Food safety

Trade Reform, Accountability, Development, and Employment Act of 2009

hmoroz — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 10:52:31 -0400

Legislation

The middle class

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

Quotes from Experts

Beyond this Bill

Additional Resources

Trade Reform, Accountability, Development, and Employment Act of 2009

hmoroz — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 10:52:31 -0400

Legislation

The middle class

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

Quotes from Experts

Beyond this Bill

Additional Resources

Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009

hmoroz — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 17:47:37 -0400

Legislation

The middle class

Supports

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Number of cases of illness, hospitalizations, and deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, that are caused each year by foodborne disease: 76 million; 325,000; 5,000

Percentage of consumers that said they were confident that the food supply was safer than a year ago after the January 2009 salmonella outbreak: 22.5

Average frequency of the Food and Drug Administration’s inspection of food establishments: Once every ten years

Number of countries the typical American meal includes food from: 6

Number of Americans and Canadians sickened and killed, respectively, by Salmonella-contaminated peanut products from the Peanut Corporation of America between September 2008 and March 2009: 691; 9

Estimated annual cost in medical expenses, lost productivity, and pain and suffering due to foodborne pathogens: $357 billion

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

Middle Class Supports. The outdated, overstretched, and underfunded food safety system continues to put middle-class consumers at risk. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that there are 76 million cases of foodborne illness in the United States each year, resulting in 325,000 hospitalizations and 5,000 deaths. The Food and Drug Administrations is responsible for overseeing 80 percent of the food supply. Yet, much of this food never passes under the watchful eye of an inspector. While Department of Agriculture inspectors visit meat and poultry processing plants at least once a day, FDA inspectors average an inspection visit to a food facility once every ten years. Further, the current food safety system is reactive: current regulations mean that the agency springs into action only after an outbreak of illness. Recently, 691 individuals were sickened and 9 died from an outbreak of Salmonella in contaminated peanut products while health officials struggled to determine the source of the hazardous food.

The Food Safety Enhancement Act would modernize the food safety system to protect middle-class Americans who are increasingly concerned about the integrity of the food they eat. More frequent inspections – at least once every 18 months for high-risk facilities – and expanded access to records during these inspections would keep food plants honest, while the requirement for each facility to develop a food safety plan would shift the emphasis of the food safety system to preventing outbreaks of foodborne illness. More detailed descriptions of product origin will assist efforts to stem outbreaks and the FDA’s mandatory recall authority will be a vital tool to ensure that the public is protected if an outbreak does occur. The collection of registration fees adds an important source of funding for the expanded oversight activities. The Food Safety Enhancement Act will help make middle-class families safer and reinspire confidence in the food safety system.

Quotes from Experts

Beyond this Bill

Additional Resources

Testimony of Carol L. Tucker-Foreman of the Consumer Federation of America on the Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009, before the Subcommittee on Health of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce

“Food Safety,” from the Center for Science in the Public Interest

“Food,” from Consumers Union

Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009

hmoroz — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 17:47:37 -0400

Legislation

The middle class

Supports

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Number of cases of illness, hospitalizations, and deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, that are caused each year by foodborne disease: 76 million; 325,000; 5,000

Percentage of consumers that said they were confident that the food supply was safer than a year ago after the January 2009 salmonella outbreak: 22.5

Average frequency of the Food and Drug Administration’s inspection of food establishments: Once every ten years

Number of countries the typical American meal includes food from: 6

Estimated annual cost in medical expenses, lost productivity, and pain and suffering due to foodborne pathogens: $357 billion

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

Quotes from Experts

Beyond this Bill

Additional Resources

Testimony of Carol L. Tucker-Foreman of the Consumer Federation of America on the Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009, before the Subcommittee on Health of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce

“Food Safety,” from the Center for Science in the Public Interest

“Food,” from Consumers Union

FDA Food Safety Modernization Act

hmoroz — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 12:09:54 -0400

Legislation

The middle class

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

Quotes from Experts

Beyond this Bill

Additional Resources

FDA Food Safety Modernization Act

hmoroz — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 12:09:54 -0400

Legislation

The middle class

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

Quotes from Experts

Beyond this Bill

Additional Resources

Amendment to the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2008

hmoroz — Fri, 16 May 2008 18:23:04 -0400

Legislation

The middle class

Supports

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Approximate total award that service members can currently receive toward their education, in dollars: 39,600

