Political Quotes

“I thank my ranking chair, the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Dicks). I rise with serious concerns. I am the ranking member of the Agricultural Appropriations Committee. I come from the State that is the leading ag State in the Nation, California, and agriculture is the number one economy in California. We're a State that is really diversified, and we do it without subsidies and we do it by partnerships. The partnership is essentially a public-private partnership, and there is a major role to be able to make the private sector successful with that partnership. We all care about feeding people, all people, whether they are rich or poor. One thing they all have in common is that they want that food to be safe. They want the drink to be safe. They want the drugs that they buy in the stores to be safe. And the problem with this CR, which is very interestingly talked about on their side in the generic of the necessity of cutting the deficit, which we all agree on. But to take a meat axe approach to the USDA and the FDA cuts the safety net for food and drugs. For example, the Food and Safety Inspection Service would have to cut down on their inspectors who have to be in every one of the 6,300 slaughter and processing facilities. If they are not there, there is no work. We would have to close these facilities for months at a time; therefore, putting a lot of people out of work, less jobs, and certainly no food safety. It goes on and on and on.…”