House Votes To Cut Food Safety Funding
June 20, 2011 The recently passed Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) could hit some roadblocks, as Congress voted last week to cut millions of dollars from FDA’s budget — including funds intended to implement the FSMA.
According to a story in the Washington Post, the White House is opposing the cuts, which also include a $35 million cut from USDA’s food safety and inspection service. Rep. Jack Kingston (R-GA), who chairs the House subcommittee that wrote the agriculture appropriations bill, said the food safety cutbacks are justified because the food supply is “99.99% safe.”
An Associated Press story said that in addition to the funding cuts, Republican proponents of the legislation used it as an opportunity to express dissatisfaction with a number of other White house policies, including the first lady’s healthy eating initiatives like the Let’s Move campaign.
The agriculture appropriations bill passed by a vote of 217 to 203.
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