Rosa DeLauro

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Amen.

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I am delighted to present the 2010 Agriculture-Food and Drug Administration appropriations conference report. I want to note for my colleagues that this is the earliest that an Agriculture appropriations conference report has come to the House floor since 1999. This report represents a culmination of many months of hard work in both Houses of Congress. I want to offer my thanks to the ranking member, Congressman Jack Kingston, for his collaboration and input over these months, and I also want to say ``thank you'' to the minority and majority staff for all of their tireless work in this effort, a ``thank you'' to our ranking member, Mr. Lewis, and a special ``thank you'' to Chairman Obey for his counsel on this effort. We have been busy all year. The subcommittee has held seven hearings so far, including two hearings with the Secretary of Agriculture, a hearing with the Acting Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration and another with the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services. We had a hearing on domestic nutrition programs, a hearing on the equivalency process for imported meat and poultry. We also had a hearing in which members discussed their priorities. The fiscal year 2010 conference report before us, the culmination of the process, focuses on several key areas such as: supporting agricultural research, investing in rural communities, protecting public health, bolstering food nutrition programs and food aid, and conserving our natural resources. The final bill invests in these priorities and the agencies that can help us to meet them while making specific and sensible budget cuts where feasible. The 2010 Agriculture-FDA appropriations conference report provides for $23.3 billion in funding, a 13 percent increase over 2009 levels, with major and responsible investments across the board. In terms of protecting public health, the bill provides a substantial increase for the Food and Drug Administration--$306 million--to conduct more inspections of domestic and foreign food and medical products. In addition, the bill fully funds the administration's request for the Food Safety and Inspection Service at the United States Department of Agriculture, providing over $1 billion for FSIS for the first time in history. The appropriate funding of FDA and FSIS is not only a matter of public health and consumer safety, it is a matter of national and economic security. Not all of the dangers that threaten the health and safety of American families can be found in airports, border checkpoints or harbor containers. Sometimes they lurk in our refrigerators and on our kitchen tables. We cannot afford to neglect our food safety system any longer, and I am pleased that we fund the FDA and the FSIS adequately in this bill. With regards to nutrition, the bill provides $7.25 billion for WIC, the women, infants and children program, to serve our Nation's vulnerable populations and help those hit hardest by the economic crisis. Our fundamental responsibility as legislators and as leaders, to say nothing of basic morality and fairness, demands that we do everything that we can to help Americans suffering right now from poverty and malnutrition. Each dollar we spend on nutrition here in this bill means food on the table for hungry families who are struggling. The bill also includes $171 million for the Commodity Supplemental Food Program, or CSFP, and expands assistance to seven new States: Arkansas, Oklahoma, Delaware, Utah, New Jersey, Georgia and Maine. In addition, conferees agreed to extend the school lunch program for 1 year at the request of the Education and Labor Committee to ensure that the school lunch program remains operational and that schoolchildren will not go hungry. The bill makes significant investments in agricultural research: $1.2 billion for the Agricultural Research Service, over $1.3 billion for the National Institute for Food and Agriculture, and among the key programs funded is $262.5 million for the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative, a competitive research program. In addition, the report seeks to create new opportunities for growth in the Nation's small-town economies with rural development and conservation. The agreement provides $12 billion for the section 502 Guaranteed Single-Family Housing Loans and $164 million for the Rural Energy for America Program, just two of the important programs funded here to encourage rural development. The bill addresses concerns raised on a bipartisan basis about the need to modernize the Farm Service Agency's information technology networks and databases in order to provide more effective and secure service for the agency's customers. It fully funds the request of $67.3 million for this work. The conference report increases funding for key safety nets for our farmers, $257 million more in farm ownership loans and $676 million more in farm operating loans than the President's request. This agreement includes $350 million for dairy assistance, $290 million to the Secretary of Agriculture to supplement producers' income and $60 million for purchasing surplus cheese and other dairy products to distribute to food banks. The conference agreement also works to conserve America's natural resources and thus sustain our national prosperity. It includes approximately $1 billion for the Natural Resources Conservation Service to improve service in the field, conserve and protect the environment and upgrade aging dams at risk of catastrophic failure. It restores funding eliminated in the budget for the Resource Conservation and Development program and maintains the House position of keeping it in a separate account. It funds the Commodity Futures Trading Commission above the President's request to better secure the markets from improper speculation. And it continues to protect our Nation's families and farmers from the dangers posed by unsafe processed poultry imports from overseas. Some of you may be familiar with the long debate we've had over processed poultry from China. From the very beginning, I have insisted that the question of processed Chinese poultry imports be taken as a public health issue that must not be entangled in trade discussions. This conference report language provides meaningful assurances that the public health will be protected and that adequate preventive measures will