Senator Cotton Introduces Bill to Consolidate Federal Food Safety Agencies
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U.S. Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) on May 21 introduced the Study And Framework for Efficiency in Food Oversight and Organizational Design (SAFE FOOD) Act, legislation that would direct the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to conduct a study on consolidating into a single agency those federal agencies that have a primary role in ensuring food safety.
“Current food safety oversight is spread across multiple federal, state, and local agencies, which decreases efficacy, creates gaps, and slows response times to potential public health risks. My bill is a commonsense step to expanding government efficiency and enhancing public health protection by unifying our food safety agencies,” Cotton said in a statement.
The SAFE FOOD Act would:
- Direct USDA to conduct a study on the consolidation of federal food safety agencies into a single agency.
- Restructure the federal food safety system to enhance public health protections through a more unified and efficient system.
- Provide Congress necessary recommendations to improve American food safety.
The full text of the bill can be found here.
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