Sherrod Brown: “Yesterday the House, for the first time ever, tackled the public health threat from antibiotic-resistant bacteria in our…”

“Yesterday the House, for the first time ever, tackled the public health threat from antibiotic-resistant bacteria in our food supply. On Monday, during debate on the agriculture appropriations bill, the House passed my amendment to dedicate an additional $3 million to the work of the Food and Drug Administration on antibiotic resistance resulting from the use of antibiotics in livestock. Scientists and public health officials have known for decades that using the same antibiotics for food animals as for people could cause problems. Sixteen years ago my esteemed colleagues, the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Dingell) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Waxman), introduced legislation to curtail the use of human antibiotics in animals. But this amendment, Mr. Speaker, marks the first time this House has taken legislative action to stop Boyd resistance from agricultural overuse of these precious drugs. Mr. Speaker, we thought we were winning the war against infectious diseases. With the introduction of antibiotics in the 1940s, humans gained an overwhelming advantage in the fight against bacteria. But this war is far from won. Last month, the World Health Organization issued a ringing warning against antibiotic resistance. Around the world, microbes are mutating at an alarming rate into new strains that fail to respond to drugs.”