be taken to ensure poultry products from China are safe. The final conference language firmly establishes that Chinese poultry imports must live up to American sanitary conditions before being shipped to the United States. This includes requiring new onsite audits, new onsite inspections and an increased level of port-of-entry reinspections. The language also requires USDA to report frequently to the Congress on the implementation of any rule authorizing China to export poultry products to the U.S. This will allow the Congress to monitor USDA's work in this area on a frequent basis. In short, the new language ensures the USDA will perform the necessary inspection and monitoring functions to minimize possible food safety threats from Chinese processed poultry imports. I look forward to working with the Secretary as this process moves forward. Finally, for all the important investments in this bill, we have also made responsible cuts where warranted. This report includes $194 million in cuts below 2009, more than $1 billion in cuts below the 2010 budget request, and $346 million in cuts below the 2010 House-passed bill. Taken as a whole, I believe we have crafted responsible agriculture legislation that alleviates short-term suffering, encourages long-term growth, invests in our future and reflects our priorities as a Nation. In closing, let me take a moment to thank the staff who have worked diligently to help to put this bill together. Subcommittee majority staff--Martha Foley, our clerk, Leslie Barrack, Matthew Smith, Jason Weller, Cliff Isenberg and Kerstin Millius have worked closely with David Gibbons on the minority staff. In addition, Brian Ronholm and Letty Mederos on my staff, and Merritt Myers and Meg Gilley from Mr. Kingston's staff have been of tremendous help to this subcommittee. I urge you to support this bill. [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TH07OC09.102 [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TH07OC09.103 [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TH07OC09.104 [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TH07OC09.105 [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TH07OC09.106 [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TH07OC09.107 [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TH07OC09.108 [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TH07OC09.109 [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TH07OC09.110 I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include tabular and extraneous material on the conference report to accompany H.R. 2997.

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 799, I call up the conference report on the bill (H.R. 2997) making appropriations for Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies programs for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2010, and for other purposes, and ask for its immediate consideration.

Ms. DeLAURO. I am happy to yield 3 minutes to a member of the committee and former member of the committee, the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur).

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. We did provide a substantial increase for the Food and Drug Administration, $306 million, to conduct more inspections of domestic and foreign food and medical products. We fully fund the administration's request for the Food Safety and Inspection Service at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. We provided money for them the first time. Why? So that in fact we can make sure that our food supply is safe and that youngsters are not dying from an E. coli infection or hurt by an E. coli infection, like we saw on the front page of The New York Times this past week, or we're getting a tainted product from China which puts people in this country at risk. The bill provides $392 million for an increase for the WIC program to help those hit hardest by the current economic crisis. And, yes, per the request of the committees in both the House and the Senate and the Democratic and Republican members of those committees, the bill extends the important and expiring child nutrition programs such as School Lunch, School Breakfast, and other programs. But, you know, if you had been here several years ago the way I was, a number of years ago, you know where the other side of the aisle comes from, because there was an attempt at that time to say, Let's end the School Lunch program. Yes, nutrition is critical. This is a bill that deserves to be extended, and that was its purpose in putting it with the agricultural bill. It is self-contained, no additional money, and it was not air- dropped. It was not air-dropped. These programs continue our longstanding commitment to international aid, to fighting hunger. It works to conserve America's natural resources, sustain our national priorities. It includes $350 million for dairy assistance; $290 million to the Secretary of Agriculture to supplement producers' income; $60 million for purchasing surplus cheese and other dairy products to distribute to food banks. It continues to protect our Nation's families and our farmers from the dangers that are posed by unsafe, processed poultry imports from overseas. Taken as a whole, I believe we have crafted a responsible agriculture legislation. It alleviates short-term suffering, encourages long-term growth, invests in our future, reflects our priorities. Support this rule.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, everyone here knows that we have spent the past several months working to craft legislation that will bring much- needed health insurance reform to the American people. Costs and premiums are spiraling out of control, and more and more families, working families, are being priced out of health insurance. While Democrats have debated the best way to produce a reform package that will cut costs and ensure quality and affordability, our colleagues across the aisle have been playing hooky with their responsibilities to the American public. It has been over 100 days now since Congressman Blunt told us his party would be offering an alternative health reform bill. We've heard nothing yet. Representative Cantor recently suggested to a constituent that she find ``charity care'' for an unemployed family member in need of surgery. Find a charity? Is that the full extent of Republican health care reform? So I ask again, where is the GOP plan for health insurance reform? Or is it just to maintain the status quo?

