. 22 offered by Mr. Smith of Michigan:
In title I under the heading ``Cooperative State Research,
Education, and Extension Service''-``research and education
activities'' insert after the dollar amount relating to
``competitive research grants (7 U.S.C. 450i(b))'' the
following: ``, including grants for authorized competitive
research programs regarding enhancement of the nitrogen-
fixing ability and efficiency of plants''.
Mr. SMITH of Michigan. Mr. Chairman, briefly, what this amendment
does is to include research to increase the efficiency of nitrogen
fixation from plants.
We have a situation where the nitrogen fertilizer of this country is
made out of natural gas. It is estimated that 3 to 6 percent of the
natural gas produced in the United States is used to produce nitrogen.
Farmers use that nitrogen fertilizer and therefore natural gas. If
plants could do a better job of fixing ``N'' in the soil, we would save
energy and reduce the cost to farmers.
This simply says let us include in our research effort research into
the fixation of nitrogen. We now have plants that can put nitrogen back
into the soil. We have started on this research. We need to move ahead.
It is part of the whole renewable energy effort that we need to
consider.
I thank the chairman and ranking member for supporting the amendment.
Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment today that would address the
challenge of increased farm input costs due to continued high energy
prices. Specifically, the amendment would direct the Cooperative State
Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES) Competitive Grants
Program, better known as the National Research Initiative, to include
grants for research into improving nitrogen-fixation ability of crop
plants.
As we are aware, higher energy costs over the last two crop years
have further stressed farmers facing an extended period of low
commodity prices. From 1999 to 2000, U.S. producers incurred an
additional $2.4 billion in fuel costs. In the 2001 crop year, energy
costs are expected to increase an additional $1.5 billion for farmers.
As a result, agricultural bottom lines continue to suffer, and many
farmers have gone out of business, despite increasing government
support.
While we work to accomplish the larger goals set forth in the
President's comprehensive energy plan, I think we should also be sure
that no stone is left uncovered with respect to finding new ways to
improve our energy usage and consumption. One area where I believe
there is great potential for improvements is the reduction of
fertilizer input costs on farms through greater nitrogen fixation
ability.
In the United States, nitrogen fertilizer production and use requires
3 to 6 percent of the country's natural gas production. Natural gas
prices and nitrogen fertilizer prices are closely related, with over 70
percent of the cost of N fertilizer attributable to natural gas. The
tripling of natural gas prices last winter highlights this
relationship, as nitrogen fertilizer costs skyrocketed over 350
percent. This huge increase obviously left farmers scrambling to modify
planting decisions and find other ways to cut fertilizer input costs.
One way that we can do this is by developing plants that put nitrogen
in the soil. For example, in a typical soybean-corn rotation--if we can
develop new varieties of soybeans that fix greater amounts of nitrogen,
more residual nitrogen would remain for the following corn crop,
lessening the amount of nitrogen fertilizer that would need to be
purchased by the producer.
Recent research indicates that significant potential for improvements
exist in this area, but currently, a very limited amount of research is
being done on these issues. My amendment would ensure that USDA's
National Research Initiative Competitive Research Grants support
research into enhancing the nitrogen fixing ability and efficiency of
plants.
I believe that making this type of agricultural research a priority
will pay great and lasting dividends to farmers facing continued
challenges of high energy input costs, and I urge the members to
support my amendment.
Note: Currently, USDA-ARS is spending $3.05 million in FY'01 to fund
N-fixing projects. USDA-CSREES/NRI is also funding N-fixing projects,
but have not reported back the total amount being spent.
[[Page H3768]]
Mr. BONILLA. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?
Mr. SMITH of Michigan. I yield to the gentleman from Texas.
Mr. BONILLA. Mr. Chairman, we support the amendment.
The CHAIRMAN. The question is on the amendment offered by the
gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Smith).
The amendment was agreed to.
Mr. HANSEN. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word.
Mr. Chairman, I come to the floor today on behalf of all the farmers
and ranchers in Utah and other western States who are dealing with the
devastating outbreaks of Mormon Crickets and grasshoppers. This
outbreak, now under declaration of emergency by the Governor of Utah,
is considered to be the worst in over 60 years and is spreading over
1.5 million acres.
These insects, which breed undisturbed and untreated on the vast
acres of BLM and Forest Service land and then spread to neighboring
State and private land, are devouring the crops and rangeland to the
tune of what is expected to be at least $25 million worth of damage.
However, this is not all. In Oak City, Utah, for example, the mayor
informs me that the crickets have now inundated the community water
system at the sealed collection boxes and tanks. They are now moving
into towns, where people are attempting to burn their fruit trees to
keep them away from their homes, and children are kept indoors.
