the usda and fda also play a role in the marketing. i'm interested to hear how these roles may change it if a leafy greens marketing agreement is made national. i hope our witnesses can discuss the implications of hr-2749, food safety enhancement act of 20009, which is to be voted on yesterday, and may in fact be voted on later today. i look forward to hearing how your thoughts on that legislation as well. and also look forward to examining the pros and cons of making national the calgama agreement, and thank our witnesses for taking the time to testify here in front of the committee today. >> i thank the gentleman. does the gentle lady from the state of california have an opening statement? >> i do, mr. chairman. i want to thank you so much for holding today's hearing to examine the leafy greens market, the role of private industry and government in regulating these products, and the economic, environmental and food safety impact of the california leafy greens market agreement. the hearing is happening at a very opportune time. and si

to the usda. also, if usda diverted resources to inspecting catfish, would it take away resources from meat and poultry inspection? and i would just say that we did plus up funding to the usda to be able to accommodate this new responsibility. another concern i had about this provision is that moving seafood inspection or even catfish inspection is more complicated than it seems. there is a substantial difference between preventing outbreaks in meat and poultry and preventing outbreaks in seafood and the fsis, the food safety inspection service, has no experience with identifying seafood pathogens. so i look forward to discussing this issue further with the gentleman and answering some of the questions that you have with regard to this. mr. kingston: i thank the gentlewoman. as we both know we've spent a lot of time talking also about the usda and chinese chicken and that issue and one of the concerns that -- the f.d.a. domain, really they have the expertise and track record on fish whereas the us

let's begin with the news with al pell. >>> the usda released prices. the 2009-2010 carry over was raised 40 billion-bushels to 250 million. thanks to extra records beginning next week. that's a slight increase from the june report. now the june 30th acreage report brought surprises from market traders when the usda brought nearly 3 million acres of corn were planted this week. part of that surprise were part -- the ag department says 87 million acres of corn were planted this spring. that's a second highest amount since 1946 trailing in 2007. noted ag economist daryl good says those extra acres brought in reports of tighter ending stocks. >> what we would expect now if corn prices are permenantly lower here for the foreseeable future. that this should really slow, perhaps bring to a halt the liquidation and stock numbers which means that consumption can get back to a little higher plain. this should also improve the mar margins for ethanol producers. >>> the u.s. average shield is near the adjusted trend of 153- bushels per acre. now on the soybean side

the industry petitions usda which recently occurred on the national leafy green marketing agreement. d public meetings which we will be acting on the national leafy greens marketing agreement in september and october. we rick you all comments and either terminate the proceedings are published a proposed rule. and the best we of terminated proceedings of the potential marketing agreement or order. usda publishes a final agreement and appoint the committee. the committee develops best practices. those best practices are sent out, are published for public comment and usda publishes a final metrics are best practices. marketing agreements only apply to handlers to voluntarily sign an agreement. these are collected from panelist to cover local cost of administering these programs. we provided dori to regulate commodities through federal agreements. usda considers the harmful pathogens of toxins to be a characteristic of higher quality products. federal marketing orders and agreements include minimum quality grade requirements which can identify with the presence of small, insect infestatio

we have 103,000 people who work for the usda. we have representatives in offices in virtually every county of the united states of america. we have 2250 foreign service officers in counties across the country and over 850 rural development office is. we also by the way run the forest service. and if you happen to live in the western part of the united states, your water is directly linked to how well we maintain those forest. 200 million acres of forest. and those forest may very well help and assist us in creating the energy independence that president obama talks about, the need for us to sever our dependence on foreign oil. some of that woody biomass would become fuel for your cars. so we, reverend, are indeed a very large organization. we are prepared to help. we appreciate the opportunity here today to get the message out. we are proud of what we do at usda. in the state of illinois, just to put a finer point on it, in our rural development programs, we spend $1,300,000 a day just in the state of illinois. investing in rural

