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Signing H.R. 1627
Given the number of requests I have received for the analysis I did
of H.R. 1627 it is fair to say there is interest among many for information
on this bill.
I was invited to the signing ceremony this morning at the White
House. It was wonderful. People who had worked together for 15 years on
Delaney/pesticide issues came together, many from long distances. The
chairman of the NAS kids committee, Dr. Phil Landrigan came, and was thanked
by all those who were aware that it was the Landrigan NAS report that served
as the template for the bill. The President was great and the ceremony was
very nice; full of good energy. After his remarks and before the actual
signing, the Pres. invited the members of Congress up on the stage, and a
bunch of kids 4 to maybe 12 years old from various places, where schools had
done IPM programs, and taken other steps to learn about pests. Carol
Browner took charge and helped position the kids so these big Congresspeople
did not block their view. As everyone settled in on stage, little people in
front, the signing started (it takes awhile to use 20 pens to sign your
name), cameras with flashes started going off all through the room and the
kids started smiling and giggling as the cameras went off in rapid order.
The audience started reacting to the kids and their smiles, and this got the
kids excited even more and so they smiled wider and giggled louder and so
on. It was a pretty wonderful scene. The kids stole the show.
The importance the White House places in this bill is pretty obvious
-- the day after one of the most productive week's in Congress during which
historic legislation (a boat load was passed), he devoted his Saturday radio
address to discussion of a bill incorporating a new health standard to
protect children from pesticides. Both sets of remarks appear below; the
statement at the signing, followed by the radio address. BTW, all such
Presidential statements, press releases etc are available via the White
House web site right when they are delivered. It is a very well run site.
Enjoy.
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
______________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release August 3, 1996
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT AT THE
FOOD QUALITY PROTECTION ACT BILL SIGNING
Room 450
Old Executive Office Building
11:45 A.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. Thank you all for
being here today. I'm delighted to see you. I know that a lot of
you have come from a very long way away, and I know that was an
extreme effort. But I think in some ways the most extreme effort was
made by the members of Congress who are here because they finished an
exhaustive and very productive week late last night, and I can't
believe they're still around in Washington and I want to thank them
for staying. Chairman Bliley; Chairman Roberts; Congressmen Waxman,
Bilirakis, Condit, Dooley and Richardson.
And I'd like to say a special word of thanks not only to
Congressman Dingell, but to Congressman Fazio, who is not here, who
also worked on this bill; and to Senator Heflin and Senator Leahy and
Senator Lugar; and my friend, Senator Pryor, who worked on this bill,
who is not here. And I want to thank the Agriculture Department --
Deputy Secretary Rominger is here and the FDA Commissioner Kessler.
And I'd like to thank the members of the administration, especially
Carol Browner and Katie McGinty.
I'd like to thank the Vice President, who told me that
he held the first hearings on dealing with this issue 15 years ago in
the Congress. This issue has been around a long time and it's a
great, great day. I'd also like to say that the happiest person in
the administration today is Leon Panetta, because in his other life
he is a walnut farmer. (Laughter.) But I assure you this is not
special interest legislation. (Laughter.) There's nothing in here
with a disproportionate impact on Italian walnut farmers from
Northern California -- (laughter) -- that is, to the best of my
knowledge there is nothing.
Ladies and gentlemen, we are here today in celebration
and we should be immensely proud of the Food Quality Protection Act
that will revolutionize the way we protect food from harmful
pesticides. It proves we don't have to choose between a healthy
environment and a healthy economy. It shows when we come together
across party lines and do the right thing for the American people we
can get real results. This is important, not only for what was done,
but for how it was done; and I want to thank everyone here who has
been a part of it.
From the day I took office I have worked hard to meet
what I think is a fundamental promise that we should make to our
people. People should know that the food they eat and the water they
drink will not make them sick. We strengthened and expanded the
Community Right to Know law, which requires industries to tell our
citizens what substances are being released into the world around us.
