Senator Durbin needs your help!

[mel_t]

http://ga3.org/campaign/petfoodsafety?qp_source=petfood%5fgoogle

Clean Up The Pet Food Supply
For more than 100 million Americans, a cat or dog is part of the family.  That's why the recent pet food contamination crisis, a tragedy that has led to the illness or deaths of thousands of pets across the country, has hit so close to home.

Recently, I spearheaded a Senate Committee hearing to find out what went wrong -- why contaminated pet food made its way into the food supply, and how we can make sure it never happens again. So far, we've learned that the response of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been wholly inadequate.

That is why I hope that you will forward an email to FDA Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach -- tell him that it's time for the FDA to improve the safety of our pet food supply now!

[Therese]

Thanks for the work you're doing mel! We certainly have our work cut out for us, but I believe we can make a difference...if we all speak up!

[Superpup]

Signed and sent!

Let's support eachother and send as many petitions as we can!  Durbin was one of the first prominent politicians to do the right thing.

Please sign petitions for my post also to protect our food supply, end Frankenfoods, promote true organics, promote truth in labeling, support US farmers, and grow it here, keep it here.

Thanks.

Superpup

[mel_t]

This was posted on Itchmo forums:
http://itchmoforums.com/index.php?topic=589.msg5301#msg5301

Durbin and DeLauro bills are DYING. HELP!!!!
« on: May 22, 2007, 07:43:45 AM »

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I
It's great that Durbin (senate) and DeLauro (house) got some bills rolling to address the food safety problem. But, as of today, May 22, those bills are stuck. What that means politically is that bills can die by simply not doing anything. The Senate bill that Durbin introduced (really an amendment to a bill that already had some chance of passing as law), has been referred to the House for action. The bill that DeLauro introduced in the House, has been referred to the Senate for action. And neither the Senate nor House are acting on the bills sent to them by the other.

Even though both bills passed unanimously where they were introduced, in the House and Senate, they are two separate, different pieces of legislation. For a bill to become law, it has to pass BOTH the house and senate, then the President has to sign it, and then have the Appropriation Committee FUND the bill. Currently, the bill by Durbin has passed the Senate, but not the House. The bill by DeLauro has passed the House, but not the Senate. Durbin (in the senate) and DeLauro (in the house) has sent their legislation to the other for action. Neither House or Senate has taken up the bills by the other. They are shown as simply being "referred" to the other. And there they have sat for weeks without action, without being debated, without ANYTHING!!

Those bills are sitting there with no actions being taken. They aren't on any calendar for action or debate. They are being KILLED, make no mistake about that! this is an often used political tactic to kill a bill by quietly letting it just 'go away' after the headlines have cooled down. A senator or representative can be AGAINST a bill, but still vote "yah" then sagotage the bill later (they do this to appear sympathetic to voters when their real agenda is otherwise...such as in support of big business of another PAC).

One reporter said that when everyone, left, right, middle, independent, etc., all agree on a bill, it has no teeth. This bill has teeth, but the problem is that there may be an underlying intention to KILL the bills by doing nothing on them.

THESE BILLS WILL DIE if you don't call your Senators and Representatives and tell them to GET THOSE BILLS ROLLING, and that you DEMAND funding for those bills. What makes a bill toothless is to pass the bill, but not fund it by Appropriations.

The simple fact here, folks, is that if you don't start calling and doing postcard blitz's and everything else you can think of to get those bills in action again, then they WILL DIE. If the current legislative session ends without any further action being taken, then these bills will be dead forever.

Don't let that happen. If you let this happen, all of this will have been for nothing. Try to get your mind around the political world. This isn't accidental. The lack of action on Durbin and DeLauro legislation is with the hope that the pet people won't notice. So, NOTICE what is happening here! We've been thrown a bone by the unanimous passage of the bills in the house or senate, but there's no real meat here unless one of these bills starts to move again.

If we want changes in legislation like food safety and COOL, we MUST start being a little more politically aware of how the game is played. We aren't organized like the big PACs (political action committees), but we are number-strong! and that is our strength. It is stronger than a paid lobbyist. So please please please go into high Action-mode and start doing what you can to let your senators know that you expect these bills to keep moving. Do it today.

When you call or contact them, ask the very pointed question of why they are letting this legislation sit without action. The bill numbers are listed below. DEMAND an answer: WHY is the House/Senate not acting on these bills? Tell them that you expect this to be a PRIORITY!!!

