This month, several Taco Bell locations on Long Island have reported cases of the deadly E. Coli bacteria in their food supply. This must serve as a wakeup call to Congress to increase the oversight and funding for the responsible agencies.

Federal efforts to monitor our nation’s food supply have been hampered by jurisdictional restrictions and decreased funding for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the agency responsible for monitoring and testing non-meat food products.

The reduction in funding for the FDA has caused 25% fewer on-site inspections of agricultural processors in 2006.

Both the House and the Senate have introduced measures that will increase the safety of our food supply. I am a cosponsor of HR 1507, the Safe Food Act, which will coordinate the Federal inspection of food products.