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| <p><strong><em>Overlap, Waste, Confusion . . .& Pizza? </em></strong></p> |
| <p>April 26, 2004</p> |
| <p><strong><em>Cosponsor H.R. 2743, the “Government Accountability and Streamlining Act of 2003”</em></strong></p> |
| <p>Dear Colleague:</p> |
| <p>Congress has often addressed real and pressing issues by simply adding yet another program to those that already exist. Rather than producing carefully planned, efficient programs, what occurs is new waste, overlap and confusion. H.R. 2743, the “Government Accountability and Streamlining Act of 2003,” would address this issue by equipping Congress to make more informed decisions. </p> |
| <p>We urge you to read an editorial in the April 14, 2004, edition of <em>The Hill</em>, “One big pizza” (attached), highlighting the irrational and wasteful nature of one of many such program areas: the Federal food inspection system. Confusion in this system developed through the years as Congress passed law after law in reaction to various public health concerns as they arose. Each law was passed without regard to an overarching strategy, and the result today is a patchwork of 12 agencies combining to administer as many as 30 food safety laws. </p> |
| <p>Because such organizational chaos is typical throughout the Executive branch, H.R. 2743 was introduced. The goal of H.R. 2743 is to prevent the proliferation of redundant federal programs by providing Congress with helpful, objective information <strong><em>before</em></strong> legislation reaches a floor vote. H.R. 2743 would require any legislation reported by a Congressional Committee to be reviewed by the General Accounting Office (GAO) to determine if the legislation creates new Government programs and if any new programs would overlap with existing programs, or could be performed more efficiently in another agency. The GAO’s findings would be included in the Committee report, similar to the budget impact score given to legislation by the Congressional Budget Office.</p> |
| <p>We urge you to join with 40 others in cosponsoring H.R. 2743. If you have any questions regarding this bill, please contact Chris Barkley, Professional Staff Member, Subcommittee on Civil Service and Agency Organization at (202) 225-5147.</p> |
| <p>Sincerely,</p> |
| <p>/s Sue Myrick /s Jo Ann Davis</p> |
| <p>Member of Congress Chairwoman</p> |
| <p>Subcommittee on Civil Service</p> |
| <p>and Agency Organization</p> |
| <p><strong>The Hill</strong></p> |
| <p>April 14, 2004</p> |
| <p><strong>One big pizza </strong> Strange pizza toppings are giving members of Congress heartburn. Or, to be more accurate, lawmakers are trying to digest a weird slice of information on the subject given to them at a recent food-safety hearing. The House Government Reform Civil Service and Agency Reorganization Subcommittee heard that plain cheese pizzas are regulated by one government agency, while pepperoni pizzas are regulated by another. If an inspector from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is checking the bona fides of a factory’s cheese pizza production line, he cannot take action if slices of pepperoni are picked up off the floor by workers and used at an adjacent pepperoni pizza production line. Instead, he must contact the rival regulators at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), who must then send one of their own to the offending production line to make an independent observation. This is obviously ridiculous - like putting pineapple on your pizza - but Capitol Hill has only itself to blame for the absurd arrangement. It was Congress that legislated the current structure. The General Accounting Office (GAO) has suggested that partly in consequence of the split responsibilities between the FDA and USDA - not merely over pizza - the federal government needs a new, independent food agency to make sure nothing falls between the cracks. We reject this idea, but because we like to see excessive bureaucracy and regulation eliminated, we would vigorously support reform of the food-safety system so as to make it more logical and efficient. Comical though the pizza example is, food safety is no laughing matter. It has become a matter of particular concern since “mad-cow disease” - bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) - was discovered in this country, even though the threat of BSE does not match up with the hysteria it triggered. Given today’s budgetary realities, the creation of a new food regulatory agency is, thankfully, not a realistic possibility any time soon, so Congress must fall back on the more sensible solution of rationalizing the responsibilities of the agencies that already exist. The GAO has acknowledged that setting up a new government entity may not be realistic and offered lawmakers another solution: giving either the FDA or USDA the ability to oversee all food-safety matters. Such reforms always spark turf battles, because every agency has a vested interest in retaining as many of its duties as possible while filching more from other corners of the executive. So, once Congress - and more particularly, the baffled members of the Government Reform subcommittee - have recovered from the shock of discovering what a mess the federal food regulatory regime is, they must get down to the business of giving it an injection of common sense. Make one agency accountable for food safety.</p> |
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