DeLauro Statement at Subcommittee Markup of FY 2021 Agriculture-Rural Development-FDA Funding Bill
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (CT-03) delivered the following remarks at the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee's markup of its fiscal year 2021 bill. DeLauro is a former Chair of the Subcommittee and currently serves as Chairwoman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies. A video of DeLauro's remarks can be found here and a video of the hearing can be found here.
Let me thank Chairman Sanford Bishop and Chair Nita Lowey. I also appreciate the commitment that Ranking Members Jeff Fortenberry and Kay Granger have shown to support the hard work of our farmers and the safety of consumers. I had the honor of chairing this subcommittee a number of years ago, and I know firsthand the amount of work it takes. We face a health crisis and an economic crisis that have exposed serious disparities in our systems. This pandemic has further demonstrated how many were living on a knife's edge, and I strongly believe we must be doing more, not less.
This 2021 bill is recommending an increase of $487 million, almost $24 billion. It builds on the work we have done in the emergency response bills for our nation's farmers, families, frontline food workers. This pandemic has pinpointed to us where our system of supports, our social safety net, is not as strong as we believed it to be, as strong as our families, our farmers and our food workers need it to be. So, I am glad this bill is making short-term and long-term investments. Let me touch on a few areas of strength.
The bill makes strong investments to address the scourge of hunger in our country. The Census Bureau recently conducted a Household Pulse Survey to gather household information during the COVID-19 Pandemic. They found, quote, "Households with children were more likely to report permanent loss of employment and food shortages since the start of the pandemic."
Along with providing the necessary funding for the Food Stamp Program, Women, Infants and Children, and Child Nutrition Programs, the bill includes language to block implementation of rules that would threaten benefits for hundreds of thousands of people. I want to remind my colleagues that food stamp spending is a powerful anti-recession tool. It has previously been estimated that for each dollar spent from benefits, a $1.70 is generated in economic activity.
The bill also takes action to ensure the safety of our nation's food supply, as well as the health of the workers producing that food. Workers on the frontline of our food supply chain – food processing, meat and poultry plant employees, and farmworkers – play an essential role in the availability of food. I thank the Chairman for his leadership on including language to prevent USDA from granting linespeed waivers to corporate meatpackers as well as the inclusion of language encouraging USDA to prioritize financial assistance to employers of farmworkers who can show they are complying with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines. We must push for leadership and accountability.
Recently, FDA Commissioner Hanh refused to refute the president's false claim about the severity of the virus. As has been reported by the Boston Globe, quote, "the World Health Organization has said about 20% of those diagnosed with COVID-19 progress to severe disease, including pneumonia and respiratory failure." But, the president said 99% of cases were, quote, "totally harmless." CNN's Dana Bash pressed Commissioner Hahn on this false claim. But, Commissioner Hahn said, quote, "I'm not going to get into who's right and who's wrong." That is the mission of the FDA, as the public's primary regulatory agency for public health. The mandate of the agency is to distinguish between right and wrong, especially as it relates to misleading claims about this virus. So, as we invest in the FDA's mission, I look forward to working with others on the subcommittee and the full committee to make sure the agency provides the most accurate information to the public.
Finally, I am proud of the $2 billion in international food aid provided by this bill. The COVID-19 pandemic has increased hardship around the globe and I believe we have a moral obligation to lend a helping hand. The bill includes $1.775 billion for Food for Peace grants, $235 million for McGovern-Dole, and again provides $1 million in funding for the International Agricultural Education Fellowship program.
I close by thanking the leadership of this committee for continuing to be taking the long term and near-term actions necessary to be protecting the public, for food security, for food safety, and worker safety. This is what the social safety net is for: To assist members of our community in their time of need. No one should fall through the cracks. No one need suffer.