[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 118 (Friday, July 31, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2143]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  FOOD SAFETY ENHANCEMENT ACT OF 2009

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                               speech of

                           HON. DOC HASTINGS

                             of washington

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 30, 2009

  Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition 
to H.R. 2749, the Food Safety Enhancement Act. This bill makes drastic 
changes to our nation's food safety laws that will affect every farmer 
and rancher in the United States. However, Mr. Speaker, the extent of 
these changes is unknown, because the full text of this bill was not 
yet available to Members until the day before the vote.
  Our Nation has the safest food supply in the world, Mr. Speaker, and 
that is because our growers and processors work hard to provide quality 
products to consumers. While the circumstances surrounding recent food 
safety violations must be addressed, in nearly every case, these were 
violations of existing laws and standards. It is imperative that 
Congress does not rush to use these incidents as an excuse to 
unnecessarily and dramatically expand federal regulation of our 
producers and processors.
  This is a better bill than the one that came out of the Energy and 
Commerce Committee. Yet, I am still concerned about the broad authority 
this legislation gives to the Food and Drug Administration to regulate 
on-farm practices for our fruit and vegetable growers. If this bill is 
signed into law, the FDA will for the first time have the explicit 
authority to regulate the way produce is grown and harvested.
  I am also concerned, Mr. Speaker, with the significant financial 
burden that the new traceability and record-keeping requirement will 
have on America's small farmers and agriculture processors. This bill 
would allow FDA to charge huge fines for even minor paperwork 
violations that could put smaller operations out of business.
  Also of note, is the broad quarantine authority that this bill gives 
to FDA. While I recognize the need to quarantine the source of food-
borne illnesses, this bill would allow the FDA to quarantine wide 
geographic areas where the source may exist. We know that the FDA can 
make mistakes over the origin of an outbreak, and this provision could 
cause devastating economic impacts to growers and processors who have 
done absolutely nothing wrong.
  Agriculture is the number one industry in Washington State. Creating 
jobs and growing our economy is dependent upon supporting our farmers 
and ranchers--not passing legislation that could put them out of 
business.
  I have heard some of my colleagues say that we can rely on the Senate 
to address the flaws in this bill. I believe that the House of 
Representatives owes it to our growers and processors to take the time 
to do this right, and not rely on the Senate to fix our mistakes.

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