[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 107 (Thursday, July 16, 2009)]
[House]
[Pages H8272-H8273]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 THE EXPANDING POWER OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND ITS INTRUSION INTO 
                           AMERICA'S BUSINESS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Moran) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. MORAN of Kansas. Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, here we go again--
yet another attempt to expand the power of the Federal Government and 
to intrude further in America's business. Just like with cap-and-trade, 
which was forced upon Members without

[[Page H8273]]

proper consideration, here comes another bill from the Energy and 
Commerce Committee. This time it is H.R. 2749, the Food Safety 
Enhancement Act of 2009.
  I do believe that our Nation has the safest food supply system in the 
world, and I also agree that we should continue to examine that supply 
system to make certain that we continue to improve upon it. However, 
H.R. 2749 will not make us a better food safety country. Instead, it 
will expand the Federal bureaucracy, and it will impose unnecessary 
costs on a struggling ag economy. This legislation represents a 
dramatic shift in Federal policy that could, just like cap-and-trade, 
devastate agriculture.
  This legislation was considered by the Energy and Commerce Committee 
just a couple of weeks ago. Now, just like cap-and-trade, the 
Democratic leadership wants to bypass the expertise of the Committee on 
Agriculture and bring this bill to the floor, this time under a 
suspension of the rules--no further consideration, no markups by other 
committees of jurisdiction, no amendments, just a vote.
  One provision of H.R. 2749 that is of particular concern is section 
103. This section would require the U.S. Food and Drug Administration 
to set on-farm performance standards. For the first time, we would have 
the Federal Government telling our farmers and ranchers how to grow 
crops and raise livestock.
  The cultivation of crops and the production of food animals is an 
immensely complex endeavor involving a vast range of processes. We 
raise a multitude of crops and livestock in numerous regions, using 
various production methods. Imagine if the government is allowed to 
dictate how all of that is done. Chaos will ensue. Unfortunately, that 
is what H.R. 2749 allows.
  Those who have never been on a farm will be allowed to tell a 
producer how to conduct his or her operations. We will not improve food 
safety by allowing the Food and Drug Administration to tell our farmers 
what to do. We will improve food safety by allowing farmers and 
ranchers to do something that they and their ancestors have been doing 
for generations.
  There are other problems with this bill as well--new penalties, 
recordkeeping requirements, traceability, registration mandates, user 
fees--all things that do nothing to prevent food-borne diseases and 
outbreaks but that do plenty to keep regulators busy and that increase 
costs.
  I raised these concerns today in a hearing of the House Agriculture 
Committee, which was reviewing food safety. The witnesses representing 
the FDA tried to reassure the committee by telling us not to worry, 
that they knew what they were doing and that they would consult with 
the Department of Agriculture. However, the FDA has no expertise in 
crop and livestock production practices, and I have little confidence 
that the FDA will work with the USDA.
  In fact, a recent example of the FDA's unwillingness to accept the 
expertise of the USDA was demonstrated this week. It involved another 
bill, H.R. 1549, which would restrict--in fact, eliminate--the use of 
animal antibiotics. H.R. 1549 would institute a ban on the 
nontherapeutic uses of antibiotics, which is another ill-conceived 
concept concerning a very complex issue. Yet we learned today that no 
consultation by the FDA has occurred with the USDA.
  In a hearing earlier this week before the House Rules Committee, the 
FDA suddenly shifted its course and supported this ban. No new research 
or scientific analysis was presented. Again, apparently no consultation 
with the USDA occurred. So much for collaborating with the Department 
of Agriculture.
  Mr. Speaker, we must stop rushing legislation through Congress 
without careful, thoughtful and complete consideration. Congress rarely 
gets things right when we have ample time to properly consider policy 
changes, but it never makes good decisions when rushed by arbitrary 
timetables. H.R. 2749 needs to be referred to the Committee on 
Agriculture to allow for necessary improvements to this food safety 
bill, improvements which will actually improve the food safety of our 
country and will not shut down agriculture.
  We do not need FDA from farm to fork.

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