Line-item funding has been eliminated, and formerly available funds
from previous years have all been expended in battling these insects.
The plight of these lands has become such a critical concern, that I
have asked our Subcommittee on Public Lands to hold oversight hearings
on this issue next month. Timely and adequate funding has been a
continual issue for us.
While I understand there are not any line-item funds for Mormon
Cricket and grasshopper treatment in this bill as it stands today, I
understand the chairman is aware of the problem we are facing and has
committed to ensure there is sufficient APHIS funds for the 2002 fiscal
year specific to Mormon Cricket and grasshopper treatment, as well as
working with us to ensure the Secretary addresses our emergency
problems with contingency funds.
I thank the chairman and look forward to working with him and
obtaining emergency funds.
Mr. BONILLA. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?
Mr. HANSEN. I yield to the gentleman from Texas.
Mr. BONILLA. Mr. Chairman, I thank my friend for yielding. I
appreciate the hard work that the gentleman has undertaken on this
issue. I know it is a very serious problem.
The committee and this chairman are aware of the emergency conditions
that exist in Utah and throughout the Great Basin region caused by the
Mormon Crickets. The gentleman from Utah has my commitment to ensure
that proper funding for this problem is obtained in a timely manner
this year and that specific funding for addressing the Mormon Cricket
and grasshopper problem is identified to meet future needs in the FY
2002 bill.
Mr. HANSEN. Mr. Chairman, reclaiming my time, I thank the chairman
and appreciate his help on this critical matter and look forward to
addressing this issue in conference and with the Secretary's help.
Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the
last word.
(Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California asked and was given permission to
revise and extend his remarks.)
Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of
ensuring that all warm-blooded animals used in research receive the
protection for which the Animal Welfare Act entitles them, and
therefore oppose the language that has been included in the bill before
us which will continue to deny those protections to those species that
constitute the majority of the animals used in research.
In 1970, the Congress specifically amended the Animal Welfare Act to
provide for the protections of all warm-blooded animals used in
experiments. Since then, however, the U.S. Department of Agriculture
has unfairly and illegally denied those modest safeguards to a majority
of the research animals, over 20 million birds, rats, and mice used
each year.
When Congress amended the law, we certainly did not intend to exclude
95 percent of the animals used in research. This is confirmed by our
esteemed former colleague from the other body, Senator Bob Dole, who,
along with my great friend, the late Congressman George Brown, further
improved the treatment of lab animals in 1985.
{time} 1545
I wish to enter into the Record the letter from Senator Dole on this
subject.
To correct this 30-year-old wrong, USDA committed the beginning of
the rulemaking process to extend the Animal Welfare Act regulations to
these animals. I am disappointed that the Agriculture Appropriations
Subcommittee chose to add language that prohibits USDA from going
forward with this rulemaking which is long overdue. The scientific
community must be held accountable to the public for its treatment of
animals. The American public expects animal research to be conducted as
humanely as possible. We in Congress cannot assure them that if we not
only allow, but also encourage, USDA to exclude the majority of
research animals from this law's protection.
Mr. Chairman, I urge that this language be stricken in the conference
committee between the House and the Senate.
The letter referred to previously follows:
Washington, DC,
March 19, 2001.
John McArdle,
Director, Alternatives Research and Development Foundation,
Eden Prairie, MN.
Dear Dr. McArdle: Thank you for your letter of March 1st
regarding the current status of laboratory animals under the
Animal Welfare Act (AWA).
I support the use of animals in research but firmly believe
that there is a responsibility incumbent upon researchers to
provide basic protections to the animals they use. It is
obvious that good animal care is essential to ensuring good
quality research. Through good animal treatment and
minimizing painful tests, biomedical research gains in both
accuracy and humanity.
As someone deeply involved with the process of revising and
expanding the provisions of the AWA, I assure you that the
AWA was meant to include birds, mice, and rats. When Congress
stated that the AWA applied to ``all warm-blooded animals,''
we certainly did not intend to exclude 95 percent of the
animals used in biomedical research laboratories. Although
the National Institutes of Health and the Association for
Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care
International provide oversight for some of the birds, mice,
and rats used for experimentation, many research institutions
fall outside their purview. With AWA regulations soon
extended to these animals, I believe USDA, with its
substantial experience in enforcement, is best suited to
ensuring humane care for all laboratory animals. Moreover,
neither NIH's policy nor voluntary accreditation includes
legal consequences for failure to perform. The Animal Welfare
Act does. That is the heart of the law.