Average total charges, including tuition and fees and room and board, for four years at an in-state public college or university in 2007, in dollars: 54,356

Estimated percentage of the unemployed who will be unemployed for longer than six months by the end of 2009, according to the Economic Policy Institute: 20.8

Number of states with an unemployment rate greater than 6.0% as of April 2008, including Washington D.C.: 5

Amount of stimulus produced for every $1 spent on extending emergency federal unemployment insurance benefits, in dollars: 1.64

Unemployment rate in Michigan in April 2008: 6.9%

Minimum estimated cost of the Iraq War paid by Michigan as of May 2008, in dollars: 13 billion

Estimated 10-year cost of extending unemployment insurance benefits, in dollars: 11.1 billion

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

The Middle Class Supports. The American economy remains at risk of recession and the employment picture is dim. In the first four months of 2008, the American economy lost 260,000 jobs and 400,000 workers were classified as “discouraged,” wanting work but believing that no jobs were available for them. Unemployment benefits provide direct assistance to the current and aspiring middle-class Americans likely to be hardest hit during the economic downturn. Moreover, the unemployed are most likely to spend their unemployment benefits immediately, providing an economic jolt that will enhance the stimulus generated by the tax rebates sent out earlier this year. Indeed, extension of unemployment benefits provides $1.64 in stimulus for every dollar spent, making the policy one of the most effective stimulus measures.

The “New GI Bill” measures are also important. Our nation owes those young people who have volunteered to fight for the United States a fair opportunity to enter the middle class. After World War II, the education and other benefits of the GI Bill allowed unprecedented numbers of returning soldiers to access a middle-class standard of living, but today’s GI Bill, intended for peacetime, does not provide adequate benefits. This amendment would change that. Veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars face not only the challenges of readjustment to civilian life, frequently complicated by injury or mental illness, but the rising cost of higher education impacting middle-class Americans across the United States. The current GI bill covers only 60-70% of the cost of tuition at a four-year public university and less than two years at a private college. The Amendment to the supplemental appropriations bill would permit the equivalent of full scholarships to public institutions of higher learning to any service member who completed three years of service.

Imposing a moratorium on Administration-proposed Medicaid regulations will ensure continued health care access for aspiring middle-class beneficiaries and prevent a devastating loss of funding to states, public hospitals, and local schools already struggling during the economic downturn.

The provisions that increase accountability and transparency in federal contracting are welcome, but are not as comprehensive as those included in the Accountability in Contracting Act, passed by the House last year.

The Senate version contains welcome funding for programs that benefit aspiring middle-class and middle-class Americans.

Quotes from Experts

Beyond this Bill

Additional Resources

"Making the Case - Again - for Economic Rebound," from the Economic Policy Institute

Unemployment Insurance and the Stimulus Debate, from the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities

"A New GI Bill," from the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America

Amendment to the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2008

hmoroz — Fri, 16 May 2008 18:23:04 -0400

Legislation

The middle class

Supports

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Approximate total award that service members can currently receive toward their education, in dollars: 39,600

Average total charges, including tuition and fees and room and board, for four years at an in-state public college or university in 2007, in dollars: 54,356

Estimated percentage of the unemployed who will be unemployed for longer than six months by the end of 2009, according to the Economic Policy Institute: 20.8

Number of states with an unemployment rate greater than 6.0% as of April 2008, including Washington D.C.: 5

Amount of stimulus produced for every $1 spent on extending emergency federal unemployment insurance benefits, in dollars: 1.64

Unemployment rate in Michigan in April 2008: 6.9%

Minimum estimated cost of the Iraq War paid by Michigan as of May 2008, in dollars: 13 billion

Estimated 10-year cost of extending unemployment insurance benefits, in dollars: 11.1 billion

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

The Senate version contains welcome funding for programs that benefit aspiring middle-class and middle-class Americans.