along with the acreage report, the usda released an important quarterly grain stocks report. pro farmer chip flory joins us with analysis of those numbers. >> let's start with the easy part of june 1 grains stocks report that is the wheat stocks as of june 1. that's right in line with the average am trade and is your carryover for the 2008-'09 wheat marketing year. corn stalks as of june 1 came in above the average per year trade gap most likely because of a slower than expected usage paid in the feed and residual category during the third quarter of the 2008-2009 marketing year. unfortunately, a points still carries over the 1.6 billion bushels estimated by usda in the june supply and demand report. soybeans stocks on june 1 were 10, 11 million bushels above the average trade gap. that gave if a -- gave it a negative gap off the set, but in reality, it is tight, usage is good and we're look for a carryover at the end of the 2008-2009 marketing year a tight 125 million bushelsment for the editors of pro farmer in cedar falls, iowa, i'm chip flory. proof that the corn cro >>> c

the usda reports production in june was down .2% from a year ago. it also dropped the same amount during the first six months of this year. according to our reporting partners today cow numbers are also starting to decline with the nation-wide heard now totaling just over 9 million head. now with the economic troubles facing the dairy industry these days you probably wonder why anybody would get into the business right now. in missouri a growing number of farmers say it makes economic sense because of the grazing practices they have adopted. kent fad ishas details in this report provided by the university of missouri. >> reporter: 24-year-old eric hoffman of trenton, missouri, is rolling the dice. any business venture is a risk but dairy farming? >> well i think some people would be a little bit shocked. >> reporter: over all missouri dairy industry declined from 1 million cows in the 1940s to currently about 100,000 cows. it's a university of missouri researchers are watching. they are growing in number and making a profit. it's called pasture-based

i cannot answer this except to say that the usda programs, if you look at what we do, this helps local groceries, because you will see them buying more products, and they will have to get this from the regional distribution and this stays in the community. the home loans involve the capacity for people to be able to purchase a home, and our lines are more flexible than you may get, at a bank. people who are having a hard time, we can get them into the house more easily. the school lunch and school nutrition program, this does not necessarily always benefit the local producers, but this certainly benefits agriculture, generally. the business and industry long programs, create jobs and companies -- and most of what we do impacts the community. the waste water treatment facility will benefit the community. the ambulance for the fire station that we have helped to build, the cells to provide health care for people. even in urban centers, we do not think of this as a place with trees, but we have a number of programs, urging us. this is an emerging area that is important, because this will

again, peta is calling on the usda to seize circus elephants and fine and penalize the circus. >>> here is something that you don't see on the streets of miami, a 5-foot long shark in the middle of the road. two men carried it on a city train, dragged it down the street and tried to sell to it a restaurant. it was caught on camera. you may find some of the video graphic. >> they are dragging it. there was a rope on the tail. >> reporter: two men turning the shark into a makeshift wagon, pulling it down the road in miami. the stick and rope attached when it was dumped. shortly before it was showing signs of life. >> you could see it was alive. >> reporter: the sea creature ends up dead vered with flies. earlier a woman saw it commuting on public transportation, the duo said they caught the shark and were looking to sell it for $10 but the owner at the casablanca fish market didn't bite. they were forced to pick up the shark and carry it away. >> it's a nurse shark. you can't use the meat for anything. >> they have to be commercial guys and good shape, not dragged in the street. >> police

the residents have taken their case to the usda, hoping the federal government will come through. state, the u.s. department of agriculture said the residents should find and existing water association that will agree to expand. that hasn't happened. >> maybe because we all are just poor black. >> reporter: they tried and tried and say their government is still not working. >> just load them in. take off again. >> reporter: steve osunsami, abc news, in the mississippi delta. >>> and when we come back, a new meaning to the term "boarding >>> and when we come back, a new meaning to the term "boarding your pets." but even with calcium, vitamin d, and exercise, i still got osteoporosis. i never thought i could do more than stop my bone loss. then my doctor told me i could, with once-monthly boniva. boniva works with your body to help stop and reverse bone loss. studies show, after one yer on boniva,, nine out of ten women stopped nd reversed their bone loss., i know i did. severe kidney disease or can't sit or stand for at least one hour. follow dosing instructions carefully. stop tak

