July 24, 2020 - Issue: Vol. 166, No. 131 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 2nd Session

[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E675]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     DEPARTMENT OF STATE, FOREIGN OPERATIONS, AND RELATED PROGRAMS 
                        APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2021

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                          HON. ROSA L. DeLAURO

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 23, 2020

  Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, let me thank Chairman Sanford Bishop and 
Chair Nita Lowey. I also appreciate the commitment that Ranking Members 
Jeff Fortenberry and Kay Granger have shown to support the hard work of 
our farmers and the safety of consumers. I had the honor of chairing 
this subcommittee a number of years ago, and I know firsthand the 
amount of work it takes. We face a health crisis and an economic crisis 
that have exposed serious disparities in our systems. This pandemic has 
further demonstrated how many were living on a knife's edge, and I 
strongly believe we must be doing more, not less.
  This 2021 bill is recommending an increase of $487 million, almost 
$24 billion. It builds on the work we have done in the emergency 
response bills for our nation's farmers, families, frontline food 
workers. This pandemic has pinpointed to us where our system of 
supports, our social safety net, is not as strong as we believed it to 
be, as strong as our families, our farmers and our food workers need it 
to be. So, I am glad this bill is making short-term and long-term 
investments. Let me touch on a few areas of strength.
  The bill makes strong investments to address the scourge of hunger in 
our country. The Census Bureau recently conducted a Household Pulse 
Survey to gather household information during the COVID-19 Pandemic. 
They found, quote, ``Households with children were more likely to 
report permanent loss of employment and food shortages since the start 
of the pandemic.''
  Along with providing the necessary funding for the Food Stamp 
Program, Women, Infants and Children, and Child Nutrition Programs, the 
bill includes language to block implementation of rules that would 
threaten benefits for hundreds of thousands of people. I want to remind 
my colleagues that food stamp spending is a powerful anti-recession 
tool. It has previously been estimated that for each dollar spent from 
benefits, a $1.70 is generated in economic activity.
  The bill also takes action to ensure the safety of our nation's food 
supply, as well as the health of the workers producing that food. 
Workers on the frontline of our food supply chain--food processing, 
meat and poultry plant employees, and farmworkers--play an essential 
role in the availability of food. I thank the Chairman for his 
leadership on including language to prevent USDA from granting 
linespeed waivers to corporate meatpackers as well as the inclusion of 
language encouraging USDA to prioritize financial assistance to 
employers of farmworkers who can show they are complying with the 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines. We must push for 
leadership and accountability.
  Recently, FDA Commissioner Hanh refused to refute the president's 
false claim about the severity of the virus. As has been reported by 
the Boston Globe, quote, ``the World Health Organization has said about 
20 percent of those diagnosed with COVID-19 progress to severe disease, 
including pneumonia and respiratory failure.'' But, the president said 
99 percent of cases were, quote, ``totally harmless.'' CNN's Dana Bash 
pressed Commissioner Hahn on this false claim. But, Commissioner Hahn 
said, quote, ``I'm not going to get into who's right and who's wrong.'' 
That is the mission of the FDA, as the public's primary regulatory 
agency for public health. The mandate of the agency is to distinguish 
between right and wrong, especially as it relates to misleading claims 
about this virus. So, as we invest in the FDA's mission, I look forward 
to working with others on the subcommittee and the full committee to 
make sure the agency provides the most accurate information to the 
public.
  Finally, I am proud of the $2 billion in international food aid 
provided by this bill. The COVID-19 pandemic has increased hardship 
around the globe and I believe we have a moral obligation to lend a 
helping hand. The bill includes $1.775 billion for Food for Peace 
grants, $235 million for McGovern-Dole, and again provides $1 million 
in funding for the International Agricultural Education Fellowship 
program.
  I close by thanking the leadership of this committee for continuing 
to be taking the long term and near-term actions necessary to be 
protecting the public, for food security, for food safety, and worker 
safety. This is what the social safety net is for: To assist members of 
our community in their time of need. No one should fall through the 
cracks. No one need suffer.

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