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to rise today to extend my sincere congratulations to the Yale Whiffenpoofs--the oldest continuous collegiate a cappella singing group in America--as they celebrate their centennial anniversary. The Whiffenpoofs of Yale University were first formed at the old Mory's Bar on Temple Street in New Haven, Connecticut one hundred years ago by 5 men, Denton Fowler, James Merriam Howard, Carl Lohmann, Meade Minnigerode, and George Pomeroy, where they performed weekly concerts. Thus began one of Yale University's most celebrated and hallowed traditions. Each year, fourteen men are selected to participate in this time honored institution and are asked to make an international tour to U.S. Embassies, foreign capitals, palaces, churches, and the smallest of villages on every continent. These outstanding songsters serve as ambassadors of song and goodwill on behalf of Yale University, college students, and the United States. The Whiffenpoofs also stand as a model for a cappella singing groups formed at colleges and universities across America. The Whiffenpoofs are perhaps best know for the ``Whiffenpoof Song''-- an unpublished setting of Rudyard Kipling's ``Gentlemen-Rankers.'' The ``Whiffenpoof Song'' was the adopted theme song of the brave men of the Black Sheep Squadron of the U.S. Army Air Force in World War II and, over the years, has been recorded by some of America's greatest artists including Bing Crosby, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, and Elvis Presley. We could not be more proud of all that this wonderful singing group has accomplished over its 100-year history. For their many contributions to our community and for all the joy they have brought to audiences around the world, I am very proud to stand today to extend my heartfelt congratulations to the Yale Whiffenpoofs as they celebrate their 100th Anniversary. I wish them all the best for another century of song, tradition, fellowship, and friendship.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. As am I.

Ms. DeLAURO. I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume. I, too, want to compliment my colleague, friend and ranking member, Mr. Kingston. I think we have worked together on a bipartisan basis with regard to this piece of legislation, and I think we both feel that we've had sufficient input and we have come through this with identifying the needs that this Agriculture appropriation bill focuses on, the needs of the people who rely on this piece of legislation. And we've had a very thorough examination. We've had hearings, not only with regard to the budget processes, but as well external to that on issues that impact a rural community, people who care about conservation, people who care about nutrition, people who care about research in these areas. So, again, I think that within the subcommittee, we have had a very, both at a member level, and at a staff level, a very, very close-knit effort. I might also say that in translating that as well to the conference with the Senate, that Members were engaged in that process as well as staff for several weeks as we tried to meld the two views together so that it was a thorough examination of all of the issues that are there, and that we could come to some common resolve about it. So I think we can feel good about both the work done at the subcommittee level in the House and our work with the Senate on this conference report. Now, I think we have some specific time constraints, which I wish we didn't, but we are guided by a September 30 deadline in terms of being able to pass a bill and what happens if that doesn't happen with an appropriation bill. There is that time constraint, but in addition, and the fiscal year coming to an end, if you will, tomorrow, which would then, with this motion to instruct would really tie the hands of the managers, of the conferees, in trying to be able to move forward given the weeks that have gone into producing the conference report. Also, the time constraints in this institution which have to do with, and it's none of our doing, we were not in session yesterday with regard to a holiday. We come back, we are in session today, we have other constraints when people are coming and going, so that you're looking at time is of the essence in trying to pass legislation. Particularly, I might add, what we are trying to do is to keep the bills moving, appropriations bills moving, because we know what that means in terms of that fiscal year deadline. And we want to try to get bills passed into law without delay. I know that there has been talk of 48 hours; now I understand this is 72 hours. I think that I want to, if I can say it this way, responsibly oppose my colleague's motion to instruct. I don't know if we can meet that deadline, but I also do believe fundamentally that we have, in fact, had a thorough examination of all the issues that are in this appropriations bill and in the conference bill that I think we can take to our colleagues who as well have been following what is going on because they have specific and particular interests in what this bill means for them. I'm someone who agrees that we need to look at bills, read them, understand them, et cetera. And I honestly do believe that on this piece of legislation we have that kind of understanding. With that, if I may, I would like to yield such time as he may consume to my colleague, the chairman of the Appropriations Committee, the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey).

