The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“FOOD SAFETY” mentioning the U.S. Dept of Agriculture was published in the House of Representatives section on pages H8251-H8252 on Nov. 16, 2001.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
FOOD SAFETY
(Mr. SMITH of Michigan asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
Mr. SMITH of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I suspect that a lot of us become a little impatient in light of the terrorist threat, and I rise this morning with a little impatience to scold the United States Department of Agriculture, maybe request that they give consideration to a resolution that 30 of us introduced. That resolution, which is H.Con.Res. 258, called for more cooperation between the United States Department of Agriculture and HHS in the food inspection at our borders, the food products coming into the United States. There is a lot of overlap. We need better cooperation.
If it is an open-face sandwich, one agency inspects it. If it is two slices of bread, another agency inspects it. If it is a burrito with cheese, then it is inspected by HHS. If it is a burrito with meat, then it is inspected by USDA. At this time we need better cooperation. I would request that USDA evaluate this and either act to make the difference or come up with support for this resolution.
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