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We Advocate for Support of FDA Food Safety Efforts

May 11, 2023

We met with congressional appropriators last month to discuss the importance of Food and Drug Administration(FDA) budgets for food safety to state, local, tribal, and territorial environmental health agencies. Our delegation was led by our director of Government Affairs, and included staff who have worked within local and state health and agriculture agencies.

We emphasized the value of the FDA Food Code and Voluntary National Retail Food Regulatory Program Standards in decreasing the occurrence of foodborne illness outbreaks. These programs make FDA one of the foremost federal agencies promoting public health.

Although we expect this year to be difficult for budgets in Congress, we remain committed to support solid funding for FDA’s food safety efforts.

We met with the following congressional offices:

  • Elizabeth Joseph: Policy Director for Representative Michael Guest (R-MS)
  • Matt Tucker: Deputy Chief of Staff for Representative John Joyce (R-PA)
  • Robert Sar: Legislative Assistant for Representative Stephanie Bice (R-OK)
  • Peter Van De Pol: Legislative Aide for Representative Mark Amodei (R-NV)
  • Clare Paoletta: Professional Staff Member for Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA)
  • Holly Hendrix: Legislative Director for Representative Charles Fleischmann (R-TN)
  • Mike D’Orazio and Ashlee Bierworth: Legislative Director and Senior Legislative Assistant, respectively, for Representative Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA)
  • Tony Tran and Sean Kearns: Legislative Assistant and Field Representative, respectively, for Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R- WA)
  • Chris MacArthur: Senior Legislative Assistant for Representative John Moolenaar (R-MI)
  • Patrick O’Connor: Legislative Director for Representative Henry Cuellar (D-TX)
  • Meg Makarewicz: Legislative Assistant for Representative Debbie Dingell (D-MI)
  • Kody Keckler: Legislative Assistant for Representative Mike Quigley (D-IL)
  • Jordan Brossi: Legislative Assistant for Representative Susie Lee (D-NV)
  • Israel García: Senior Legislative Assistant for Representative Pete Aguilar (D-CA)
  • Quinton Johnson: Legislative Aide/Correspondent for Representative Betty McCollum (D-MN)
  • Jacob Chebowski: Legislative Aide for Senator Mike Braun (R-IN)
  • Daniel Yarbrough: Appropriations Aide for Senator Katie Britt (R-AL)

For more information, contact Government Affairs Director Doug Farquhar.