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to clause 1 of rule XXII and by direction of the Committee on Appropriations, I move to take from the Speaker's table the bill (H.R. 2997) making appropriations for Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies programs for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2010, and for other purposes, with a Senate amendment thereto, disagree to the Senate amendment, and agree to the conference asked by the Senate.

Ms. DeLAURO. I thank the gentleman, and I would just, with the remaining few comments, because I think that we have had this conversation, discussion, about it, focus my attention on this particular piece of legislation, and I understand the gentleman is talking about other areas. But I think that this is particularly and maybe unique in the sense of the kinds of efforts that have gone into making this a very open process, a process where people are knowledgeable about what they're doing and how they're doing it and what kinds of input have gone in. And again, there are not too many folks around here, whether they're from north, south, east or west, and the folks from the Northeast who care about animal and plant disease. There are folks in the west coast, east coast that care about dairy. There are people who have expressed their views who are on the committee, off the committee with regard to our settling the issue of the Chinese poultry. So I think everyone has had a very adequate amount of time to look at this and to be able to reflect on it so that they can come to a conclusion. Let me just ask the gentleman if he does have any more speakers?

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker: I rise to recognize and pay my respects to the late Norman Borlaug, who passed away earlier this month. The father of the Green Revolution, and one of only six people in history to have won the Nobel Peace Prize, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and the Congressional Medal of Honor, Dr. Borlaug may just be the most underappreciated genius in human history. In the annals of our species' time on Earth, he stands like a Colossus. It is no exaggeration to say--indeed it is said often--that Dr. Borlaug saved more lives than anyone else who has ever lived, and that he quite literally changed the fate of our world. Born in 1914 in Saude, Iowa, Norman Borlaug spent his formative years working on the family farm, leaving, Borlaug said later in life, only because of some sage advice offered by his grandfather--``You're wiser to fill your head now if you want to fill your belly later on.'' With the help of a gift for wrestling--and Franklin Roosevelt's National Youth Administration--Borlaug enrolled in the University of Minnesota in 1933, supplementing his meager resources with stints in the Civilian Conservation Corps and the United States Forestry Service. He graduated in 1937 with a Bachelor of Science in Forestry, following it up with a Masters of Science in 1940 and a Doctorate in plant pathology and genetics in 1942. After serving the World War II effort as a microbiologist at DuPont, Borlaug moved to Mexico in 1944 to take part in a Rockefeller Foundation project aimed at boosting wheat production. There, the true work of his life began. At the time, Mexican farmers were able to raise less than half of the wheat they needed to feed their population, mainly due to a debilitating fungus known as rust. For the next 13 years, Borlaug experimented with and cross-bred strains of wheat from all over the world to develop a grain that was rust-resistant. When that success was finally achieved, other problems emerged. The new blend of wheat, while resistant to rust and many other diseases, was top-heavy and would break easily. So Borlaug looked to shorter Japanese dwarf strains, and the Green Revolution began in earnest. By 1956, thanks to Dr. Borlaug's efforts, Mexico grew two to three times more wheat than before, and was self-sufficient in wheat. From there, spurred on by the Rockefeller Foundation and the United Nations, Borlaug brought his extraordinary insights to the rest of the globe. In India and Pakistan, North Africa and Southeast Asia, the Middle East and the Philippines, where scientists followed Borlaug's pioneering vision to create a new strand of rice, Borlaug's hard work and amazing insights transformed agriculture and allowed for incredible new yields all over a hungry world. In 1970, Norman Borlaug won the Nobel Peace Prize for the transformation he had achieved. In an age that was greatly concerned about the dire consequences of exploding population, Borlaug utilized science, innovation, and his ``Iowa-stubborn tenacity'' to lead the whole world forward. He remains the only agricultural scientist to have ever won the Nobel Prize--Indeed, in part to correct this oversight, Borlaug later helped to found the World Food Prize, to encourage agronomists of later generations to follow in his footsteps. Borlaug was not only a pioneering scientist but a pioneering humanitarian. I had the pleasure of meeting with Dr. Borlaug several times over the past few years, and he was a consistent and forceful advocate on global food issues. He dedicated his days not only to feeding hungry people and helping them achieve self-sufficiency, but to improving their lives in any way he could. A professor at Texas A&M University for many years, Borlaug also served as an important advisor to governments around the world and a compelling advocate for the many virtues of agricultural science. To say nothing of his continuing stints as Boy Scout Troopmaster and Mexico's first Little League Baseball coach, and of his life as a husband and father. After his passing on September 13, 2009, Borlaug's children asked that he be remembered as ``a model for making a difference in the lives of others and to bring about efforts to end human misery for all mankind.'' And so he was, and so he shall. The world has lost one of its great men in Norman Borlaug, and we are all the poorer for it. Nonetheless, his remarkable contributions to our people and our planet will last longer than any of us.