the usda is working with states and local communities and school districts as well as advocacy groupso make sure the message does indeed get out about the opportunities these programs can provide for families. i will tell you one of the most important recent changes we've made in the school nutrition programs is to have a direct certification process allows families applied for and qualify for tanif and qualify for free and reduced lunch. we are making sure the word gets out and school districts to a good job of providing information on the direct certification program. we are mandating or requiring schools to provide applications for these programs for children when school begins. many schools in fact most schools probably have a parent kitt and within the kit will be information relative to the school nutrition programs as well as other assistance programs. we are also issuing this february guidance to schools to develop strategies including simplifying the process for allowing families to synnott, rapid action on benefit applications conducting direct certification as i indicated a

we won't even as the folks to determine whether they want to apply for usda or the commerce department money. we will do this by zip code and by virtue of the information that we have. we will make sure it gets funneled to the right department. this is one way of trying to get resources to people as quickly as possible and to have them be able to apply as easily as possible. we are also very committed to transparency. we at usda creed the geospatial map of the country. you click on to every state and find the precisely what usda has been doing and what has been doing and other departments will be joining as well so over time you will have a single u.s. map that will allow you to have a sense of all of the projects and where they are located. >> thank you. >> i was just going to, if you don't mind mr. chairman may i just respond because i just want you to know that in those areas where people don't have the ability to have grant riders or if, even if they don't have access to-- some of these areas have access to metropolitan planning groups who do have grant riders who can help the comm

i know there's concern about the overlap into usda activities. there is language in the bill to exclude the inclusion of farms within the bill. they are excluded, they are not required to register, they are not required to pay a registration fee. livestock and poultry are also exempt. it does not allow the f.d.a. to regulate what are now usda regulated facilities and products. i commend this legislation and urge my colleagues to adopt it. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan. mr. dingell: i yield to the distinguished chairman of the committee on energy and commerce, mr. waxman, whose leadership in this matter has been of the greatest importance. i thank him. the speaker pro tempore: how much time? mr. dingell: two minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. waxman: mr. speaker, my colleagues a series of food-borne disease outbreaks in spinach, peanuts, and peppers, to name a few have not just sickened and killed american consumers, they've laid bare the sun acceptable gaps in our food safety l

is the amount of food you're given to eat, while a serving is the amount you need, according to the usda. that is why one bottle of soda can be two and a half servings. >> reporter: bigger portions are attractive to consumers, who like getting more for their money. >> and people appreciate it, value it of course unfortunately it is dangerous. >> reporter: high blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, all side effects of being overweight. it can add up if you don't watch it. >> i have to be concerned about it at all times. it is a struggle. >> reporter: one thing kelly does is sharing a restaurant order or splitting her plate before she eats. >> i will ask for a to go box before i order the meal. >> reporter: she wasn't always this good, eight years ago, kelly hit her breaking point. >> i was single at the time, on the career track, a lot of fast food, a lot of take out. and then you just ate what they gave you. >> reporter: now she lost 175 pounds. she exercises five days a week. and keeps a tight control on her portions. >> that is a serving of pasta. >> reporter: even a piece of fruit ca

. >>> "2 your health" -- the usda released its annual report on children's health. in it the usda says children 6 and up need to eat more fruits and vegetables, especially the dark green leafy stuff, oranges, beans, whole grains and healthy oils. all ages failed at limiting the amount of salt, sugar and saturated fat they consume. since the 1980s the percentage of children overweight increased from 6% to 17%. >>> of course we know cutting calories can help you look better and feel better but now the results of a 20-year study that found that extreme calorie cutting can also help you live longer. stephanie sy shows it. >> reporter: the pictures say it all. on the left a haggard balding monkey, on the right, a healthy youthful one. both the same age. the difference, the more fit monkey fed a third less for his entire life. the 20-year study found monkeys not on the diet were three times more likely to die of age-related causes. >> if you look at the rates of cancer, diabetes, heart disease, the differences emerge almost immediately with the calorie restriction. >> rep

