On the recordNovember 29, 2010
we have just invoked cloture on the food safety bill, and I think it is important for the American people to know what that means. That means we are going to spend another $1.4 billion of their money. No. 2, we are going to raise the cost of food over the next year, and therefore we are at about $200 million to $300 million. We set $141 billion per year in unfunded mandates on the States if we pass this bill, and we didn't fix the real problem with food safety in this country, according to the Government Accountability Office. The other point I wish to make is that we went through this process over the last week and a half with no amendments being allowed--no amendments being allowed--which really violates the spirit of the Senate. The thing Washington gets wrong--it is not their intent, it is not their well-meaning desire to fix problems that are in front of the country--what Washington gets wrong is they think spending more money and setting up a ton more regulations will fix problems, and it doesn't. What it does is it raises costs.
