Tom Harkin: “I also want to provide additional explanation about a section that originated from our mutual concern about the safety…”

“I also want to provide additional explanation about a section that originated from our mutual concern about the safety of food that enters our country. Like you, I have been concerned that agencies that inspect foods and food products that come through our borders do not have the ability to share information in order to jointly track shipment and other crucial information. As a result, we crafted a provision, now included in this legislation, to ensure that information systems--i.e., computers--will be coordinated across agencies with border security responsibilities. This includes agencies that will be housed in the new DHS as well as those like the Food and Drug Administration and the Food Safety Inspection Service--that will not, but have a homeland security function.”