how would your agency adapt the role i do not think the usda has tried to assume over the years? take that, if you will. we have a situation where the epa has adopted or is considering adopting usda conservation standards as a way for farmers to show they are meeting and quality requirements. i do not know if that is true. >> senator, we already working as partners on an number of environmental issues. i see this as a partnership with all of my fellow colleagues at this table. obviously, usda has unique assets in terms of its ability to be in virtually every county of the country. it has technical expertise in this area, but i certainly see this as a partnership. i think the epa has a set of unique tools as well, and we need to figure out how best to use our unique assets. >> great, thanks. >> because of our limited time, secretary chu, i am going to focus all of my questions on you. i want to come back to nuclear power. there are so many issues we want to deal with, but the issue of nuclear power is one that i think we need to pursue more clearly. first of all, i appreciate your

from my perspective, it's not with the usda rules but the problem of -- if i walk into a room with twoomatoes there is no lab test or observation that could tell me which one was organic. compare to my corn that is verified load by load by a lab test. it is impossible to rigorously enforce standards that cannot be substantiated by impartial testing. i support the right of producers to serve consumers that place economic value on how the food is produced rather than what the food is. until organic producers themselves agree on what the procedures should be and independent testing can accurately verify the producer claims, it will be impossible to move organic certification because i say so basis. while this may be enough for some consumers, it will continue the turmoil in the organic production system. >>> please, let us know what you think. feel free to contact us directly. send e-mails at or call and leave us a voice mail. for al, mike and chip, thank you for watching u.s. farm report. be sure to join us next week. we'll be working to do even better.

how would your agency adapt the role i do not think the usda has tried to assume over the years?e that, if you will. we have a situation where the epa has adopted or is considering adopting usda conservation standards as a way for farmers to show they are meeting and quality requirements. i do not know if that is true. >> senator, we already working as partners on an number of environmental issues. i see this as a partnership with all of my fellow colleagues at this table. obviously, usda has unique assets in terms of its ability to be in virtually every county of the country. it has technical expertise in this area, but i certainly see this as a partnership. i think the epa has a set of unique tools as well, and we need to figure out how best to use our unique assets. >> great, thanks. >> because of our limited time, secretary chu, i am going to focus all of my questions on you. i want to come back to nuclear power. there are so many issues we want to deal with, but the issue of nuclear power is one that i think we need to pursue more clearly. first of all, i appreciate your sta

the usda is working with states and local communities and school districts as well as advocacy groups to make sure the message does indeed get out about the opportunities these programs can provide for families. i will tell you one of the most important recent changes we've made in the school nutrition programs is to have a direct certification process allows families applied for and qualify for tanif and qualify for free and reduced lunch. we are making sure the word gets out and school districts to a good job of providing information on the direct certification program. we are mandating or requiring schools to provide applications for these programs for children when school begins. many schools in fact most schools probably have a parent kitt and within the kit will be information relative to the school nutrition programs as well as other assistance programs. we are also issuing this february guidance to schools to develop strategies including simplifying the process for allowing families to synnott, rapid action on benefit applications conducting direct certification as i indicated

will work with the usda. a recent example of f.d.a.'s unwillingness to access the expertise of the usda was demonstrated this week involving another bill, h.r. 1549, that would restrict, eliminate, the use of animal antibiotics. it would institute a ban on nontherapeutic uses ever antibiotics which is another ill-conceived concept and very -- that's a very complex issue. yet we learn today that no consultation by f.d.a. has occurred with usda. in a hearing earlier this week, before the house rules committee, the f.d.a. suddenly shifted its course and supported this ban. no new research or scientific analysis was presented, and again apparently no consultation with usda. so much for collaborating with the department of agriculture. mr. speaker, we must stop rushing legislation through congress without careful, thoughtful, and complete consideration. congress rarely gets things right when we have ample time to properly consider policy changes. but it never makes good decisions when rushed to arbitrary timetables. h.r. 2749 needs to be ref