Quotes from Experts

Beyond this Bill

Additional Resources

"Making the Case - Again - for Economic Rebound," from the Economic Policy Institute

Unemployment Insurance and the Stimulus Debate, from the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities

"A New GI Bill," from the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America

FDA Amendments Act of 2007

atraub — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 15:29:15 -0500

Legislation

The middle class

Supports

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Number of letters sent by the FDA to pharmaceutical manufacturers warning them that they had violated regulations for prescription-drug advertising in 1997: 142

Number of letters sent in 2006: 21

Percentage of the warning letters regarding direct-to-consumer advertisements between 1997 and 2006 that admonished drug companies for minimizing drug risk or exaggerating drug effectiveness: 84

Pounds of imported foods the average American eats in a year: 260

Percentage of food imports currently inspected by the FDA: 1

Estimated number of Americans who become sick each year due to food-borne illness: 76 million

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

The Middle Class Supports. Middle-class Americans depend on over-the-counter and prescription drugs for everything from relieving aches and pains to sustaining life. Because these medications are so important, and because every drug has risks associated with it, the power this legislation provides the FDA to more closely regulate the pharmaceutical industry is vital. Middle-class Americans, inundated with advertisements extolling the benefits of innumerable and at times indistinguishable medications, need the FDA to ensure that the drugs they rely upon are safe and appropriate for the individuals to whom they are marketed.

For more than five years, 20 million Americans took the arthritis pain medication Vioxx before studies demonstrating an increased risk of heart attacks associated with the drug forced Merck to withdraw it. The new authority that this legislation grants the FDA to demand post-approval studies of medications is a regulatory tool that could have exposed the risks associated with Vioxx much sooner, saving many Americans from heart attack and death. Fines to punish false advertisements will do much to ensure that Americans are not misled about the purposes, risks, and benefits of the medications they are taking. Finally, the concealment and obfuscation of safety information that puts consumers at risk of taking dangerous drugs – a charge that Merck has faced in the products liability litigation involving Vioxx – will be made difficult by the FDAAA’s expansion of public access to safety data. A public database of clinical trial data with mandatory disclosure requirements will allow consumer advocacy groups, concerned academics, and products liability litigators, along with jealous industry competitors, to expose misinformation, ultimately protecting middle-class consumers.

Quotes from Experts

Beyond this Bill

Additional Resources

“Drug Safety: FDA Needs to Further Address Shortcomings in Its Postmarket Decision-making Process,” from the GAO

“Prescription Drugs: Improvements Needed in FDA’s Oversight of Direct-to-Consumer Advertising,” from the GAO

“The Future of Drug Safety: Action Steps for Congress,” from the Institute of Medicine

FDA Amendments Act of 2007

atraub — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 15:29:15 -0500

Legislation

The middle class

Supports

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Number of letters sent by the FDA to pharmaceutical manufacturers warning them that they had violated regulations for prescription-drug advertising in 1997: 142

Number of letters sent in 2006: 21

Percentage of the warning letters regarding direct-to-consumer advertisements between 1997 and 2006 that admonished drug companies for minimizing drug risk or exaggerating drug effectiveness: 84

Pounds of imported foods the average American eats in a year: 260

Percentage of food imports currently inspected by the FDA: 1

Estimated number of Americans who become sick each year due to food-borne illness: 76 million

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

Quotes from Experts

Beyond this Bill

Additional Resources

“Drug Safety: FDA Needs to Further Address Shortcomings in Its Postmarket Decision-making Process,” from the GAO

“Prescription Drugs: Improvements Needed in FDA’s Oversight of Direct-to-Consumer Advertising,” from the GAO

“The Future of Drug Safety: Action Steps for Congress,” from the Institute of Medicine

Food safety

Trade Reform, Accountability, Development, and Employment Act of 2009

Legislation

The middle class

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

Related Blog: Header

Quotes from Experts

Related Blog: Text

Beyond this Bill

Related Blog: Link

Additional Resources

Trade Reform, Accountability, Development, and Employment Act of 2009

Legislation

The middle class

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

Related Blog: Header

Quotes from Experts

Related Blog: Text

Beyond this Bill

Related Blog: Link

Additional Resources

Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009

Legislation

The middle class

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

Related Blog: Header

Quotes from Experts

Related Blog: Text

Beyond this Bill

Related Blog: Link

Additional Resources

Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009

Legislation

The middle class

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

Related Blog: Header

Quotes from Experts

Related Blog: Text

Beyond this Bill

Related Blog: Link

Additional Resources

FDA Food Safety Modernization Act

Legislation

The middle class

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

Related Blog: Header

Quotes from Experts

Related Blog: Text

Beyond this Bill

Related Blog: Link

Additional Resources

FDA Food Safety Modernization Act

Legislation

The middle class

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

Related Blog: Header

Quotes from Experts

Related Blog: Text

Beyond this Bill

Related Blog: Link

Additional Resources

Amendment to the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2008