Rep. Frank Guinta: “I Don’t Need the FDA”

Would you like some salmonella with those budget cuts? If Republicans have their way, food safety could fall casualty to the congressional budget-cutting fervor. Buried in the House GOP’s budget bill … are major funding reductions for agricultural inspections. And consumer advocates warn that these cuts could escalate outbreaks of food-borne illnesses.

Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.) has been leading the effort to gut federal food-safety efforts as the new chair of the agriculture subcommittee of the House appropriations committee. … “Do you really need to hire 18,000 federal bureaucrats to tell the private sector what to do?”

Kingston’s criticisms echo those of the tea party activists who tried to kill the food-safety bill last year, warning that the government’s “food safety Gestapo” would crush small farmers and convert Americans to vegetarianism.

We should not have been surprised that New Hampshire Rep. Frank Guinta voted to reduce agricultural inspections. After all, he has made his position on food safety and the FDA very clear.

Guinta: “Don’t you want the Food and Drug Administration inspecting every single piece of food you eat? My answer is no. I can go buy fresh farm food from a New Hampshire farmer. I don’t need the FDA to make that transaction!”