how would your agency adapt the role i do not think the usda has tried to assume over the years? take that, if you will. we have a situation where the epa has adopted or is considering adopting usda conservation standards as a way for farmers to show they are meeting and quality requirements. i do not know if that is true. >> senator, we already working as partners on an number of environmental issues. i see this as a partnership with all of my fellow colleagues at this table. obviously, usda has unique assets in terms of its ability to be in virtually every county of the country. it has technical expertise in this area, but i certainly see this as a partnership. i think the epa has a set of unique tools as well, and we need to figure out how best to use our unique assets. >> great, thanks. >> because of our limited time, secretary chu, i am going to focus all of my questions on you. i want to come back to nuclear power. there are so many issues we want to deal with, but the issue of nuclear power is one that i think we need to pursue more clearly. first of all, i appreciate your

the usda predicts there will be more corn production as they spin and flood the market report.ns remain so thin that 10% of pork production will shut down for a day including tyson plant. jeffreys and company calls today's effects a neutral for the buy ratings on monsanto and du pont. >> the michael jackson memorial and now thinning hog. >> i am a one-woman news network. >> thank you, jane. time for the daily look at the most widely followed stories on cn cnbc.com. tell us what's clicking right now. >> this has been hot all week since early in the week when california's budget troubles came to light and a few groups started saying hey, if you legalized marijuana, everyone would be covered. we resurrected with the readers a gallery of medical marijuana. >> you have a gallery. we have a license with the sweet skunk going for $300 an ounce. that goes for $500 an ounce. you can catch it on the website. what's hotter than marijuana? >> not much. >> pornography. we have a documentary next week. the buness of pleasure to set up for that. we have a slide show that looks at the high poi

in cooperation with the department of energy, usda will continue to promote these technologies and ourextension networks will help to make them available to farmers, ranchers and land managers. these technologies in the promotion of clean energy economy will also stimulate the creation of new jobs. as farmers and ranchers and land managers look to install these digesters or build a wind farm people will be needed to build the machines and install the systems. and because many of these technologies will be utilized in rural areas, many of these jobs will be created in rural america. these farmers, ranchers and forest owners can also benefit from legislation that creates markets for greenhouse gas offset credits. to be effective in addressing climate change, the offset market will need to accomplish two goals. first, the market will need to recognize the scale of changed needed and the infrastructure that will be required to deliver information, manage data and resources and maintain records and registries. second, ensuring the environmental integrity of agriculture and forest offsets is

portion is the amount of food you're given to eat while a serving is the amount you need according to the usda's why one bottle of soda can be two and a half servings and today's typical bagel, four savings. bigger portions are attractive to consumers who always like getting more for their money. >> people appreciate that. they value that. it's important. unfortunately it is dangerous. >> reporter: high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, all size effects of being overwait. the pounds can add up if you don't ask the for all the -- don't account for all the extra calories sneaking into your diet. one strategy kelly uses is sharing a restaurant order or splitting her plate before she starts to eat. >> i'll ask for a to go box. >> reporter: she wasn't always this good. eight years ago kelly hit her breaking point. >> i was busy, working on the career track. a lot of fast food, a lot of take caught and you gave what they gave you. >> reporter: now she's lost 180 pounds. she exercises five days a week and keeps a tight control on her portions. >> that is a serving of pasta. >> reporter: even a

the usda recommends three gas -- glasses of low fat or fat free milk a day. >> so what is happening? ll be at the museum this thursday from 11:00 to 2:00. we have a whole list of activities to do with the family. we'll have low-fat and fat-free milk from the local dairies. you can have your own celebrity-inspired mustache photo to take home with you. we have a wellness oasis, you can speak to your registered dietician. we have health care equipment, we can give a quick assessment of your health. there's massages. you can also pick up a copy of "the new face of wellness" which outlines the benefits of being a milk drinker. >> when you talk about the kids getting a lot of calories from high-sugar drinks, does it make you cringe as a dietician? >> as a dietician and mom it does. i know moms are gatekeepers to what their families are going to eat. it helps if moms are also a good role model to drinking milk. we know when moms drink milk typically daughters will grow up drinking milk. you want to be a good role model for. that you mentioned the truths and vegetables here, with the heart he

