Alan Grayson: “The purpose of this amendment is to reverse $5.5 million in cuts for food safety and food inspection here in the United…”

“The purpose of this amendment is to reverse $5.5 million in cuts for food safety and food inspection here in the United States. Currently, the Food Safety and Inspection Service is funded at $1,005,189,000 in this bill. That is $5.5 million below the current enacted amount and $17.581 million below the Senate allocation in their agriculture appropriations bill. This bill seeks to remove $5.5 million from a pay-for from the Farm Service Agency. The Farm Service Agency is funded at $1,205,068,000 in this bill. That is over $27 million above the current enacted amount, and it is $65.5 million above the President's request and $22.5 million above the Senate allocation. Certainly, farm conservation and regulation is very important, and that is the function of the Farm Service Agency. However, food safety and food inspection is paramount because of all the problems that the country is facing today on this count. According to this study by Robert Scharff that I have in my hand here from the Journal of Food Protection, dated 2012, the economic burden of health loss is due to foodborne illnesses in the United States. The cost of foodborne illnesses in the United States each year is $77.7 billion. That is $77.7 billion. Food safety and food losses and foodborne illnesses lead to 128,000 hospitalizations every year and, unfortunately, 3,000 deaths every year in the United States.…”