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“LISTEN TO SCIENTIFIC EXPERTS” mentioning the U.S. Dept of Agriculture was published in the House of Representatives section on pages H7897-H7898 on Sept. 20, 2000.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
LISTEN TO SCIENTIFIC EXPERTS; NOT FEAR PROFITEERS
(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, the American taxpayer is making a considerable investment in research through the spending of Congress and the President. Part of the research that I am particularly interested in is the basic plant genome research.
Current sequencing efforts on the Arabidopsis plant has allowed us to understand the plant gene and our ability to modify plants, with the potential of tremendously helping mankind throughout the world. We now have the ability to select one or two or a few genes, whose characteristics have been determined, and incorporate those genes into another plant to improve the nutrient digestibility, to improve the vitamins, to improve the needed minerals, to create the desease immunization values of that particular food product.
We are now faced with what I call fear profiteers that are spreading the word of fear to stymie research. My message this morning is that we have to rely on scientific information as we pursue our scientific endeavors and not allow emotion and fear profiteers to determine the destiny of research and scientific achievement in this country.
Mr. Speaker, the payoffs from plant genome research will depend in large part on our ability to capture and apply the benefits from it. Congress should support the goals of the plant genome research. The National Plant Genome Initiative is a well-managed public asset that represents a wise use of taxpayer dollars.
Current sequencing efforts on Arabidopsis thaliana have improved immeasurably our understanding of the genomics of a typical flowering plant. The shift in emphasis from gene sequencing to functional genomics is the logical next step that should provide the intellectual basis for new varieties of commercially-important crops and other plants.
NSF, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the other participants in the plant genome program have done a credible job of making the results of the research it funds available to other researchers and the private sector. Partnerships among universities participating in the program, agricultural experiment stations, and private-sector companies also have been developed.
These efforts should be encouraged further, and more formal structures concentrating research efforts in plant genomics, plant breeding, and agricultural extension should be considered to attract increased private sector participation and get new varieties to the field sooner. To that end, I would hope that the plant genome and gene expression centers pilot program authorized in H.R. 3500, through its matching-funds requirement, will be used by NSF to encourage greater participation of other federal agencies, particularly USDA, and the private sector in accelerating the development of enhanced food crops, particularly those that provide nutritional or health benefits to consumers, and for alternative uses of agricultural crops.
Please join me this Thursday at a press and staff briefing on biotechnology and ``Fear Profiteers.'' A timely discussion of the importance of sound science in policy approaches to biotechnology, other areas of science and case studies of organizations and businesses that sow health scares to reap membership and/or monetary gain. September 21, 2000, 11:30-12:30 p.m., 1302 Longworth Building, Representative Nick Smith (R-MI); Fred Smith, Competitive Enterprise Institute; Bonner Cohen, Ph.D., Lexington Institute; Alex Avery, Hudson Institute; Emceed by Steve Milloy, Publisher of junkscience.com.
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SOURCE: NOT FEAR PROFITEERS
