[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 52 (Thursday, March 29, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E499-E500]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    FRUSTRATION WITH ABC NEWS REPORTING ON BEEF PRODUCTS, INC. (BPI)

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                           HON. TIM HUELSKAMP

                               of kansas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 29, 2012

  Mr. HUELSKAMP. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to join my colleagues in 
expressing my frustration with ABC News' muckraking ``journalism'' that 
has forced the closure of a plant employing more than 200 people in my 
district.
  What we have before us is a perfect example of mainstream media 
completely disconnected from reality. In a quest for accolades and 
attention, reporters, talking heads, and morning talk show hosts at ABC 
have made it their intention to drive Beef Products, Inc. (BPI) out of 
business. And they may have succeeded. Despite developing a process 
that adds approximately $15 of value to each head of cattle processed, 
and providing safe, healthy, lean meat for more than 300 billion meals, 
BPI is being forced to close the doors of its plant in Finney County, 
Kansas.
  But while the reporters, producers, and executives at ABC move on to 
their next ``public interest'' story as questions of finely textured 
lean beef fade into the background, the same cannot be said of 
employees at BPI. It is ironic that a perfectly good ``public 
interest'' story for them to cover is the loss of hundreds of jobs for 
people in my district and from the three other BPI plants across the 
country. But doing so would bring too much attention to ABC's role in 
causing these people to lose their jobs.
  Make no mistake, Mr. Speaker--finely textured lean beef is just that: 
beef. In terms of meat content, it is no different from the steak being 
served at Charlie Palmer's, or the hamburger at Five Guys. It's not 
scrap, filler, or substitute. It's beef.
  And it's safe to eat. While much has been made of the use of ammonia 
to treat the meat once it is processed, it has not been, and should not 
be a safety concern. This process has been approved by the USDA on a 
whole host of food products, including meat, cheeses, chocolate, 
pudding, condiments, and beverages to prevent food-borne diseases.

[[Page E500]]

Not once, in nearly 20 years of production, has there ever been a 
report of e.coli or other food-borne illness resulting from finely 
textured lean beef. It is safe, healthy and only being vilified because 
someone thought it might win them an award.
  It is my hope that the American people will not be so easily fooled 
in the future, and will explore the facts for themselves, rather than 
allowing a news organization, on a crusade to win awards, take down a 
safe, successful company providing good jobs for hundreds of Americans.

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