We Must Do More to Protect our Food Supplies (Rep. Bart Stupak)

I am pleased that my colleagues agreed with me that it is vital we stop the FDA from jeopardizing the health and safety of the American people by closing the agency’s field labs and merging its district offices. In the eighty days after our Subcommittee held our first food safety hearing in April, there were more than forty-five food recalls and food safety alerts. Yet, as food safety concerns have mounted, the FDA has continued to pursue a policy that would eliminate what few consumer safeguards are in place to concentrate more power in Washington, DC. The FDA’s announcement that they would temporarily suspend this reorganization was an inadequate response, and the language in the appropriations bill reflects the House’s firm belief that more must be done to protect our food supply, not less.

Rep. Bart Stupak is Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.