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Hillary Clinton: Clinton Calls on Senate Leaders to Implement Country of Origin Labeling as Food Safety Scares Continue
Source: Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton
Thu, 07/12/2007
via All American Patriots
Senator Says Recent Food Import Scares and FDA Ban on Chinese Fish Imports Mean Country of Origin Labeling Must be Mandated Immediately
July 11, 2007 -- Washington, DC – In the wake of recent scares about imported food and feed products, and the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) alert concerning imports of certain seafood from China, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton today called on her Senate colleagues to implement Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) as soon as possible.
Funding for the full implementation of COOL has been delayed multiple times in recent Republican Congresses, despite its capacity to ensure greater consumer confidence and increase food safety protocol in America. The 2002 Farm Bill mandated a County of Origin labeling effort but to date, the program has only been put in place for seafood. Consideration of the 2007 Farm Bill is set to take place in Congress soon.
"The recent scares about food and feed products from overseas make Country of Origin labels more important than ever. Congress mandated that we impose County of Origin Labeling over five years ago. It is about time we had a system in place that allows consumers to know exactly where their food and produce is coming from and helps our local farmers promote their own home-grown products," Senator Clinton said. "Country of Origin Labeling makes sense from both a food safety and an economic perspective and consumers like it. It should be implemented immediately in the same way for meats, fruits, vegetables and peanuts as the 2002 Farm Bill intended."
Senator Clinton also recently outlined her priorities for the 2007 Farm Bill and called for action to force the USDA to properly implement COOL. The Senator also called for oversight hearings to ensure that the true letter of the law is expressed in its final implementation.
Following the recent food and feed product import scares, Senator Clinton urged the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to account for their apparent failures to test, track and monitor food and feed materials coming from overseas and called on them to develop and implement a national food safety strategy. In a letter to the heads of the FDA and the USDA, Senator Clinton called for a comprehensive and integrated monitoring and regulation plan to ensure the safety of the nation's food supply.
Senator Clinton has also joined with Senator Frank R. Lautenberg to call for creation of a multi-agency food safety task force to report to Congress what changes in law and regulations are needed to ensure the safety of our food supply.
A copy of Senator Clinton's letter follows –
The Honorable Harry Reid
Majority Leader
United States Senate
S 221
Washington, D.C. 20510
The Honorable Mitch McConnell
Minority Leader
United States Senate
S 230
Washington, D.C. 20510
The Honorable Tom Harkin
Chairman
Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry
United States Senate
R 328A
Washington, D.C. 20510
The Honorable Saxby Chambliss
Ranking Member
Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry
United States Senate
R 328A
Washington, D.C. 20510
Dear Majority Leader Reid, Minority Leader McConnell, Chairman Harkin and Ranking Member Chambliss:
Recent headlines have focused the attention of the nation on our increasing reliance on worldwide sources for our consumer products. The United States' import and export markets have worked to increase an already growing global market for products of all varieties including electronics, automobiles, clothing and very significantly, agriculture and food products.
As the United States approaches a trade deficit in total agricultural products and in the light of recent imported food supply scares, I ask for a greater commitment by Congress to establish final and appropriate implementation of mandatory country-of-origin labeling (COOL).
Clear designations and easy access to information regarding the origin of our food supply are essential to American consumers when making the important decisions on the food that our families eat. An ever increasing supply of imported food products and the failure of the government to adequately inspect food products leave the consumer with little or no information on which to make these critical decisions on food safety. COOL can provide American consumers with sound information on which to base their food choices.
Although consumers already receive country of origin information for many domestic and international products, food products, with the exception of seafood, are not among them. The 2002 Farm Bill mandated the establishment of COOL for food products. The burdensome, complicated and expensive implementation rules written by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) reflect the agency's opposition to COOL. USDA is the agency obligated to implement the law and has unfortunately failed to do so.
Recent consumer polls and surveys repeatedly report that more than 3 of every 4 respondents want country-of-origin labeling. Many say they would be willing to pay more for food products if that information was provided. Given that American consumers want to know where their food comes from and domestic producers want to differentiate their products from imports, COOL should be a priority and its implementation endorsed by Congress as soon as possible.
I ask that you support full funding for USDA to move forward in drafting a proposed rule and that you urge USDA to cease in its obstruction of COOL so that a workable implementation rule will be crafted by the department. The rule should be manageable and affordable for producers and should aim to follow the original intent of Congress.
Additionally, I ask that you move to encourage the immediate implementation of COOL and that the Senate address the broader issue of food safety in the time remaining in the 110th Congress.