I am aware of efforts by opponents of animal welfare to
prevent coverage of birds, mice, and rats as detrimental to
research. This notion is preposterous. A similar strategy was
employed by opponents of my 1985 amendments to the Act. I am
happy to observe that none of their predications about the
dire consequences for research ever materialized.
Indeed, those amendments have facilitated significant
improvements in laboratory animal care and use, which in turn
have benefited research. In fact, I understand that those
members of the research community best informed about
laboratory animals support the inclusion of birds, mice, and
rats. From their work on the front lines, they recognize, as
you and I do, that uniform protections not only are humane,
but also ensure consistent experimental results and level the
playing field in vital scientific research. Those who oppose
USDA's efforts to fulfill its court settlement with your
organization, I believe, are overlooking the long-term
benefits to crafting better science.
We owe much to laboratory animals--that were true in 1985
and is truer today. I would hope that the Bush Administration
and Members of the present Congress, some of whom stood with
me in 1985 in advancing my amendments, will recognize that
all animals used in experimentation deserve the benefit of
the modest requirements of the Animal Welfare Act. I would
urge them to allow USDA to achieve this end by pursuing a
full and fair rulemaking as provided in the settlement
agreement.
I wish you the best of luck not only in defending the
Animal Welfare Act, but also in your ongoing efforts to
advance humane methods of biomedical research.
Let me add that I am writing to you as a volunteer. I am
not being paid by any persons or group for stating my views.
Sincerely,
Bob Dole.
[[Page H3769]]
The CHAIRMAN. The Clerk will read.
The Clerk read as follows:
None of the funds in the foregoing paragraph shall be
available to carry out research related to the production,
processing or marketing of tobacco or tobacco products:
Provided, That this paragraph shall not apply to research on
the medical, biotechnological, food, and industrial uses of
tobacco.
native american institutions endowment fund
For the Native American Institutions Endowment Fund
authorized by Public Law 103-382 (7 U.S.C. 301 note),
$7,100,000.
extension activities
For payments to States, the District of Columbia, Puerto
Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands, Micronesia, Northern
Marianas, and American Samoa, $436,029,000, as follows:
payments for cooperative extension work under the Smith-Lever
Act, to be distributed under sections 3(b) and 3(c) of said
Act, and under section 208(c) of Public Law 93-471, for
retirement and employees' compensation costs for extension
agents and for costs of penalty mail for cooperative
extension agents and State extension directors, $275,940,000;
payments for extension work at the 1994 Institutions under
the Smith-Lever Act (7 U.S.C. 343(b)(3)), $3,273,000;
payments for the nutrition and family education program for
low-income areas under section 3(d) of the Act, $58,566,000;
payments for the pest management program under section 3(d)
of the Act, $10,759,000; payments for the farm safety program
under section 3(d) of the Act, $5,800,000; payments to
upgrade research, extension, and teaching facilities at the
1890 land-grant colleges, including Tuskegee University, as
authorized by section 1447 of Public Law 95-113 (7 U.S.C.
3222b), $12,173,000, to remain available until expended;
payments for the rural development centers under section 3(d)
of the Act, $906,000; payments for youth-at-risk programs
under section 3(d) of the Act, $8,481,000; for youth farm
safety education and certification extension grants, to be
awarded competitively under section 3(d) of the Act,
$499,000; payments for carrying out the provisions of the
Renewable Resources Extension Act of 1978, $3,185,000;
payments for Indian reservation agents under section 3(d) of
the Act, $1,996,000; payments for sustainable agriculture
programs under section 3(d) of the Act, $5,000,000; payments
for rural health and safety education as authorized by
section 2390 of Public Law 101-624 (7 U.S.C. 2661 note,
2662), $2,622,000; payments for cooperative extension work by
the colleges receiving the benefits of the second Morrill Act
(7 U.S.C. 321-326 and 328) and Tuskegee University,
$28,181,000, of which $998,000 shall be made available to
West Virginia State College in Institute, West Virginia; and
for Federal administration and coordination including
administration of the Smith-Lever Act, and the Act of
September 29, 1977 (7 U.S.C. 341-349), and section 1361(c) of
the Act of October 3, 1980 (7 U.S.C. 301 note), and to
coordinate and provide program leadership for the extension
work of the Department and the several States and insular
possessions, $18,648,000: Provided, That funds hereby
appropriated pursuant to section 3(c) of the Act of June 26,
1953, and section 506 of the Act of June 23, 1972, shall not
be paid to any State, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico,
Guam, or the Virgin Islands, Micronesia, Northern Marianas,
and American Samoa prior to availability of an equal sum from
non-Federal sources for expenditure during the current fiscal
year.
integrated activities
For the integrated research, education, and extension
competitive grants programs, including necessary
administrative expenses, as authorized under section 406 of
the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform
Act of 1998 (7 U.S.C. 7626), $43,355,000, as follows:
payments for the water quality program, $12,971,000; payments
for the food safety program, $14,967,000; payments for the
national agriculture pesticide impact assessment program,
$4,531,000; payments for the Food Quality Protection Act risk
mitigation program for major food crop systems, $4,889,000;
payments for the crops affected by Food Quality Protection
Act implementation, $1,497,000; payments for the methyl
bromide transition program, $2,500,000; and payments for the
organic transition program, $2,000,000.