such a sweeping conclusion should not be drawn unless the impact is studied and analyzed. if usda has conducted analysis of increases in farm input costs and weighed them against the measured opportunities, well, then, i applaud their efforts. but if that is the case, it is mystifying that the department has not shared the analysis despite having testified before the senate twice in the two weeks preceding this week. now, mr. president, having served as a secretary of agriculture i know that the usda has an outstanding team of economists with expertise to do this kind of analysis. that's why last week i sent a letter to the current ag secretary, tom vilsack who will testify at the ag committee hearing this week. the letter requested usda to provide the following: a state-by-state analysis of the cost of cap and trade on ag industries; a crop specific analysis; an analysis of how the legislation would impact livestock producers; and, finally, us d.a.'s assessment of how many acres will be taken out of production as a result of the bill and what impact this will have on food availab

and the stipulation that was entered into, is that the usda relies on exhibitor... >> you can see, he was so wrapped up in the details that chief justice rehnquist became very annoyed, and told him, you know, to stop it and he kept going. back to stipulation 57. and, it unfortunately, it just kept going in that vein. he never really took on the first amendment argument. that was very crucial to the case. and, in fact, he again, got so impassioned about the fruit that he was -- his clients grew, that it became an -- a real embarrassment. and we can play -- go to the third clip, not the second, the third, where, he was arguing that his clients grow green plums, and the ads really should have been about green plums, because, green plums have a bad reputation and people think they are unripe and will have bad effect on people. so, you can play that. >> green plums and give them to your wife and you think to yourself, you want to give your wife diarrhea, but green plums... >> we don't care about green plums. i have never eaten green plums! [laughter]. >> so, he was directing to j justice s

the usda has ear marked billions of dollars to go directly to building community health centers and puttingnto medicare so that you have better reimbursement. you can attract better doctors and also have better insurance options and coverage. >> okay. it's going to take some time, though. >> absolutely. >> all right. now let's go, we've got an e-mail question for you from jean. my 85-year-old mother took out credit cards lured by the low interest rates and then they went sky high. she's making minimum payments but is about $12,000 in debt. she'll need to go into a nursing home soon and 50% of her income goes to paying off credit cards. what can we do. jean? >> stop worrying is the first thing. that you can do. because, in this situation, your mother is quite likely going to be okay. when your mother needs to go into that nursing home, the nursing home is going to take a look at whether she has the assets to pay for it or whether she'll qualify for medicaid. she'll fill out a bunch of forms, as david said about the taxes, go through the process. there are always fors. you can't get away from

the usda says for every $5 spent in food stamps, it's more than $9 in economic activity because of then reaction that happens with the grocers and the farmers. >>> and in about 15 minutes, we'll get the latest up to the minute snapshot of how the jobs market is doing. the weekly jobless claims reports. we'll have those numbers and if they tell us something about the jobs market as soon as we get them. >> about 8:30? >> yep. >>> night owls and morning people sometimes get along as well as cats and dogs. but the differences do not end with how you dose with an early dose of sunshine. dr. sanjay gupta is stopping by the told you what you want to know about your best time of the day. and i'm guessing it's morning since you're up right now. >>> you hear people say, oh, i'm a night owl, or, i'm a morning person. apparently what you are has a real physical effect. and chief medical correspondent dr. sanjay gupta is here. i want to say he's a morning person. number one, you do surgeries in the morning and you're usually on the morning show. but that's because we're forced to. >> i could say th

the bill makes a significant investment in usda's natural resource conservation programs by appropriating $980 million. the bill rejects the administration's cuts to the natural resources conservation service farm bill, conservation programs, including the wetlands program, the farm and ranch lands protection program, and the wildlife incentives program. in addition, the bill restores funding for other valuable programs including the resource conservation program and others as well. withegard to nutrition, to help those who are hit hardest by the economic crisis, the bill provides $681 million, a 10% increase for w.i.c., to serve our nation's vulnerable populations to support the participation of 10.1 million people. the bill also includes record funding of $180 million for the commodity supplemental food program, or cfsp, and expands assistance to six new states, arkansas, oklahoma, delaware, utah, new jersey and georgia. international food aid, the bill expands america's traditional commitment to international food aid by providing an increase of $664 million, a 10% increase to pl-480.

