[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 162 (Thursday, December 9, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2098]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             FULL-YEAR CONTINUING APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2010

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                               speech of

                           HON. DIANA DeGETTE

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, December 8, 2010

  Ms. DeGETTE. Mr. Speaker, today we take the last few steps in the 
decades-long fight to finally update our nation's food safety 
infrastructure.
  When you consider that the current food safety system has remained 
largely unchanged since it was first adopted in the 1930s, it is no 
wonder that each year thousands of Americans fall ill and even die, as 
a result of tainted food. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control 
estimates that food contaminations cause 76 million illnesses in the 
U.S. each year, including over 300,000 hospitalizations and 5,000 
deaths. And the economic cost is equally astounding. A recent report 
estimates that in Colorado alone over $2.3 billion is spent on the 
health-related costs of foodborne illness. And of course, the cost to 
our nation's food industry--from the farmer to the producer to the 
community supermarket--is often even greater. From Salmonella in eggs 
to E.coli in cheese, the last few months alone have proven that every 
day we have waited to pass food safety legislation was one day too 
many.
  As we evaluate this final bill today, I still stand by the stronger 
traceability provisions I fought for in the bill this Chamber passed 
last year. While this bill marks an improvement to our current regime, 
I still believe over the next few years Congress will have to maximize 
the traceability pilot projects called for in this legislation in order 
to develop the tools we need to pull tainted products from the shelves 
or prevent unsafe food products from even getting into our stores and 
homes. Nonetheless, the mandatory recall authority in this bill means 
we no longer have to rely on corporations to act in good faith. And 
greater inspection of imported goods means we can ensure that they are 
just as safe as what is cultivated and produced domestically.
  But the benefit of these changes won't come overnight. So I look 
forward to working with the FDA as they put this new law to work. This 
bill could overcome years of intransigence and partisanship that have 
needlessly exposed people throughout my state of Colorado and across 
the U.S. to foodborne illness.
  Food safety is both a public health issue and an economic issue. This 
bill represents the best of what the American people sent us here to 
do--work together on a bipartisan basis to keep their families safe and 
healthy, while securing the key industries that help drive our economy. 
I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation, and I look 
forward to the Senate finding a way to send this to the President.

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