Office of the Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs
For necessary salaries and expenses of the Office of the
Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs to
administer programs under the laws enacted by the Congress
for the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service; the
Agricultural Marketing Service; and the Grain Inspection,
Packers and Stockyards Administration; $660,000.
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
salaries and expenses
(including transfers of funds)
For expenses, not otherwise provided for, including those
pursuant to the Act of February 28, 1947 (21 U.S.C. 114b-c),
necessary to prevent, control, and eradicate pests and plant
and animal diseases; to carry out inspection, quarantine, and
regulatory activities; to discharge the authorities of the
Secretary of Agriculture under the Acts of March 2, 1931 (46
Stat. 1468) and December 22, 1987 (101 Stat. 1329-1331) (7
U.S.C. 426-426c); and to protect the environment, as
authorized by law, $587,386,000, of which $4,096,000 shall be
available for the control of outbreaks of insects, plant
diseases, animal diseases and for control of pest animals and
birds to the extent necessary to meet emergency conditions:
Provided, That no funds shall be used to formulate or
administer a brucellosis eradication program for the current
fiscal year that does not require minimum matching by the
States of at least 40 percent: Provided further, That this
appropriation shall be available for field employment
pursuant to the second sentence of section 706(a) of the
Organic Act of 1944 (7 U.S.C. 2225), and not to exceed
$40,000 shall be available for employment under 5 U.S.C.
3109: Provided further, That this appropriation shall be
available for the operation and maintenance of aircraft and
the purchase of not to exceed four, of which two shall be for
replacement only: Provided further, That, in addition, in
emergencies which threaten any segment of the agricultural
production industry of this country, the Secretary may
transfer from other appropriations or funds available to the
agencies or corporations of the Department such sums as may
be deemed necessary, to be available only in such emergencies
for the arrest and eradication of contagious or infectious
disease or pests of animals, poultry, or plants, and for
expenses in accordance with the Act of February 28, 1947, and
section 102 of the Act of September 21, 1944, and any
unexpended balances of funds transferred for such emergency
purposes in the preceding fiscal year shall be merged with
such transferred amounts: Provided further, That
appropriations hereunder shall be available pursuant to law
(7 U.S.C. 2250) for the repair and alteration of leased
buildings and improvements, but unless otherwise provided the
cost of altering any one building during the fiscal year
shall not exceed 10 percent of the current replacement value
of the building.
In fiscal year 2002 the agency is authorized to collect
fees to cover the total costs of providing technical
assistance, goods, or services requested by States, other
political subdivisions, domestic and international
organizations, foreign governments, or individuals, provided
that such fees are structured such that any entity's
liability for such fees is reasonably based on the technical
assistance, goods, or services provided to the entity by the
agency, and such fees shall be credited to this account, to
remain available until expended, without further
appropriation, for providing such assistance, goods, or
services.
Of the total amount available under this heading in fiscal
year 2002, $84,813,000 shall be derived from user fees
deposited in the Agricultural Quarantine Inspection User Fee
Account.
buildings and facilities
For plans, construction, repair, preventive maintenance,
environmental support, improvement, extension, alteration,
and purchase of fixed equipment or facilities, as authorized
by 7 U.S.C. 2250, and acquisition of land as authorized by 7
U.S.C. 428a, $7,189,000, to remain available until expended.
Agricultural Marketing Service
marketing services
For necessary expenses to carry out services related to
consumer protection, agricultural marketing and distribution,
transportation, and regulatory programs, as authorized by
law, and for administration and coordination of payments to
States, including field employment pursuant to the second
sentence of section 706(a) of the Organic Act of 1944 (7
U.S.C. 2225) and not to exceed $90,000 for employment under 5
U.S.C. 3109, $71,774,000, including funds for the wholesale
market development program for the design and development of
wholesale and farmer market facilities for the major
metropolitan areas of the country: Provided, That this
appropriation shall be available pursuant to law (7 U.S.C.
2250) for the alteration and repair of buildings and
improvements, but the cost of altering any one building
during the fiscal year shall not exceed 10 percent of the
current replacement value of the building.
