[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 75 (Tuesday, May 8, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E979]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

[[Page E979]]


      EXPRESSING CONCERN OVER THE FDA'S PROPOSAL TO CLOSE TESTING 
                              LABORATORIES

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. TOM LANTOS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                          Tuesday, May 8, 2007

  Mr. LANTOS. Madam Speaker, I rise today to express my grave concern 
over what I understand to be the Federal Drug Administration's proposal 
to close down as many as nine regional testing laboratories.
  This decision, apparently made in the fall of 2006, has been steadily 
attracting resistance as more people are made aware of it. It appears 
that the FDA's Office of Regulatory Affairs (ORA), which, among other 
activities, oversees the labs, plans to close between seven and nine 
laboratories--more than half of the current facilities, leaving only 
four to six labs up and running.
  Madam Speaker, this nation has a spectacular technological 
reputation. I am proud of the work performed by the good men and women 
of the FDA. Everyone can understand the importance of quickly and 
efficiently testing dangerous materials, which is but one of the 
responsibilities of these laboratories. But I would like to emphasize 
that regional laboratories are even more important today, when an E. 
coli outbreak in California needs immediate attention and not days of 
delay because substances must be shipped across the country to a lab in 
New York. Recent outbreaks of tainted spinach, with immediate testing 
in California, proved this urgent point.
  Madam Speaker, it is imperative that we carefully and cautiously 
analyze this plan to consolidate our testing labs into a handful of 
regional centers. President Colleen M. Kelley of the National Treasury 
Employees Union (NTEU), which represents more than 5,200 FDA employees, 
has expressed her concern that FDA employees are not being properly 
considered in this radical transition plan to close labs this spring. 
The targeted laboratories are located in Philadelphia; Denver; Detroit; 
Alameda, California; Lenexa, Kansas; San Juan, Puerto Rico; and 
Winchester, Massachusetts. My understanding of the plan is that these 
operations, along with an estimated 250 employees, would be moved to 
five multi-purpose ``mega-labs'' geared to handle all types of FDA 
testing. Common sense tells us that our testing response will be 
altered greatly with fewer laboratories. Common sense also tells us 
that many loyal Federal employees will be facing drastic changes, 
including termination.
  Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) and Rep. John Dingell (D-MI) have raised 
concerns about these FDA lab closure plans. They have received limited 
response to their questions. This is unconscionable, given that we all 
work for the same team.
  Madam Speaker, in this time of heightened concern about a wide 
variety of levels of safety in our nation, it seems particularly 
troubling to be downsizing our FDA laboratories simply for budgetary 
concerns. I would be gratified to learn whether or not alternatives to 
these lab closures have been properly explored.

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