Political Quotes

“Yesterday I introduced with Senator Torricelli a bill... to consolidate all of the food inspection services of the Federal Government in one independent agency. Mr. President, 33 million Americans each year have some sort of a foodborne illness, and out of that number some 9,000 will die. You read about the cases, whether it is E. coli or salmonella. We have a good food inspection system but it can be much better. Our food inspection system evolved from Upton Sinclair's novel 'The Jungle,' when we decided the Federal Government had to step in and make sure the food, meat in particular, that came to our table was safe for our families. But now I am afraid we have gone overboard. We have 12 different Federal agencies involved in food inspection--12--6 in a major way. I am joining with Congressman Vic Fazio of California to consolidate these into one independent agency which will be guided by the best science in keeping food safe for Americans. I hope that this, too, will be part of our agenda next year when we return to Washington, DC.”