Fees may be collected for the cost of standardization
activities, as established by regulation pursuant to law (31
U.S.C. 9701).
limitation on administrative expenses
Not to exceed $60,596,000 (from fees collected) shall be
obligated during the current fiscal year for administrative
expenses: Provided, That if crop size is understated and/or
other uncontrollable events occur, the agency may exceed this
limitation by up to 10 percent with notification to the
Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress.
funds for strengthening markets, income, and supply (section 32)
(including transfers of funds)
Funds available under section 32 of the Act of August 24,
1935 (7 U.S.C. 612c), shall be used only for commodity
program expenses as authorized therein, and other related
operating expenses, except for: (1) transfers to the
Department of Commerce as authorized by the Fish and Wildlife
Act of August 8, 1956; (2) transfers otherwise provided in
this Act; and (3) not more than $13,995,000 for formulation
and administration of marketing agreements and orders
pursuant to the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937
and the Agricultural Act of 1961.
payments to states and possessions
For payments to departments of agriculture, bureaus and
departments of markets, and similar agencies for marketing
activities under section 204(b) of the Agricultural Marketing
Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1623(b)), $1,347,000.
[[Page H3770]]
Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration
salaries and expenses
For necessary expenses to carry out the provisions of the
United States Grain Standards Act, for the administration of
the Packers and Stockyards Act, for certifying procedures
used to protect purchasers of farm products, and the
standardization activities related to grain under the
Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946, including field
employment pursuant to the second sentence of section 706(a)
of the Organic Act of 1944 (7 U.S.C. 2225), and not to exceed
$25,000 for employment under 5 U.S.C. 3109, $33,117,000:
Provided, That this appropriation shall be available pursuant
to law (7 U.S.C. 2250) for the alteration and repair of
buildings and improvements, but the cost of altering any one
building during the fiscal year shall not exceed 10 percent
of the current replacement value of the building.
inspection and weighing services
Not to exceed $42,463,000 (from fees collected) shall be
obligated during the current fiscal year for inspection and
weighing services: Provided, That if grain export activities
require additional supervision and oversight, or other
uncontrollable factors occur, this limitation may be exceeded
by up to 10 percent with notification to the Committees on
Appropriations of both Houses of Congress.
Office of the Under Secretary for Food Safety
For necessary salaries and expenses of the Office of the
Under Secretary for Food Safety to administer the laws
enacted by the Congress for the Food Safety and Inspection
Service, $481,000.
Mr. BONILLA (during the reading). Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous
consent that the remainder of the bill through page 25, line 1, be
considered as read, printed in the Record, and open to amendment at any
point.
The CHAIRMAN. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from
Texas?
There was no objection.
The CHAIRMAN. The Clerk will read.
The Clerk read as follows:
Food Safety and Inspection Service
For necessary expenses to carry out services authorized by
the Federal Meat Inspection Act, the Poultry Products
Inspection Act, and the Egg Products Inspection Act,
including not to exceed $50,000 for representation allowances
and for expenses pursuant to section 8 of the Act approved
August 3, 1956 (7 U.S.C. 1766), $720,652,000, and in
addition, $1,000,000 may be credited to this account from
fees collected for the cost of laboratory accreditation as
authorized by section 1017 of Public Law 102-237: Provided,
That this appropriation shall be available for field
employment pursuant to the second sentence of section 706(a)
of the Organic Act of 1944 (7 U.S.C. 2225), and not to exceed
$75,000 shall be available for employment under 5 U.S.C.
3109: Provided further, That this appropriation shall be
available pursuant to law (7 U.S.C. 2250) for the alteration
and repair of buildings and improvements, but the cost of
altering any one building during the fiscal year shall not
exceed 10 percent of the current replacement value of the
building.
Amendment Offered by Ms. De Lauro
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.
The Clerk read as follows:
Amendment offered by Ms. DeLauro:
In title I, in the item relating to ``Food Safety and
Inspection Service'', insert at the end the following:
In addition, for the Food Safety and Inspection Service to
improve food safety and reduce the incidence of foodborne
illnesses, $50,000,000: Provided, That such amount is
designated by the Congress as an emergency requirement
pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A) of the Balanced Budget and
Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985: Provided further, That
such amount shall be available only to the extent that an
official budget request, that includes designation of the
entire amount of the request as an emergency requirement as
defined in the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control
Act of 1985, is transmitted by the President to the Congress.
