Political Quotes

“Mr. Chairman, I yield myself as much time as I may consume. I rise today in support of this amendment to protect food safety standards for consumers. In 2010, Congress updated our food safety protections for the 21st century by passing the Food Safety and Modernization Act, greatly expanding these consumer protections through the Food and Drug Administration. Today it is critical that we maintain this progress and protect the implementation of this law from the obstructionist policies included in the SCRUB Act. It is especially important that we allow the FDA to carry out this effort unimpeded because our food safety standards are facing attacks from many other directions. A recent decision from the World Trade Organization repealed our country-of-origin labeling standards on beef and pork, undermining consumers' right to know where their groceries are coming from. Meanwhile, the United States is considering entering the Trans- Pacific Partnership, a massive multinational trade agreement that may allow food into our grocery stores and restaurants that may not even meet basic safety standards. The TPP weakens our ability to inspect these dangerous foods before they end up on our dinner plates. We know that seafood imported from countries like Vietnam and Malaysia are often contaminated with dangerous antibiotics and foodborne pathogens.…”