I can't say this forcefully enough! YOU must start calling, sending postcards, letters, petitions, whatever ASAP!! We are running out of TIME!!!


Information compiled from senate.gov website, regarding the following bills:
Food safety legislation: S.654, S.1274, S.1292 H.R.1148, H.R.2108

[Calico]

I Got this reply from an email I sent Tammy Baldwin

Thank you for contacting me about the pet food recall that
occurred in March 2007.  It is good to hear from you, and I
apologize for the delay in my response.

As you are aware, on March 15, 2007, the Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) learned that certain pet foods were causing
death and illness among cats and dogs.  The FDA found
contaminants in vegetable proteins imported into the United States
from China and used as ingredients in pet food.  There were
voluntary pet food recalls in North America, Europe and South
Africa that came in response to reports of renal failure in pets. 
Initially, the recalls were associated with the consumption of
mostly wet pet foods that had been made with wheat gluten from a
single Chinese company.  Approximately one month after the
initial recall, contaminated rice protein from a different source in
China was also identified as being associated with kidney failure in
pets in the United States, while contaminated corn gluten was
associated with kidney failure with pets in South Africa.

By the end of March, veterinary organizations reported more than
100 pet deaths amongst nearly 500 cases of kidney failure, and the
FDA has received reports of several thousand cats and dogs who
died after eating contaminated food.  The FDA, however, was only
able to confirm a small number of these cases largely because there
is no centralized government records database of animal sickness
or death in the United States.  As a result, many sources speculate
that the actual number of affected pets may never be known and
experts are concerned that the actual death toll could potentially
reach into the thousands

Additionally, a portion of the tainted pet food was used to produce
farm animal feed and fish feed.   Concerns arose when the FDA
and the U.S. Department of Agriculture discovered that some
animals that ate the tainted feed had been processed into human
food.  However, government scientists determined that there is
very low risk to human health from consuming food from animals
that ate tainted feed. 

Currently, pet food products do not require pre-market approval by
the FDA.  While the FDA works to ensure that pet food ingredients
are safe, many ingredients such as meat, poultry, grains, and their
byproducts are considered safe "foods" and do not require pre-
market approval.  Additionally, the FDA currently has no authority
to order food recalls, but must rely on the industry to voluntarily
pull products from store shelves.

You may be interested to know that H.R. 2108, the Human and Pet
Food Safety Act of 2007 was introduced on May 2, 2007 to
address the recent nationwide recalls and quarantines of tainted
pork, spinach, peanut butter and pet food.  This bill:

*   provides the FDA the authority for mandatory recalls of
contaminated or dangerous food;
*   establishes an early warning and notification system for
human food as well as pet food products establishes
uniform federal standards and better labeling of pet food;
*   improving FDA's ability to regulate imported food
products by directing the FDA to establish a certification
program with trading partners interested in exporting food
products to the United States; and
*   requires companies to maintain records and make them
accessible to FDA as part of an investigation.

H.R. 2108 has been referred to the House Energy and Commerce
Committeehttp://energycommerce.house.gov/index.shtml, of which I am a member.

Like you, I am concerned about the vulnerabilities to our nation's
pet food supply that the recent contamination and recall exposed.  I
believe that we must take precautions to ensure that pets are
properly protected.  Please know that I will keep your thoughts in
mind should H.R. 2108 or other measures seeking to increase pet
food safety come before me in Committee or on the House floor. 

Again, thank you for sharing your views.  Your opinion matters to
me.  If I can be of service to you in any other way, please do not
hesitate to let me know.  As a result of the anthrax incidents, all
mail sent to Congress is first irradiated.  This process causes
significant delays.  To ensure the fastest response, I encourage all
constituents who have access to the internet to contact me through
my website at http://tammybaldwin.house.gov.

Sincerely,


Tammy Baldwin
Member of Congress


2446 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-2906

10 E. Doty Street
Suite 405
Madison, WI 53703
Phone: (608) 258-9800

400 E. Grand Avenue
Suite 402
Beloit, WI 53511
Phone: (608) 362-2800

www.tammybaldwin.house.gov

I included the link to the Energy and Commerce Committee so people can contact them directly. They also have a list http://energycommerce.house.gov/membios/110fullmship.shtml so folks can see the members and contact your congressperson if they are a member.