speaker, this resolution honors the usda's food and nutrition service for 40 years of fighting hunger in the united states. there are more than 36 million food insecure or hungry people living in america. the food and nutrition service or f.n.s. is a lifeline for the hungry in our country. the mission is to provide children and needy families better access to food and a more healthful diet through food assistance programs and comprehensive nutrition and education efforts. f.n.s. does this by administering the food stamp program and child new tration programs that include the school and summer meal programs. without these programs and without the dedicated staff at f.n.s., millions of people in this country will be facing hunger and malnutrition. their work and dedication should be commended and i am pleased to be the lead sponsor of this resolution honoring the 40th anniversary of the food and nutrition service. and i'm pleased that my good friend and colleague, the gentlelady from missouri, ms. emerson is a co-sponsor of this resolution. unfortunately, my good friend cannot be here,

department of agriculture adopt to the role of regulator it's a role that i don't think usda has tried to assume over the years. or is -- take that if you will. we got this situation where epa has adopted or is considering adopting usda conservation standards as a way farmers are meeting air quality requirements. is that true or not? could a similar requirement work with epa and usda for climate? >> senator, we already work as partners on a number of environmental issues. i see this as a partnership with all of my fellow colleagues at this table. obviously, usda has unique assets in terms of its ability to be in virtually every county in the country. it has technical expertise in this area. that it needs to lend and add to discussion, but i certainly see this as a partnership. i think epa has a set of unique tools as well and we need to figure out how best to use our unique characteristics and assets. >> good, thanks. >> thank you, senator. senator crapo? >> thank you, madam chairman, because of our limited time, secretary chu, i'm going to focus all my questions on you. i want to come

the usda in the process of distributing $20 billion of food s stimulus, within 30 days of the money goingut, the money is spent. for every dollar we spend in food assistance, we generate $1.84 in activity. there is work taking place. unemployment compensation extended tax relief to families. doing the work americans want done, we have obligated $800 million of waste water treatment money for communities across the country. we've loaned 10,000 home loans through usda and created opportunities with the broadband to distribute money this fall to expand broadband. there is work being done to build the infrastructure then the work to build the 21st century economy, energy, we're seeing a substantial amount of money come from the department of energy creating new energy sources. >> let me stop you there. the work that will be done in terms of the 21st century. perhaps we're going at this in the wrong order of events, not that it's not important, but that what we face in terms of the crisis in this country is jobs, jobs that are lasting in the future, the kinds of jobs we're hemorrhaging our mid

control that or the usda? >> the f.d.a.ols the labels of drugs for how they would be used in animals. >> you can permit it. if legislation were passed. >> it would be under f.d.a. >> that's good to know. and -- one of the things obviously we're concerned about is the conditions under which these animals live. and i noted that, as part of your background that denmark which bodes the nontherapeutic use of eakts in animals, in 1998 found there was no significance. i think that's important. that after the ban corresponding improvement in animal husbandry, such as cleaner barnes and swine mortality and productivity were not affected at all. and i am sure that most of us who -- consumed, i'm sure all of us want to think that they're raising in clean and healthy s, even though we know better. we're going to a food safety bill here. we would need to talk to you again about other things there you might want in this. thank you so much for being here. your testimony is most important. we look forward to working with you on making this

the usda announced they will step in and offer relief to ranchers. he losses at $3.6 billion and reach four billion. we are under water restrictions and those could be tightening down the roads to the point of restaurants not even being allowed to serve water. we are not at that point yet, but it's not that far off. >> we had a little sprinkle this morning. honestly it will take a week long deluge to start to make a difference here. anything is going to run off the park grounds. we're 17 inches below normal rainfall for last year. for this year 11 inches. a lot of ground to make up. >> and often that happens at tough economic times anyway. often a correlation between bad weather and bad economic times. stick around. you will learn something. >> the weekly guide to investing and a huge debate over inverse etfs in the last couple of weeks. here's the problem. you can make money and lose money. if it's 100, it goes up 10% and say it goes up twice as much, the tracking error is on a daily basis. they may not understand what they are buying. suppose you ha