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to rise today to join the many friends, colleagues and community members who have gathered in congratulating Nancy L. Carrington on her 25th anniversary as Executive Director of the Connecticut Food Bank. This is a remarkable milestone for an outstanding and dedicated woman--one whom I am proud to call my friend. Nancy came to the Connecticut Food Bank just two years after it was incorporated. She began her work with the organization as a food solicitor--responsible for seeking the donation of excess and unsalable products from local and regional food companies. When Nancy first came to the Food Bank, the organization was already distributing 1.3 million pounds of food a year to 188 community agencies throughout Connecticut. Just five years after she first started with the Food Bank, Nancy became its Executive Director. Twenty-five years later, Nancy can be credited with seeing the organization through its expansion to the largest centralized source of donated, emergency food in Connecticut-- distributing enough food to 650 food assistance programs to feed about 250,000 men, women, and children every year. Nancy is not only responsible for the day-to-day operations at the Food Bank, but is also one of Connecticut's strongest voices on behalf of the hungry in our state. Nancy has said that ``food should not be a privilege . . . it should be a basic human right.'' The fact is that our nation produces enough food to feed everyone--yet families still go hungry. And today, as the economic challenges our families are facing increase, demand in Connecticut is up twenty percent. Nancy has made it her personal mission to overcome the challenge of feeding the hungry-- her work touching the lives of thousands over the years. There is no stronger or more dedicated advocate. While she hopes for the day when organizations like the Food Bank are no longer needed, we are certainly fortunate to have her at the helm and can find comfort in the knowledge that someone with her passion and commitment continues to serve our community. I would be remiss if I did not take a moment to thank Nancy for her many years of friendship. She has been an invaluable resource to both myself and my staff. I am grateful for her insights and constant commitment to ending hunger in our state and our nation. And so I stand today to express my deepest thanks and appreciation to Nancy L. Carrington, for all of her good work and many years of dedicated service to the Connecticut Food Bank. It has been her leadership that has made this organization such a success and, more importantly, it has been because of her compassion and advocacy that the Food Bank has been able to make such a difference so many lives. Nancy--my heartfelt congratulations to you as you celebrate your 25th anniversary and my very best wishes for continued success.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to extend my sincere congratulations to the New Haven Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority as they celebrate their 50th Anniversary. The Delta Sigma Theta Sorority is a non-profit organization dedicated to enriching our community through community service. In its fifty year history, the New Haven Alumnae Chapter has focused its attention on the changing and diverse needs of our community. Their mission has been to actively engage the community--particularly young people--in public service. Their goals are rooted in the understanding that our communities thrive when every member contribute to its success. Since its inception, this outstanding organization has awarded over $250,000 in college scholarships; has developed and implemented multiple programs benefiting our youth including Delta Academy and the GEMS mentoring program; Project S.E.E. (Science and Everyday Experiences) workshops; as well as their signature ``18 and Registered'' voter registration campaign. With each of the programs offered, the New Haven Alumnae Chapter is opening the doors of opportunity to our community's young people. The membership of the New Haven Alumnae Chapter includes some of our community's most prominent community advocates--many of whom dedicate both their professional and personal lives to public service. These women stand as role models for every member of our community, but particularly for our young people. They inspire us with their deep commitment to community and compassion for others. Our communities would not be the same without organizations such as the New Haven Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. Their efforts make it a better place to live, learn, and grow. It is with great pleasure that I stand today to recognize the invaluable contributions the New Haven Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority have made to our community and to extend my heartfelt congratulations on their 50th Anniversary. They have made a real difference in our community and I wish them all the best for many more years of success.