WASHINGTON - March 5 - Statement of Nasima Hossain, U.S. PIRG public health advocate, on today’s Judiciary subcommittee hearing on the REINS Act:

“The REINS Act (H.R. 367) would block enforcement of existing health and safety laws by creating new bureaucratic hurdles and impossibly short timelines for approval of critical rules. This bill poses a grave threat to the health and safety of the American people.

“Our food safety system is an example of a public health program that would be crippled by the REINS Act. Due to numerous high profile food recalls, Congress updated food safety practices by passing the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) in 2011. This law has already helped protect public health by identifying and recalling 2.5 million pounds of E. coli-contaminated meat from Canada, as well as Salmonella-contaminated papayas from Mexico. However, if the REINS Act had been in place, the food safety rules created by the FSMA would have be blocked or delayed, leaving the safety of our food supply in jeopardy.

“As a nation, we have made significant progress toward ensuring a safe and healthy marketplace for consumers. Congress should continue in that proud tradition and oppose the REINS Act, to protect the health and safety of the American people.”