In title VI, in the item relating to ``Food and Drug
Administration--salaries and expenses'', insert at the end
the following:
In addition, for the Food and Drug Administration to
improve food safety and reduce the incidence of foodborne
illnesses, $163,000,000: Provided, That such amount is
designated by the Congress as an emergency requirement
pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A) of the Balanced Budget and
Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985: Provided further, That
such amount shall be available only to the extent that an
official budget request, that includes designation of the
entire amount of the request as an emergency requirement as
defined in the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control
Act of 1985, is transmitted by the President to the Congress.
Ms. DeLAURO (during the reading). Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous
consent that the amendment be considered as read and printed in the
Record.
The CHAIRMAN. Is there objection to the request of the gentlewoman
from Connecticut?
There was no objection.
Mr. BONILLA. Mr. Chairman, I reserve a point of order on this
amendment.
The CHAIRMAN. A point of order is reserved.
Mr. BONIOR. Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent that all debate on
this amendment be limited to 30 minutes and that the time be equally
divided.
The CHAIRMAN. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from
Texas?
There was no objection.
The CHAIRMAN. The time will be equally divided between the proponent
of the amendment, the gentlewoman from Connecticut (Ms. DeLauro), and a
Member opposed.
Mr. BONILLA. Mr. Chairman, I claim the time in opposition.
The CHAIRMAN. The gentlewoman from Connecticut (Ms. DeLauro) is
recognized for 15 minutes.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Chairman, my amendment provides emergency funds to address the
food safety crisis that faces our Nation today. Today more American are
getting sick from the food that they eat. Outbreaks of food sickness
are expected to go up by as much as 15 percent over the next 10 years.
The outbreaks are reported across the spectrum: fish, eggs, beef and
lettuce, to name a few. The statistics are staggering. Five thousand
Americans die every year from food-borne illness, and 76 million get
ill and 325 are hospitalized. Medical expenses and lost productivity
cost us every year $5.6 billion and $9.4 billion respectively.
Two days ago the Excel Corporation recalled 190,000 pounds of ground
beef and pork because of possible contamination by deadly E. coli. Sara
Lee pled guilty to selling tainted meat linked to a nationwide outbreak
of listeriosis in 1998, and 15 people were killed.
Grocery stores are afraid that their food is unsafe. Slaughterhouses
are killing cattle before the animals are unconscious because there are
not enough inspectors to ensure that the law is enforced.
George Grob, Deputy Director and Inspector General of Health and
Human Services states that, and I quote, ``Any reasonable person would
worry about it. If the inspection process worked really well, there
would be fewer recalls.''
To address the problem I asked the committee to allow an amendment
that would provide a total of $213 million in emergency funds, $90
million for more inspections of imported foods, $73 million for
additional inspections of domestic food products, and $50 million for
the Food Safety Inspection Service to ensure that it has the resources
that it needs to implement food safety procedures and regulations.
The Food and Drug Administration inspects all food except meat,
poultry and eggs. This food, which includes fruit juices, vegetables,
cheeses, seafood, is the source of 85 percent of food poisoning in this
country. In the United States alone, there are 30,000 companies that
produce these food items, and last year recalls of FDA-regulated
products rose to 315, the most since the 1980s and 36 percent above
average.
Mr. Chairman, FDA inspects less than 1 percent of imported food, and
that market has expanded from 2.7 million items to 4.1 million items in
just 3 years. In the domestic market, the FDA does not inspect all
high-risk firms more than once a year; other firms are visited only
once in 7 years. The FDA employs 400 people to inspect domestic food
and recall. There are 30,000 food plants to look into and less than 120
people to inspect imported food. According to their own testimony, the
FDA says to conduct annual inspections of every domestic food firm, it
would need 3,400 employees. To increase its inspection of imported food
from 1 percent to 10 percent would require 1,600 employees.
The FDA needs resources in order to begin to meet its goal, and that
is what this amendment does, is to begin the process of increasing the
number of inspectors in order to look at imported foods and take the 1
percent of the inspections to 10 percent, and it would add 630
inspectors to guarantee that all high-risk firms are inspected twice a
year, all other firms every 2 years, and all food warehouses every 3
years.
The last part of the amendment says, let us have $50 million for the
Food
[[Page H3771]]
Safety Inspection Service to allow it to reach its goal of looking at
reducing food-borne illnesses that are carried by meat and poultry by
25 percent.
The FSIS has held public hearings to look at how we deal with
imported food and procedures, risk management, and emergency outbreaks.
We only have to look at our European friends to see what they have gone
through with foot and mouth and with mad cow illness to understand that
what we need to do is to be able to meet any kind of emergency. We need
to move forward on food safety, not backwards. If we continue to not
provide the kinds of inspection services that are needed, in fact, we
will move backwards and jeopardize the health of this country.
