February 27, 2006
Members of the House of Representatives
Dear Member of Congress:
The National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) is writing to reiterate our concern and strong opposition to H.R. 4167, the National Uniformity for Foods Act. NASDA represents the commissioners, secretaries and directors of the state departments of agriculture in the fifty states and four territories.
The House is scheduled to vote on H.R. 4167 this week and we urge you to oppose this legislation. The state departments of agriculture are very concerned that this bill goes far beyond its stated purpose of providing uniform food safety warning notification requirements and greatly expands federal preemption under the Food, Drug and Cosmetics Act. Such additional preemptions would seriously compromise our ability to enact laws and issue rules in numerous areas of food safety. Specifically, we believe the bill as currently written threatens existing state food safety programs and jeopardizes state/federal food safety cooperative programs such as those related to Grade A milk, retail food protection and shellfish sanitation.
As you know, the current food safety regulatory system in the United States is the shared responsibility of local, state and federal partners. Approximately 80% of food safety inspections in the nation are completed at state and local levels. It is imperative that states have the right to act quickly to address local and statewide public health concerns that cannot be anticipated or are not adequately addressed nationally. In addition, our existing food safety system forms the first line of defense against the threat of a terrorist attack against our nation’s food supply. Passage of this legislation will undermine the authority of state laws and programs that address adulterated foods, including animal feed, commodity laws and other food defense programs.
NASDA firmly believes the preemption of state and local food safety programs would leave a critical gap in the safety net that protects consumers. We call on Congress to hold hearings to discuss these critical issues and seek full input from state and local partners in the food safety system. NASDA would welcome the opportunity to discuss ways the bill could be amended to achieve its intent while limiting the impact on critical food safety regulatory programs at the local and state levels.
Now is not the time to pass H.R. 4167 and we urge you to oppose this legislation until these important issues are addressed.
Sincerely,
J. Carlton Courter III
President, NASDA