the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009
Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R, UT)
[In response to an email sent to Rep. Chaffetz urging him to oppose HR 875, I received the following email as reply]
Thank you for taking the time to write me regarding HR 875, the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009.
As is often the case in Washington, the bill’s noble sounding title disguises its true purposes. HR 875 would effectively transfer all state control over food regulation to the new Food Safety Administration (FSA). The stated reach of this new federal agency’s jurisdiction is “any farm, ranch, orchard, vineyard, aquaculture facility, or confined animal-feeding operation.” The FSA would undoubtedly become yet another over-invasive federal bureaucracy that would eventually dominate state and local food safety agencies already in place.
The bill also requires extensive recordkeeping and inspections. Such provisions favor big business over small business and limit competition by effectively regulating smaller competitors out of existence. While large factory farms might comply with these new requirements relatively easily, small family farms and businesses would incur costs they cannot afford. Government should not be in the business of using regulation to pick winners and losers in private industry.
I recognize that there is some role for government to play in regulation and ensuring that the food we are eating and feeding to our children is safe. However, to the extent this can be done at the state and county level, I see no reason to involve the federal government. As the Tenth Amendment makes clear, “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.” I have promised to follow this principle of federalism and seek to restrict the role of the federal government, and thus will not be supporting HR 875.
Again, thank you for taking the time to contact me. I appreciate your viewpoint and concern for our nation. If you have any other concerns or ideas please feel free to contact me again through my website: http://chaffetz.house.gov.
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