Mr. Chairman, I ask for support of this amendment and to provide
emergency assistance for food safety.
Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. BONILLA. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.
The CHAIRMAN. Does the gentleman insist upon his point of order?
Mr. BONIOR. I continue to reserve the point of order, Mr. Chairman.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chairman, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from
Wisconsin (Mr. Obey).
Mr. OBEY. Question: How many times have we all heard; ``The
government is too blasted big. Get the government out of our lives.'' I
bet my colleagues have heard it a lot. Yet the first time that we have
an outbreak of disease someplace, the first time that people die from
contaminated food, all of a sudden people say, ``Where is the
government? What are they doing? Why don't they get off their duffs?
Why aren't they protecting the public interest?''
Well, there is very good reason for that. It is because we are not
providing the resources necessary to provide an absolutely safe source
of food in this country.
The purpose of this amendment is to, over a 3-year period of time,
bring us to where the FDA says we should be in protecting the public
health of this country.
When we had subcommittee hearings earlier in the year, here is what
FDA said in response to questions: ``The inspection coverage of food
manufacturers, particularly high-risk manufacturers, has been
inadequate over the past several years.'' FDA estimated we would need
at least $220 million for an optimum inspection schedule of domestic
food facilities under our jurisdiction. This would provide inspection
of high-risk firms twice each year, warehouses every 3 years, and all
other food firms every 2 years.
Now, people can argue all day long about government priorities, but
the fact is that we are here today unable to offer this amendment
because the budget limitations under which we are operating prevents us
from even getting a vote on the amendment offered by the gentlewoman.
Why are we in this position? Because the majority party and the White
House insisted early on to take virtually every dime of the surpluses
that we were hoping to have over the next 10 years and pour all of
those monies into tax cuts. They put the lion's share of those tax cuts
into the pockets of the very wealthiest people in this country.
So this Congress decided it was more important to give the wealthiest
1 percent of people in this country, who, over the last 20 years, have
seen an after-tax rise in their income of $414,000 per family, that it
was more important to give those people an additional tax cut of
$53,000 a year than it is to meet our primary obligations to strengthen
Social Security, to strengthen education, to strengthen Medicare, and
to do all of these other little things that we need to do if we are
going to protect the food supply of this country and the environment in
which we all live.
So I simply take the well today, knowing full well that this
amendment will not receive a vote because of the rule under which the
bill is being considered, to suggest that this again is another example
of how we are neglecting our responsibilities of stewardship in order
to do the easy political thing and throw all of the money that we were
expecting to accumulate in those surpluses to tax cuts for the most
prosperous people in this society.
Mr. Chairman, I cannot believe this Congress could not achieve a
better balance in priorities. I cannot believe that intelligent people
on both sides of the aisle cannot figure out a way to guarantee that we
do provide at least the minimum coverage that the Agency itself says we
ought to provide in order to protect the health of the American people.
Mr. Chairman, 5,000 Americans are going to die this year because of
contaminated food, and millions are going to become sick. I do not
believe that we cannot do better.
Mr. BONILLA. Mr. Chairman, I continue to reserve my point of order,
and I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chairman, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from
Ohio (Ms. Kaptur).
Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding to me,
and I want to commend her for her terrific efforts in subcommittee and
in full committee, and now on the floor, to get appropriate attention
to the important question of food safety in our country. It really is
staggering to think that 76 million Americans every year have some type
of food-borne illness.
{time} 1600
As modern a society as we are, we question, why does this happen?
Part of the reason for it is because our food system, in many ways, is
moving very far away from home.
It used to be that you knew the farmer where your eggs came from. You
knew the farmer who grew your strawberries. There was local
accountability. You knew where your chickens came from. You knew where
your beef for your sausage came from, because the people lived in your
community and you went to the stores and the outlets that they
operated.
Mr. Chairman, today we live in a very industrialized food system, and
industrialized food processing has not necessarily brought with it a
safer food system. In fact, last year, 315 Food and Drug Administration
regulated food products were recalled, the most recalls in 1 year since
the mid-1980s.
It was a 36 percent increase above the average, and part of the
reason for that is, even though we have certain scientific methods in
place, the way in which our food is processed actually encourages food-
borne illness.
For example, in the area of beef, if you go into some of our
slaughter houses and meat-packing plants now, which are very, very
mechanized, often, an intestine will be pierced and E. coli will be
driven into flesh in the animal that is ultimately then cut up and sold
on the supermarket shelf.
Mr. Chairman, some of that is not detected by the human eye.
Industrial slaughtering is different than when animals were cut by hand
and there were not so many animals slaughtered per day and there was
closer oversight.