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and achievements of Gail Burns-Smith, a tireless advocate for victims of sexual assault and abuse. When Gail passed away unexpectedly on September 5th, our country lost an unspoken hero for women everywhere. As the Executive Director of Connecticut Sexual Assault Crisis Services for twenty-two years, Gail drew critical attention to the prevalence of sexual abuse and the need to end assault and support its victims. She successfully secured federal funding for organizations working to end sexual abuse and assist victims and was instrumental in passing numerous laws in Connecticut that work to protect our residents against assault. A leader in her field, Gail recognized early on the need for collaboration between victim advocates and sex offender treatment providers. On the national level, Gail worked with the Center for Treatment of Problem Sexual Behavior to develop the first Victim Advocate Program for sex offender treatment, which became recognized as the national model for such programs. She cofounded the National Alliance to End Sexual Violence, an organization that helped to secure passage of the National Violence Against Women Act. Gail also helped to establish the national Women of Color Leadership Project which evolved into the nonprofit Sisters of Color Ending Sexual Assault (SCESA). While we have made great strides thanks to champions like Gail, the work to protect and support sexual assault victims is not over. Today, nearly one in five Connecticut residents has experienced a sexual assault. Twenty-six percent of Connecticut women and 10 percent of Connecticut men are sexual assault survivors. Further, many sexual assault treatment centers are experiencing dramatic cuts to their funding and have become limited in their outreach efforts. Just as Gail did, we must continue to champion efforts to end sexual assault and provide help and compassion to victims. She was a true role model and will be dearly missed.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. I appreciate the gentleman yielding time, and I rise in support of this rule. I think it's clear from the debate and the discussion that my colleagues on the other side of the aisle would rather put their support with banks, maintain banks as the middlemen in this effort--banks are making money hand over fist and enormous profits--and cast their lot with banks versus casting their lot with students and their families. Education is the cornerstone of our republic. It is only by offering and delivering quality education for all of our citizens--from the earliest years to the college years--that we can live up to our most noble democratic principles and ensure freedom and equality, that we make opportunity real for each and every American, and that we can continue to lead the world to economic security and lasting prosperity. As President Obama said last week, and I quote, Countries that out- educate us today will out-compete us tomorrow. But today as our economy struggles to emerge from a debilitating recession, fewer and fewer students are able to afford a college education. Although the Recovery Act we passed in the winter has helped to fill the gap, States are facing massive budget shortfalls and are thus forced to decrease the resources available to education. Meanwhile, many schools are raising tuition, cutting financial aid and closing classrooms. That's why this bill is the right bill at the right time. By restructuring our Federal financing of student loans to enhance the Direct Loan Program, we can realize significant savings throughout the system. This money will be applied to other areas of critical education funding, including increasing Pell Grants and Perkins loans. With these and other reforms in the bill, such as keeping investment rates low and simplifying student aid forms, this legislation keeps the door of opportunity afforded by a college education open to all, without costing American taxpayers an extra dime. Equally important to the savings realized by this bill is the creation of the State Challenge Grants which will allow States to invest in their early childhood development infrastructure. These competitive grants will mark a historic collaboration between the Department of Education and Health and Human Services, where the expertise on these programs has traditionally resided. Each day, over 11 million children under the age of 5 spend time outside the care of their parents and in a wide variety of environments. We need to ensure that they are spending this critical social and cognitive development time in a quality setting. As with any endeavor, early investments in education yield tremendous dividends down the road for both the student and for society. Cognitive science and countless studies tell us the same thing: early childhood education helps students achieve more throughout their lives. There is arguably no better way to spend our education dollars than to fund these important programs. In closing, I am proud of the bill that Chairman Miller has brought to this committee, and I urge my colleagues to support this rule.