Last year we put in place strong new protections to ensure that
seafood is safe. Last month we announced steps to revamp our meat
and poultry inspection system for the first time in 90 years.
Today we add the cornerstone to this solid foundation
with the Food Quality Protection Act. I like to think of it as the
"peace of mind" act, because it'll give parents the peace of mind
that comes from knowing that the fruits, the vegetables, the grains
that they put down in front of their children are safe. It's long
overdue. The old safeguards that protected our food from pesticides
were written with the best of intentions, but they weren't up to the
job. And as you can see from the vast array of support here across
every specter of America life, nobody liked them very much and no one
thought that they really worked as they were supposed to. Bad
pesticides stayed on the market too long, good alternatives were kept
out. In this new provision we deal with the problem of existing law,
which is that there are strong protections against cancer, but not
against other health dangers. There is simply no uniform standard
for what's safe.
These weaknesses in the present law cause real problems
for everyone involved in producing and distributing our food, and
for, most of all, the people who consume it -- especially our
children. According to the National Academy of Sciences, infants and
young people are especially vulnerable to pesticides -- chemicals can
go a long way in a small body.
This Act puts the safety of our children first. It sets
a clear, consistent standard for all pesticide use on all foods for
all health risks. It sets a standard high -- if a pesticide poses a
danger to our children, it won't be in our food, period. The Act
will reform the regulatory process for pesticides so that new and
safer substitutes will be approved faster, and this is also very
important. The sooner they get on the markets, the sooner farmers
will be able to use them to replace older pesticides that may pose
greater health risks. The pesticides will be reviewed regularly
using the best science available.
Third, this legislation will see to it that consumers
get the information they need. Supermarkets will be required to
provide health information to shoppers about the pesticides used on
food they're buying. A family ought to be able to gather for a
summer dinner knowing that the food before them will provide nothing
more than nourishment and joy. Americans have enough on their minds
without having to worry about that. With this legislation, Americans
will continue to know that the world's most bountiful food supply is
also its safest.
And as I said before, to me, almost as important as what
the law does is how it was done. This Act comes to our desk -- to my
desk and to our administration -- with the support of farmers and
environmentalists, consumer groups and agribusiness and the medical
community. After more than a decade of work, these groups have come
together to say with this bill, we do not have to choose between a
clean environment and a safe food supply and a strong economy. If we
do it right, we can have both. It comes with the unanimous backing
of every member of Congress in both parties. And I must say, I am
gratified to see this, because I see this effort to preserve the
environment in a way that will permit us to grow the economy as an
essential component of our national security in the 21st century.
Last year, we were fighting about efforts to weaken our
most basic safeguards for clean air, clean water, safe food. Now, we
see a bipartisan public commitment to the public health. This is an
area where we stand on common ground. And as a people, we should
continue to stand on common ground.
I want to compliment the Congress for the work that was
done in this last week -- moving people from welfare to work, raising
the minimum wage, helping small businesses, passing health care
reform, making this effort to safeguard our food. Last night
Congress passed strong legislation to help keep our drinking water
safe. This has been a very good season of progress. Turning away
from extremism toward common ground, around opportunity,
responsibility and community. I am very pleased. I thank the
members of Congress here for their leadership. And I thank the
American people, and especially those here represented, for making
this day happen.
We're going to do the bill signing now, and I want to
invite the children who have come from around the country here to
come up, and the members of Congress to come up for the bill signing.
Thank you.
(The bill is signed.) (Applause.)
END 11:53 A.M. EDT
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
______________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release August 3, 1996
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
IN RADIO ADDRESS TO THE NATION
The Oval Office
10:06 A.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. Today I'm pleased to
announce a major step for protecting the health and safety of all
Americans, especially our children. In a few moments I'll sign into
law legislation that will revolutionize the way we protect our food
from harmful pesticides. This is a positive and hopeful time, an age
of enormous possibility for our people, a chance for us to build a
country and a world that is stronger and safer and more full of
opportunity than any that has existed before.