It has never been easy to work in a meat processing facility. At the
beginning of the 20th century, books were written about what was going
on inside these meat-packing plants, and through the 20th century, we
tried to improve the situation.
In poultry, for example, if you look at the USDA inspectors who are
on a line, the rate at which birds move by them has become so fast, the
human eye cannot necessarily detect the different types of salmonella
and pfiesteria and other bacterial microbes that can infect the meat
product.
In spite of the fact that we seem to be so modern, some of the very
procedures that we have as well as the fact that food is grown and
processed very far from home has made the system in some ways extremely
vulnerable.
It is surprising to us also that in a country as bountiful as ours
that we have increasing amounts of food imports.
Over the last 4 years alone, imported foods sold in the United States
have increased by 50 percent, from 2.7 million items in 1997 to 4.1
million last year alone. But of all the foreign imports coming in here,
as the gentlewoman from Connecticut (Ms. DeLauro) has accurately
described, only 1 percent are inspected.
When most people get sick from food poisoning, they do not report it
to the Centers for Disease Control. A lot of times they do not really
realize what is wrong with them until a couple of days later. At the
local level, there is not an automatic reporting upstream to the CDC.
So a lot of the food poisoning
[[Page H3772]]
goes unreported. The DeLauro amendment would provide additional funds
for food inspection.
There is $98 million more for imported food inspection, which we so
desperately need at our borders; $73 million for more FDA inspections
of domestic food processors. Many processors do not even get inspected
once a year; sometimes it takes up to 2 years.
The FDA actually is the agency where 75 percent of the problem is, 75
percent of the outbreaks and problems relate to FDA-inspected
facilities. This means inspection is inadequate.
The DeLauro amendment also would provide $50 million for USDA food
safety and inspection service to carry out new procedures and
regulations for meat and poultry food products. For example, USDA is
currently addressing port of entry procedures and the development of
contingency plans for emergency breakouts. Remember, we had that
problem of strawberries in Michigan causing children to become so ill.
To this day, we were never actually able to track back where the
problem with those strawberries came from. We knew they were processed
in southern California. Their origin was Mexico, but we just could not
track it back.
So I think the DeLauro amendment is more than worthy; it is
essential. She has my full support on this. I hope she has the
attention of the membership. Let us get this DeLauro amendment
incorporated in the final bill that we bring back from the other body.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Chairman, this is simply an effort to try to build the
infrastructure of the agencies that we charge with protecting our food,
our food supply, which is ultimately about the food, but it is about
the safety of every man, women and child in this country. That is all
that we are asking about here.
Given the statistics, which are staggering, 5,000 deaths, 73 million
people ill, 325,000 people hospitalized, it is unconscionable that we
do not recognize this as a crisis and as an emergency.
We cannot allow this to continue. We can do something about it.
Parliamentary Inquiry
Mr. BONILLA. Mr. Chairman, I have a parliamentary inquiry. Is the
gentlewoman from Connecticut (Ms. DeLauro) withdrawing her amendment?
The CHAIRMAN pro tempore (Mr. Whitfield). Is the gentlewoman from
Connecticut withdrawing her amendment, or does she continue to want to
move forward on her amendment?
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chairman, I would like to continue to move forward
with my amendment.
Point of Order
The CHAIRMAN pro tempore. Does the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Bonilla)
insist on his point of order?
Mr. BONILLA. Mr. Chairman, I do.
The CHAIRMAN pro tempore. The gentleman will state his point of
order.
Mr. BONILLA. Mr. Chairman, I make a point of order against the
amendment, because it proposes to change existing law and constitutes
legislation in an appropriations bill, and, therefore, violates clause
2 of rule XXI. The rule states, in pertinent part, an amendment to a
general appropriation bill shall not be in order if changing existing
law.
The amendment includes an emergency designation under section 251 of
the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985, and, as
such, constitutes legislation in violation of clause 2 of rule XXI.
I ask for a ruling from the Chair.
The CHAIRMAN pro tempore. Does the gentlewoman from Connecticut want
to be heard on the point of order?
Ms. DeLAURO. No, Mr. Chairman.
The CHAIRMAN pro tempore. Then the Chair is prepared to rule on the
gentleman's point of order.
The Chair finds that this amendment includes an emergency designation
under section 251(b)(2)(a) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit
Control Act of 1985, the amendment therefore constitutes legislation in
violation of clause 2 of rule XXI.
The point of order is sustained. The amendment is not in order.
The CHAIRMAN pro tempore (Mr. Whitfield). The Committee will rise
informally.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Latham) assumed the Chair.
____________________