On the recordJanuary 10, 2019
I am delighted to yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Connecticut (Ms. DeLauro), a member of the Committee on Appropriations and chair of the Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies, and is the former chair of the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Subcommittee of Appropriations. Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, the President is holding the country hostage, putting hundreds of thousands of families at great risk. The President has manufactured a crisis at the border that has no basis in fact and has used the wall to incite fear. Vital agriculture programs, which millions of families and farmers depend on, are at risk. At the U.S. Department of Agriculture, farm service loans are stalled, family farmers need the capital to buy seed and equipment for the approaching planting season. Rural development programs are at risk. Food stamps, food banks, and food programs are down to their last dollars. School lunch programs and other nutrition programs are at risk. Forty-seven million Americans could go hungry. Let's take a look at the Food and Drug Administration, because our food supply is at risk. When you go to the grocery store, you can't be sure that the product you are buying is safe because almost all food safety inspectors have been furloughed. The FDA remains understaffed for food surveillance and food recall operations.…
