Washington, DC – Congresswoman Rosa L. DeLauro (Conn. -3), chairwoman of the Agriculture – Food and Drug Administration Appropriations Subcommittee, issued the following statement following President Barack Obama’s weekly radio address, in which he announced the appointments of Dr. Margaret Hamburg as Commissioner of the FDA, and Dr. Joshua Sharfstein as the Principal Deputy Commissioner, as well as the creation of a new Food Safety Working Group. This Food Safety Working Group will be chaired by the Secretaries of Health and Human Services and the Department of Agriculture and it will coordinate with other agencies and senior officials to advise the President on improving coordination throughout the government, examining and upgrading food safety laws, and enforcing laws that will keep the American people safe.

“Dr. Margaret Hamburg is the right choice at this critical time in food safety. I look forward to working closely with her and Dr. Joshua Sharfstein. Both Dr. Hamburg and Dr. Sharfstein have worked ardently throughout their careers to prioritize public health and have fought to make Americans safer and more secure. Reforming the FDA will require someone with a passion for the public safety, strong leadership, strong management skills, and an intimate knowledge of the issues facing the agency.

“By creating the Food Safety Working Group, the President is demonstrating his commitment to taking the necessary steps toward reforming our food safety system. It is imperative that the Administration ensures that the working group is not merely a cosmetic bureaucratic endeavor. The working group must produce definitive recommendations that result in the modernization of our food safety regulatory structure and an integration of our food safety functions.”