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, it is with great pleasure I rise to recognize and show my appreciation for Joan Claybrook, the former president of Public Citizen, who recently stepped down after a long career of fighting for consumer safety and social change. Joan has been an inspiration to me and to countless others on the Hill and around Washington. As a private citizen, as head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Association, and as president of Public Citizen for 27 years, she has been a fearless advocate for American consumers. Every life saved by a shoulder belt or air bag in this country is indebted to Joan's decades of commitment to the issue of auto safety. Indeed, Joan has been fighting this fight since the beginning. Even before a full career dedicated to protecting American consumers, Joan had worked as a research analyst, congressional fellow, and legislative aide to Sen. Walter Mondale. Then, in 1966, she and Ralph Nader successfully pushed for passage of the nation's first motor safety laws--the Highway Safety Act and the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act. Four years later, she began work for Public Citizen, running the organization's Congress Watch division by 1972. After serving as head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Association during the Carter administration, Claybrook returned to Public Citizen. She became president of the organization in 1982, and commenced an impressive 27-year tenure in the post that would be the envy of any advocate or administrator. Thanks to Joan's efforts, airbags are now standard equipment in all cars sold in the United States, and our government now issues vehicle safety standards that save thousands of lives a year. But safer cars are just the beginning of Joan's contributions to our civic life. Over the years, she has dedicated herself to countless issues of consumer advocacy, public health, and social justice. Day after day, week after week, in good times and bad, Joan has kept unrelenting pressure on companies and elected officials to live up to their public responsibilities. She has strived to make our government more responsive to the needs and aspirations of its citizens. In short, this nation is a safer, fairer, better place because of her efforts. Although Joan has left Public Citizen, her work and her inspiration goes on. Generations of leaders and activists have looked to her perseverance, her toughness, her smarts, and her compassion as a model for how to get things changed here in Washington. From Ralph Nader to Robert Redford and Jimmy Carter to John McCain, Joan has taught us all so much about what it takes to effect real change. She has taught us to keep an unyielding idealism about the way things can and should be, and to combine it with an unblinking, no-nonsense understanding of the foibles of Washington and a tough-as-nails approach to pragmatic, consumer-oriented policy-making. And she has always reminded the powerful that the people come first. Joan has been a model of courage, conviction, independence and ingenuity, one to which we all aspire. I am so proud of all she has accomplished, which is why I rise to thank her.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, due to the death of a close friend, I missed a series of votes on the FY10 Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act and also two suspension bills--H. Con. Res. 127; and H. Con. Res. 131. Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye'' on the following rollcall numbers: 511; 512; 513; 514; 515; 516; 519; 521; 523; 525. I would have voted ``no'' on rollcall numbers: 517; 518; 520; 522; 524.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, what is this bill about? What is it about? Food-borne illness in the United States of America kills 5,000 people every single year. We went to war in Iraq and Afghanistan when 3,000 people, unbeknownst that when they went to work that day that they weren't coming home, and we went to war in Afghanistan as a result. We know that 5,000 people every year die of a food-borne illness and an illness, my friends, that can be prevented. Stand with the mother and the father of a 2-year-old child, the parents who went to the grocery store and brought home spinach or lettuce or sprouts or tomatoes and their child died because of E.coli. Stand with the son and daughter of an elderly person in a nursing home who ate a peanut-based product and wound up dying because of that, having survived illness. That's what this bill is all about. We can prevent food-borne illness in the United States of America. We can prevent 5,000 deaths every year. That's what this bill is focused on. It is of critical importance. It is about the health and the safety of American families. That health and safety is not only threatened in airports and border checkpoints or harbor containers. It's in fridges, on kitchen tables. And for too long the cornerstone of our food safety system, the FDA, has only rudimentary, ancient tools and an outdated mandate at its disposal. This bill rectifies that oversight. It gives the FDA the means to deal with the dangers that are posed by our global food system. It enhances the agency's ability to stem microbial illnesses, prevent contamination before it happens. It looks at risk-based inspection and says, what are the foods that are at highest risk? Let's set up some performance standards to deal with that. Let's put mechanisms in place so that we can trace the contamination and make sure we find it and find it quickly, protect the public health, and, yes, protect industry as well. That was part of this effort as well. Performance standards are the backbone for monitoring an effective process and a control system. I would urge the FDA to develop testing protocols for each performance standard that it sets. This would include ongoing industry testing programs, supported by periodic sampling by the FDA.

