Press Releases
Lucas Urges Peterson to Assert Ag Jurisdiction on Food Safety Bill
Washington, DC,
July 23, 2009
MEDIA CONTACT: Today, Ranking Member Frank Lucas sent a letter to Rep. Collin Peterson, Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, urging him to assert the committee’s jurisdiction on H.R. 2749, the Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009. The text of the letter to Chairman Peterson is included below: July 23, 2009 The Honorable Collin Peterson Dear Mr. Chairman: During the Committee on Agriculture’s hearing on food safety last week none of the producer witnesses supported the current food safety legislation. I am writing to you to request that you (1) assert this Committee’s jurisdiction over H.R. 2749, the Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009; (2) hold hearings on the impact H.R. 2749 will have on farmers and ranchers across the country, and proposals on ways to improve the existing legislation; and (3) hold a mark-up of H.R. 2749 in the Committee on Agriculture. H.R. 2749 falls under the jurisdiction of the Agriculture Committee. More importantly, the provisions of the bill will have a significant impact on our constituents and the production of food and fiber in this nation. The Agriculture Committee has the expertise to fairly and thoughtfully consider the benefits and costs of these legislative proposals. It is imperative that the Committee work in a transparent and bipartisan manner to represent the interests of American agriculture before the United States House of Representatives. Best regards, Frank D. Lucas |