Sincerely yours,
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Source: Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton
allamericanpatriots.com
Source: Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton
Thu, 07/12/2007
via All American Patriots
Senator Says Recent Food Import Scares and FDA Ban on Chinese Fish Imports Mean Country of Origin Labeling Must be Mandated Immediately
July 11, 2007 -- Washington, DC – In the wake of recent scares about imported food and feed products, and the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) alert concerning imports of certain seafood from China, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton today called on her Senate colleagues to implement Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) as soon as possible.
Funding for the full implementation of COOL has been delayed multiple times in recent Republican Congresses, despite its capacity to ensure greater consumer confidence and increase food safety protocol in America. The 2002 Farm Bill mandated a County of Origin labeling effort but to date, the program has only been put in place for seafood. Consideration of the 2007 Farm Bill is set to take place in Congress soon.
"The recent scares about food and feed products from overseas make Country of Origin labels more important than ever. Congress mandated that we impose County of Origin Labeling over five years ago. It is about time we had a system in place that allows consumers to know exactly where their food and produce is coming from and helps our local farmers promote their own home-grown products," Senator Clinton said. "Country of Origin Labeling makes sense from both a food safety and an economic perspective and consumers like it. It should be implemented immediately in the same way for meats, fruits, vegetables and peanuts as the 2002 Farm Bill intended."
Senator Clinton also recently outlined her priorities for the 2007 Farm Bill and called for action to force the USDA to properly implement COOL. The Senator also called for oversight hearings to ensure that the true letter of the law is expressed in its final implementation.
Following the recent food and feed product import scares, Senator Clinton urged the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to account for their apparent failures to test, track and monitor food and feed materials coming from overseas and called on them to develop and implement a national food safety strategy. In a letter to the heads of the FDA and the USDA, Senator Clinton called for a comprehensive and integrated monitoring and regulation plan to ensure the safety of the nation's food supply.
Senator Clinton has also joined with Senator Frank R. Lautenberg to call for creation of a multi-agency food safety task force to report to Congress what changes in law and regulations are needed to ensure the safety of our food supply.
A copy of Senator Clinton's letter follows –
The Honorable Harry Reid
Majority Leader
United States Senate
S 221
Washington, D.C. 20510
The Honorable Mitch McConnell
Minority Leader
United States Senate
S 230
Washington, D.C. 20510
The Honorable Tom Harkin
Chairman
Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry
United States Senate
R 328A
Washington, D.C. 20510
The Honorable Saxby Chambliss
Ranking Member
Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry
United States Senate
R 328A
Washington, D.C. 20510
Dear Majority Leader Reid, Minority Leader McConnell, Chairman Harkin and Ranking Member Chambliss:
Recent headlines have focused the attention of the nation on our increasing reliance on worldwide sources for our consumer products. The United States' import and export markets have worked to increase an already growing global market for products of all varieties including electronics, automobiles, clothing and very significantly, agriculture and food products.
As the United States approaches a trade deficit in total agricultural products and in the light of recent imported food supply scares, I ask for a greater commitment by Congress to establish final and appropriate implementation of mandatory country-of-origin labeling (COOL).
Clear designations and easy access to information regarding the origin of our food supply are essential to American consumers when making the important decisions on the food that our families eat. An ever increasing supply of imported food products and the failure of the government to adequately inspect food products leave the consumer with little or no information on which to make these critical decisions on food safety. COOL can provide American consumers with sound information on which to base their food choices.
Although consumers already receive country of origin information for many domestic and international products, food products, with the exception of seafood, are not among them. The 2002 Farm Bill mandated the establishment of COOL for food products. The burdensome, complicated and expensive implementation rules written by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) reflect the agency's opposition to COOL. USDA is the agency obligated to implement the law and has unfortunately failed to do so.
Recent consumer polls and surveys repeatedly report that more than 3 of every 4 respondents want country-of-origin labeling. Many say they would be willing to pay more for food products if that information was provided. Given that American consumers want to know where their food comes from and domestic producers want to differentiate their products from imports, COOL should be a priority and its implementation endorsed by Congress as soon as possible.
I ask that you support full funding for USDA to move forward in drafting a proposed rule and that you urge USDA to cease in its obstruction of COOL so that a workable implementation rule will be crafted by the department. The rule should be manageable and affordable for producers and should aim to follow the original intent of Congress.
Additionally, I ask that you move to encourage the immediate implementation of COOL and that the Senate address the broader issue of food safety in the time remaining in the 110th Congress.
Sincerely yours,
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Source: Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton
allamericanpatriots.com