The way we will master this moment of change is the way
we always have -- by meeting our challenges and holding fast to our
enduring values. Central among these is the belief that American
families are owed some basic security. They should know that the
food they eat and the water they drink will not make them sick.
From the day I took office I've worked hard to meet this
fundamental promise. We strengthened and expanded the Community
Right to Know law, which requires industries to tell our citizens
exactly what substances are being released into the world around us.
Last year we put in place strong new protections to ensure that the
seafood we eat is safe, and last month I announced steps to revamp
our meat and poultry inspection system for the first time in 90
years.
Today we add the cornerstone to the solid foundation
we've built for America's families -- the Food Quality Protection
Act. Three years ago I proposed reforms to overhaul and strengthen
the way we regulate pesticides. This landmark legislation meets the
goals I set forth then. I like to think of it as the "peace of mind"
act, because it will give parents the peace of mind that comes from
knowing that fruits, vegetables and grains they set down in front of
their children are safe.
This legislation is long overdue. The old safeguards
that protected our foods from pesticides were written with the best
intentions, but they're simply no longer up to the job. Bad
pesticides have stayed on the market too long, good alternatives have
been kept out. There are strong protections against cancer, but not
against other health dangers. There is no uniform standard for what
is safe.
Those weaknesses in the present law put us all at risk,
but especially our children. According to the National Academy of
Sciences, infants and young people are particularly vulnerable to
pesticides -- chemicals can go a long way in a small body. The Food
Quality Protection Act puts the safety of our children first. First,
it sets clear, consistent standards for all pesticide use on all
foods for all health risks. It also sets that standard high. If a
pesticide poses a danger to our children, then it won't be in our
food, period.
Second, the Act will reform the regulatory process for
pesticides. New, safer substitutes will be approved faster. The
sooner they get on the market, the sooner farmers will be able to use
them to replace older pesticides that may pose greater health risks.
All pesticides will be reviewed regularly using the best science
available.
Third, this legislation will see to it that consumers
get the facts they need. Supermarkets will be required to provide
health information to shoppers about the pesticides used on the food
they're buying. A family should be able to gather for a summer
dinner knowing that the fruits and vegetables before them will
provide nothing more than nourishment and joy. Americans have enough
on their minds without having to worry about whether or not the food
they eat will put them in harm's way. With this legislation,
Americans will continue to have the security of knowing that the
world's most bountiful food supply is also its safest.
Just as important as what this law does is how it came
into being. The Food Quality Protection Act comes to my desk with
the support of farmers and environmentalists, consumer groups and
agriculture groups and the medical industry. After more than a
decade of work, these diverse groups have come together to say with
this bill, we do not have to choose between a strong economy and a
safe environment. We can have both.
This bill also comes to the White House with the
unanimous backing of all Republicans and all Democrats in Congress.
What a difference a year makes. Last August, we were fighting off a
concerted effort to roll back our most basic safeguards for clean
air, clean water and clean food. Our traditional bipartisan
commitment to protecting the public health and our environment was at
risk. Today, on this issue, I'm proud to say that we again stand on
common ground.
That is how we must meet all the challenges of our time
-- not by drifting apart, but by coming together. In the last week,
members of both parties have joined in common cause to do what's best
for America -- to end welfare as we know it, to raise the minimum
wage and aid small businesses, to pass health care reform and to
safeguard our food. Last night, Congress passed strong legislation
to help keep our drinking water safe. This is truly a season of
progress because we're turning away from extremism and coming
together around our basic values of opportunity, responsibility and
community. If we keep it up, we surely will make this an age of
possibility for all Americans.
Thanks for listening.
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Charles Benbrook 202-546-5089 (voice)
Benbrook Consulting Services 202-546-5028 (fax)
409 First Street S.E. benbrook@hillnet.com [e-mail]
Washington, D.C. 20003