Ms. DeLAURO. Thank you. We have an opportunity. The laws and the statutes at the Food and Drug Administration today are inadequate to protect the food and the safety of the American people and at the very same time they put at risk the industries that deal with these products. The industry has come forward and said, Give us standards. That's what this bill is all about. We have an obligation today to pass this bill and to make sure that we say to the American people we are doing everything that we can to prevent 5,000 deaths every single year and particularly the most vulnerable, our children and the elderly.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this bill and thank Chairman Waxman and Chairman Emeritus Dingell for their hard work. The bill begins a long task of rectifying decades of neglect by updating FDA's ancient tools and outdated mandates. It gives the FDA the means to deal with dangers imposed by a global food system and enhances the agency's ability to prevent food contamination. It incorporates key provisions from legislation I introduced this year and moves the FDA to a risk-based inspection system. It requires the agency to inspect the highest-risk facilities once every 6 months to a year, rather than once a decade. It enhances reporting requirements for companies and establishes performance standards for fighting food-based pathogens. Performance standards form the backbone for monitoring the effectiveness of process control systems and identifying the foods at greatest risk. I continue to strongly believe that the best way to protect our food supply is to streamline the FDA into two separate agencies within Health and Human Services so that food and drug safety both get the full and comprehensive attention they deserve. This bill is a strong, solid first step in creating a comprehensive food safety system that can protect American families from the many dangers of contaminated food. I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Mr. DeLAURO

Mr. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this rule, and I commend the chairman and the staff for an excellent bill which reflects our noblest priorities as a Nation. It has been said that a society should be judged by how it treats it's least fortunate members. And with this bill, I believe we do our Nation proud. The goal of the bill has always been to make a strong investment in our future, to take seriously our responsibilities to the American public on the issues that affect people every single day, from our health, to our children's education, to scientific research that will unlock the cures of tomorrow, from protecting workers to providing the training that they need to succeed in today's economy. Our bill does not disappoint. And, yes, to help States serve both the 14 million unemployed Americans and the many more millions of underemployed Americans, the bill provides resources for training, for supportive services to workers affected by mass layoffs and plant closures. On worker protection, the bill provides an increase to key health and safety programs that protect the more than 140 million strong American workforce. On education, the bill restores critical funding to Title 1 so that disadvantaged children can continue to gain the educational skills that they need to thrive. On special needs education, the bill says to our States, the Federal Government is going to begin to make good on its promise, not leave you with an unfunded mandate to pick up the cost for special needs kids, but we are going to make a contribution to that, and we do so with a 25 percent Federal contribution. I'm personally grateful to the chairman for continuing the funding for the Even Start Program. The bill makes real progress toward aiding college students with a significant increase in the Pell Grant, allowing us to raise the maximum Pell Grant award to $5,550. And with regard to my colleague's comments on direct loans, yes, essentially what we're doing there is taking bank profit out of that equation and allowing for families to be able to get the kinds of loans that they need for their children without having to pay additional money to add to the coffers and the profits of banks. In the area of medical research, the bill provides continued investment and lifesaving innovations at the National Institutes of Health, provides resources to lead us into the future of a new health care system. The bill insures that 7\1/2\ million low-income households continue to receive home energy assistance. It supports the Community Service Block Grant. It allows States to expand critical services such as housing, home weatherization, parenting education, adult literacy classes and emergency food assistance. Mr. Speaker, this bill not only reflects a commitment to our longstanding responsibilities, but this Congress' continued commitment to fiscal responsibility. In addition to the investments which are made, the program includes terminations, reductions and other savings when compared to last year totaling $1.3 billion and $3.3 billion when compared to what the budget request was about. We will accomplish a lot of goodwill with this bill. I especially want to highlight and commend Chairman Obey for again including the Reducing the Need for Abortion Initiative, total investment of $7.8 billion for programs such as Title X and Healthy Start teen pregnancy prevention, adoption awareness, after school programs and child care programs for new parents attending college, just to name a few. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to be a member of this subcommittee. Its members and the work that we do every year, we live up to our moral responsibility to promote the general welfare, care and comfort the afflicted. It makes opportunity real for millions of Americans.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of the Manager's amendment and particularly the increase in funding for the CPSC. In short, we cannot afford to cut corners when it comes to consumer product safety. The stakes are much too high. In recent years, we have seen hundreds of recalls affecting millions of toys--many of which were for extremely dangerous lead-contamination. Today, 86 percent of the toys Americans purchase are imported from China. Almost one-fifth of all consumer products for sale in America today are Chinese-made. These trends demand a real vigilance on our part. Parents cannot distinguish a dangerous toy coated with lead paint from one that is safe simply by looking at it. They must be able to count on the agencies charged with protecting them. That is why we must fund the CSPC to its fullest extent. Just last July, we passed the Consumer Safety Improvement Act by a margin of 424 to 1. Now is not the time, less than a year after we finally began taking the Commission's responsibilities seriously, to start cutting the CSPC back down to the bone. The health and safety of our children, and of all American consumers, are far too important for that. This is an important amendment that strengthens this bill and I urge its adoption.