FDA Food Safety Moderization Act--Continued

Floor Speech

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Mr. DURBIN. First, I thank the Senator from Iowa for his leadership on this issue. The fact is, it was almost 18 years ago when I received a letter from a woman in Chicago--written to me as a Congressman--named Nancy Donley. Nancy had a personal tragedy. Her 6-year-old son Alex died from E. Coli from food Nancy literally prepared for him in their home. She wrote to me a handwritten letter, to me as a Congressman from Springfield, IL, 200 miles away, saying we have to do something about food safety.

Nancy lost her son, but she never lost her passion for this issue. As the Senator said, she formed the organization Safe Tables Our Priority, which has been an effective voice for so many others to bring us to this moment.

But, for the record, I have worked on this issue for a long time, and we would not be on the Senate floor tonight with this historic vote were it not for the Senator from Iowa who has lead the effort. Senator TOM HARKIN has, with the help of Senator MIKE ENZI and a number on the other side of the aisle who have stepped up to make this bipartisan. This is a reasonable approach to making our food safer in America. I thank the Senator from Iowa for all of his leadership on this issue and so many others.

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