WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, and ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, released the following statement today at the beginning of the committee’s markup of H.R 2749, the Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009:

“Thank you Mr. Chairman.

“I want to thank you, Chairman Pallone, Chairman Stupak, and Chairman Emeritus Dingell for all of your hard work and good faith dealings with us on the bill before us today. The language before us represents the culmination of years of hard work on both sides of the aisle, along with good compromises on significant issues.

“This committee has held numerous hearings on the food safety, both in the Oversight Subcommittee and the Health Subcommittee. We have heard what is right about our food supply. A big part of what’s right is the fact that American farmers, manufacturers and distributors put low-cost, high-quality food on the tables of nearly 307 million people every day. We have also heard about the system’s shortcomings, and we’ve had plenty of advice on how to fix them.

“Mr. Chairman, the bill before us today also demonstrates that we when decide to work together, we can create common ground that most of our members can share despite our differences. I hope that we can do the same on health care reform, because when we take the time to sit down together, we usually find that we have the same goals and aspirations, and then we can work out methods to achieve them.

“I appreciate the chairman’s willingness to work with myself, Congressman Deal, Congressman Shimkus, and all the Republican members of the committee. Our experience on this bill demonstrates that the regular legislative process can work when we want it to work, and want to thank the chairman for wanting it to work this time.

“At the outset, I saw areas where we agreed with the majority on food safety, but I also saw areas of disagreement on how to achieve our shared objective. I was concerned that the legislation would not allow the FDA the flexibility to prioritize resources and inspect those facilities that truly present the most risk. The manager’s amendment provides that flexibility. It would also allow the FDA to develop fresh-produce safety standards to reduce the potential for food illness outbreaks in those products. The legislation would require all food companies to develop a food safety plan to make sure they are looking at potential hazards that could containment their manufacturing process and address the issue before there is a problem.

“I would note that I, along with Mr. Deal and six other Republican members of this committee, are co-sponsors of a food safety bill that Mr. Costa and Mr. Putnam introduced earlier this year. I am not going to spend any time talking about the differences between that bill and the compromise before us today, other than to say, Mr. Chairman, that you have come our way on a number of significant policy matters, and I intend to support favorably reporting this bill out of committee today and look forward to working with you as this legislation makes its way through the process.

“I know you are on a tight schedule as you prepare to start work on healthcare, and I appreciate all the progress we have made in a very short time. As we proceed today, we may find that there are a few issues that may need a bit more attention prior to this bill going to the floor. I would hope that we can continue to address these issues in the same good faith way we have been working thus far.

“Finally, I would also like to point out that the resources that this bill will provide to FDA clearly shows that this authorizing committee is doing its part to ensure that FDA has what it needs to do its job, and we need to ensure that the Appropriations Committee continues to also provide FDA with sufficient appropriated funds to ensure that FDA has its full measure of resources to carry out its duties.

“Mr. Chairman, today’s compromise represents real progress in providing FDA the tools to keep our food safe in the 21st century, and I look forward to supporting it. I want to specifically recognize Chairman Dingell, who made this legislation a personal mission last year and whose tireless efforts have made this bill possible. I yield back the balance of my time.”