Dear Mr. Price:
Thank you for taking the time to contact me regarding H.R. 2749, the Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009. I appreciate hearing from all Pennsylvanians about the issues that matter most to them.
Representative John Dingell of Michigan introduced the Food Safety Enhancement Act on June 8, 2009. It was referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. Currently, there are no related bills in the Senate.
This bill proposes greater U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulatory powers over the national food supply and food providers. This bill would generate resources to support FDA oversight of food safety, increase inspections of food facilities and improve the safety and traceability of domestic and imported food. The bill would impose annual registration fees of $500 on all facilities holding, processing, or manufacturing food, and require that such facilities also engaged in the transport or packing of food maintain pedigrees of the origin and previous distribution history of the food. In addition, this bill would grant the FDA the authority to issue mandatory recalls on tainted foods. Should the Senate consider this or related proposals, pleased be assured that I will keep your views in mind when casting my vote.
As always, I appreciate your views, thoughts, and concerns as they assist me in understanding what is important to the people of Pennsylvania. Please do not hesitate to contact me in the future about this or any other matter of importance to you.
If you have access to the Internet, I encourage you to visit my web site,
http://casey.senate.gov. I invite you to use this online office as a comprehensive resource to stay up-to-date on my work in Washington, request assistance from my office or share with me your thoughts on the issues that matter most to you and to Pennsylvania.
Sincerely,
Bob Casey
United States Senator