Thomas Daschle: “The Secretary has examined the language to which you refer. And it is the Secretary's view that it falls far short of…”

“The Secretary has examined the language to which you refer. And it is the Secretary's view that it falls far short of his standards and the expectations that he would apply to his own ability to address food safety. It is his view that this provision and many of the other provisions that the Senator has addressed in the language of the legislation is deficient. What the Secretary is simply saying is that unless we correct these deficiencies, his efforts to assure adequate standards and adequate confidence in our food safety system will be severely undermined. They are not my words. Those are the words of the Secretary himself.”