This is an issue that Senator Collins first addressed in 1998, when, in her capacity as chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, she began an in-depth 16-month investigation into the safety of food imports. Senator Collins''s investigation revealed many disturbing details about the government''s flawed food safety net.
"It is regrettable," said Senator Collins, "that in the intervening three plus years, little has changed. Yet, now we face the specter of bioterrorism as never before, and the possibility that systemic shortcomings could be exploited by terrorists. This legislation a major step toward ensuring the safety of our imported food supply."
As part of her investigation, Senator Collins requested the GAO to evaluate the federal government''s efforts to ensure the safety of imported foods. In its April 1998 report, the GAO concluded that "federal efforts to ensure the safety of imported foods are inconsistent and unreliable." Last October, the GAO reiterated that conclusion in testimony before the Senate''s Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management.
"Since the terrorist attacks that occurred last fall, we have been living in a changed world. We are battling enemies who show no regard for the value of human life. It has never been as important as it is now to ensure that our food supplies are adequately protected against contamination, both inadvertent and intentional," the Senator said. On October 17, 2001, Secretary Thompson appeared before the Senate''s Governmental Affairs Committee, on which Senator Collins sits, and identified food safety and, in particular, imported foods, as vulnerable areas that require further strengthening against the threat of bioterrorism. Similarly, at a hearing before the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, public health experts were unanimous in expressing concern about the vulnerability of our food. "Weak import controls make our system all too easy to circumvent. Incredibly, the FDA inspects fewer than one percent of all imported food shipments that arrive in our country. Those shipments are sent from countries around the world, most of which wish us no harm. Yet, because of the hard lessons learned since September 11, we must be more vigilant about protecting ourselves. It is vital that we take the necessary steps to close the loopholes that unscrupulous shippers have used in the past and that bioterrorists could exploit now."
Senator Collins''s legislation will fill the existing gaps in the food import system and provide the FDA with stronger authority to protect American consumers against tainted food imports by:
* Giving the FDA the authority to stop such food from entering the United States and marking such shipments as UNITED STATES: REFUSED ENTRY,
* Providing $1.6 billion in new funding to states, local governments and hospitals--the people who are in the front lines and will be called upon first in the event of any major bioterrorist attack--$520 million of which is to enhance hospital preparedness. (Maine hospitals will be eligible for these funds through grants.)
* Enabling the FDA to require secure storage of shipments offered by repeat offenders prior to their release into commerce,
* Directing the FDA to develop criteria for use by private laboratories to collect and analyze samples of food offered for import in order to ensure the integrity of the testing process,
* Authorizing the CDC to award grants to state and local public health agencies to strengthen the public health infrastructure by updating essential items such as laboratory and electronic-reporting equipment. Grants would also be available for universities, non-profit corporations, and industrial partners to develop new and improved sensors and tests to detect pathogens and for professional schools and professional societies to develop programs to increase the awareness of food borne illness among healthcare providers and the public.
"We are truly fortunate that the American food supply is one of the safest in the world. But our system for safeguarding our people from imported food that has been tainted, either intentionally or inadvertently, is flawed," the Senator said. "I believe that the measures provided for in my Imported Food Safety Act of 2001, and the bipartisan bioterrorism bill, will significantly reduce the threat to our country," the Senator said.