[PAA-Discuss] STOP H.R. 2749 the misnamed "Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009"

Wed Jul 22 04:51:59 EDT 2009

Food Safety Being Shoved Down Our Throats

PRESS RELEASE

THE GOON SQUAD ADVANCES ITS “FOOD SAFETY”
BILL –

LIKELY TO PASS

July 18, 2009

         “H.R.759
is dead, Long Live H.R.2749”  That was the cry of the anti-health-freedom
goons on Capitol Hill in Washington as the House Committee on Energy and
Commerce, chaired by Congressman Henry Waxman, approved H.R.2749, the misnamed “Food
Safety Enhancement Act of 2009.”

         The
NHF opposed the predecessor to this Bill, is opposed to this Bill, and is
asking NHF members and all others to register their vehement opposition with
their Representatives.  The text of it can be viewed at http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h111-2749. 
The Bill has yet to be scheduled for a
final vote by the full House of Representatives, but this is expected soon, so
we must act now.

What’s at Stake

         In
an effort to address food-contamination issues – such as salmonella in spinach
and peanuts – certain Congressmen and -women are pushing legislation that would
bury American farmers, food producers, and other food and cosmetic businesses
in yet more red tape and regulations.

         Have
there been food-contamination issues?  Absolutely.  But instead of
addressing the root causes of such contamination by, for example, tackling the
over-crowded, disease-laden feedlots that contaminate the water used by the
farms downstream, Federal legislators ignore existing law that would already
rectify this problem, if properly used, so that they can impose another layer
of burdensome rules and regulations (and fees) that will unfairly punish
innocent small farms and food producers.

         Under
the semblance of improving the safety of the nation's food supply, the
anti-DSHEA Democratic leadership is using H.R.2749 to install new and enhanced
expansion of FDA authorities over farms, nutritional foods, and dietary
supplements. The Bill especially establishes burdensome administrative
requirements on small and mid-size food facilities, nutritional food companies,
and food suppliers.  It also gives the FDA one-sided, arbitrary legal
authority to recall contaminated "foods" and "unsafe
medications."  And this is even before regulations are promulgated by
the FDA to “flesh out” their powers!

         In
particular, H.R.2749 requires registration of all food facilities, including
manufacturers, processors, packers and storage facilities.  Any such
facility that introduces food into interstate commerce without being registered
and having paid the mandatory registration fee would be subject to penalties
for marketing misbranded food.  But there’s more – registered facilities
must implement hazard analysis, risk-based preventive controls, and food safety
plans.  For large commercial operations and Agribusiness with their
retained professional staffs of attorneys and accountants, these additional
costs will be barely noticed; but for small farms and small operations, these
regulatory requirements will be oppressively burdensome, even fatal.

         In
essence, this bill proposes total Federal government control over and tracking
of food production, distribution, and sales supposedly to ensure “food safety”
but which powers in fact would be unconstitutional and unnecessary.  Under
H.R.2749, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) would empower the government
to regulate food production at all levels, up and down the chain of
production.  For violations, the bill provides for criminal prosecution
for producers, manufacturers, and distributors who fail to comply with the new
laws, and punitive property seizures and large fines for each offense upon
conviction.  And for those who have been following Codex, you have almost
certainly not missed the fact that H.R.2749’s “science-based” approach tracks
that found in Codex food guidelines.

Not the “End Game”

         Remember,
these kind of “consumer protection” bills are always incremental.  They
are not the “End Game,” but rather intended as a step towards further control
over your life.  These people, who always seem to think that life is about
controlling others so that the World will be “a better place” (for them, by the
way, and not us), do not realize that – as John Lennon once said – “Life is
what happens to you when you are busy making other plans.”  Their efforts
to control human nature and place all of us into neat little boxes will
backfire and result in food that is less safe, not safer.  Or, is that
their simple plan anyway?

         The
Bills’ sponsors argue that all of these burdensome regulations – heaped on top
of already-existing, unevenly-enforced burdensome regulations – will somehow
make the nation’s food supply safer.  Standards would be set and legions
of bureaucratic enforcers would descend upon food establishments of all sorts,
including “food production facilities” comprising even the smallest farms,
ranches, orchards and poultry-raising operations.  Mandatory recordkeeping
and bureaucratic nitpicking would be the order of the day.  Inevitably,
costs of compliance would soar resulting in a boom for professional accountants
and lawyers, who would of course be in increased demand.

         Given
the abusive history of the FDA, this Bill will have a substantial financial
impact on the operations of small dietary supplement and nutritional food
manufactures and suppliers, both at home and abroad.  The expansion of FDA
authority includes mandatory annual registration, with yearly registration
fees, without regard to the size of the company, while the large criminal and
civil penalties that FDA may impose do not even have to be based on a showing
of any harm whatsoever by an unsafe product!

         Despite
efforts by the NHF and members to, among other things, amend the Bill to
include exemption language for supplements, the Waxman-controlled Committee and
Democratic leaders did not include this, and are engaging in backdoor politics
to accomplish their anti-DSHEA agenda.  This is just the first round of
the more FDA command and control is better philosophy that pervades the current
Congressional leadership.

Take Action!

         It’s
important that this Bill be stopped.  Write your Representative now to
oppose this bill before it comes up for a final vote in the House.
 Contact information for House Members and a form letter opposing H.R.
2749 to send to them can be found on the NHF website at  http://www.thenhf.com/government_affairs_federal.html 
or the links below.

Bill Text  H.R. 2749  Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009- http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h111-2749

Petition to Act Now – (Click Here)

Contact Your Congressional Representatives-

Click on this address to contact
your Congressperson in the U.S. House of Representatives:  http://www.house.gov/writerep

Fax List for House of Representatives

House of Representatives mailing addresses: Click Here 

As the oldest and best-respected
health-freedom group on Capitol Hill, the NHF continues to be the credible
source of objective assessment of, and proactive actions on, Congressional
legislation and FDA matters that have material impact upon our
freedom-of-health choices and access to dietary supplements and nutritional
foods. 

Click here for the permanent link to this press release, use this
link to inform others. 

National Health Federation: Established in 1955, the National Health
Federation is a consumer-education, health-freedom organization working to
protect individuals' rights to choose to consume healthy food, take supplements
and use alternative therapies without unnecessary government restrictions. The
NHF is the only such organization with recognized observer-delegate status at
Codex meetings. www.thenhf.com

http://www.FireCongress.org
http://www.FireCongress.Meetup.com

http://www.wagthedog2010.com

http://www.endthefed.us

http://oath-keepers.blogspot.com

http://www.committeesofsafety.org/

http://www.InfoWars.com

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