President calls for FDA reform as Republicans continue to attack the budget

Acknowledging that the Food and Drug Administration is "underfunded and understaffed," President Obama vowed in his weekly address to renew the nation's commitment to food safety.

The President decried the current patchwork of food safety regulation, much of which was enacted around the turn of the century, as outdated and ineffective. The FDA has the capacity to inspect only about 5% of the food processing plants and warehouses. "That is a hazard to public health," Obama said. "It is unacceptable."

President Obama said he approached food safety "not just as your President, but as a parent."

"When I heard peanut products were being contaminated earlier this year, I immediately thought of my 7-year old daughter, Sasha, who has peanut butter sandwiches for lunch probably three times a week. No parent should have to worry that their child is going to get sick from their lunch."

The government will direct $1 billion to modernize labs and hire additional food safety inspectors to help prevent recurrences of the spinach contamination of 2006 and the recent outbreak of salmonella at the Peanut Corporation of America.

The President announced the nomination of Dr. Margaret Hamburg as Commissioner of the FDA along with Dr. Joshua Sharfstein as Principal Deputy Commissioner. The Administration will also create a Food Safety Working Group chaired by the Secretaries of Health and Human Services and the Department of Agriculture and other senior officials to recommend upgrades to our food safety laws.

Consumers Union has called for the Food and Drug Administration to inspect all food processing facilities at least once per year. CU strongly believes that the best way to safeguard our food supply is to unify the government's food safety functions under a single agency.

Meanwhile, the Senate's top Republican tax writer, Chuck Grassley of Iowa, used the Republican weekly address to deliver a scathing attack on the Administration's tax plans.

"[The President's] plans fail to recognize that Americans are not an endless source of tax dollars to pay for government spending," Grassley said, arguing that raising taxes on Americans making more than $250,000 would be devastating for small businesses.

"Tell these business owners their taxes will go up. Odds are, they'll cut spending. They'll cancel orders for new equipment, cut health insurance for their employees, stop hiring, and lay people off.

Grassley said that, if enacted, the President's budget would amount to the "biggest tax increase in history."

"Americans need leadership, and they need confidence now," Grassley continued. "They need their President and their elected representatives to connect all the dots. Jobs are hard-won. The government should first, do no harm."