HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 18

BY  SWEENEY

A Resolution in support of cooperation between the United States Food and Drug Administration and its state partners on dairy testing.

   WHEREAS, the dairy industry is a keystone United States agricultural industry that provides jobs in rural communities, supports the essential infrastructure that enables other sectors of agriculture, and provides open space for recreation, sportsmen and women, and tourism; and
   WHEREAS, the dairy industry provides an economic impact of an estimated fourteen thousand dollars per cow per year, primarily in the local economy; and
   WHEREAS, the United States dairy industry is one of the most highly regulated food-producing industries in the country and provides fresh, healthy food consumed by millions of people every day; and
   WHEREAS, for many years the United States Food and Drug Administration and states have cooperatively enforced food and milk safety laws to assure the wholesomeness and quality of the United States food supply; and
   WHEREAS, the United States Food and Drug Administration recently proposed a testing plan related to residual antibiotics in milk without an adequate communication strategy with its state partners, thereby making it difficult for states to have timely information to respond to their key stakeholders; and
   WHEREAS, the testing protocol and lack of clear information potentially created a regulatory bind for states, forcing them to act on preliminary results from a screening test; and
   WHEREAS, the original testing protocol is a process taking several days or weeks and would result in the likelihood that a dairy might have to dump milk while waiting for the test results, creating an economic hardship for farms; and
   WHEREAS, it is essential that such a significant loss of income should equate to the level of risk; and
   WHEREAS, the United States Food and Drug Administration has taken input from national stakeholders and now placed the original plan on hold and is working to determine alternate means of moving forward; and
   WHEREAS, the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture has agreed to convene a committee to identify pitfalls and determine solutions so an assessment of the additional antibiotic residues, if any, in milk can be determined and then develop an enforcement strategy if a problem exists; NOW THEREFORE,

   BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, That the House of Representatives commends the United States Food and Drug Administration for recognizing the value of additional technical and programmatic input from its state partners to scientifically determine the likelihood of illegal residues being found in milk before implementing an enforcement program; and

   BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives commends the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture for convening the committee and encourages the association to include at least one member on the committee representing the State Agriculture and Rural Leaders Association; and
   BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives encourages the United States Food and Drug Administration, in partnership with state agencies and legislatures, to implement an outreach and education program that can help assure the validity of the rationale for the project and increase the assurance of voluntary compliance wherever possible, including outreach directly with the producers who have been identified as likely in violation; and
   BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives encourages the United States Food and Drug Administration to create a system of timely and thorough communication and partnership with state agencies and legislatures as it approaches this and other regulatory issues; and
   BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives encourages members of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture to provide timely information to their respective legislative committees regarding this and other federal regulatory issues; and
   BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That a copy of this resolution be sent to the Honorable Tom Vilsack, United States Secretary of Agriculture; and
   BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That a copy of this resolution be sent to the Honorable Margaret A. Hamburg, M.D., Commissioner of Food and Drugs of the United States Food and Drug Administration; and
   BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That a copy of this resolution be sent to Mr. Leonard Blackham, President of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture; and
   BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That a copy of this resolution be sent to the Honorable Tom Harkin, Chairman of the Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee of the United States Senate; and the Honorable Frank Lucas, Chairman of the Committee on Agriculture, United States House of Representatives; and
   BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That a copy of this resolution be sent to Iowa’s congressional delegation; and
   BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That a copy of this resolution be sent to the chairpersons of the agriculture committees in other state legislatures.