prior to the stimulus funding the nap haven nursing home was on track for a loan from the usda. in other words, they had the finances set up to get a loan to where they could repay it. when the stimulus money came available, the funding source was shifted to a new source of federal assistance. carman newman, the city clerk treasurer, said it's kind of a joke. i don't see how they can say this is stimulus. we were going to do it anyway. i don't see how the project benefited. well, somebody benefited. but somebody also lost, and that was our kids and our grandkids. shraoer's a good one. iowa state -- here's a good one. iowa state legislatures are using money freed up by the stimulus to buy $11 million in new cars that the state doesn't need. four dozen brand-new cars owned by the state are sitting unused in the parking lot near the capitol. according to the state representative christopher rance, some of them still have the sales stickers on them. none of them have license plates and they still have their seats wrapped in plastic. but we're going to buy the cars because we got the

. >> reporter: it's been a long time in coming partly because the fda and usda were arguing over who had responsibility for eggs. >> too many agencies in charge really meant that consumers have had to wait for over ten years to get effective regulations. >> reporter: these new steps won't eliminate all illnesses, so the white house is also working to ensure that food outbreaks when they happen are caught and traced back more quickly. lisa stark, abc news, liditz, pennsylvania. >>> space shuttle "endeavour" will try to lift off today after thunderstorms forced nasa to scrub last night's launch for the fourth delay so far. lightning strikes at the kennedy space center postponed saturday's launch. two previous launch attempts were scrubbed because of hydrogen leaks. >>> and now for this morning's weather from around the nation, thunderstorms and severe weather from washington state to the dakotas and down to colorado. expect large hail, gusty winds and possible tornadoes. thunderstorms also from florida and the carolinas all the way to arkansas. showers in new england and the pacific no

control that or the usda? >> the f.d.a. controls the labels of drugs for how they would be used in animals. >> you can permit it. if legislation were passed. >> it would be under f.d.a. >> that's good to know. and -- one of the things obviously we're concerned about is the conditions under which these animals live. and i noted that, as part of your background that denmark which bodes the nontherapeutic use of eakts in animals, in 1998 found there was no significance. i think that's important. that after the ban corresponding improvement in animal husbandry, such as cleaner barnes and swine mortality and productivity were not affected at all. and i am sure that most of us who -- consumed, i'm sure all of us want to think that they're raising in clean and healthy s, even though we know better. we're going to a food safety bill here. we would need to talk to you again about other things there you might want in this. thank you so much for being here. your testimony is most important. we look forward to working with you on makin

our witnesses included veterinarians from the usda and the fda center from veterinarian medicine andmics across the country. but we believe we heard from a good cross-section of the users of antibiotic products. the doctors possible and experts studying the resistance trends of antibiotics in animal spirit of -- in animals. it became clear that poultry route producers have raised responsibility to safeguard health -- the health of the animals and public health. it is a responsibility they take very seriously. they're committed to using the antibiotics responsibly. they did not develop these guidelines because congress told them to do so. they developed the guidelines because it was the right thing to do for their animals and their consumers. i think that the prospectus and witnesses -- the perspective and witnesses with regard to h.r. 1549, i would like to take a few moments to take what we learn from the area in terms of what it would do to the livestock industry. as i understand, h.r. 1549 would remove seven glasses of antibiotics from the market unless sponsors -- seven classies o

you have the usda. you can go down the abyss. we want to -- you can go down the list. we want to explain the entire government approach. we will be working with the white house to bring together all the other stakeholders in the diplomacy and development. it will not surprise you to learn that i am also deep into discussions both with the pentagon and with the congress about bringing back some of the authorities and some of the money that went with them that has been used by the military for diplomacy and development. the migration of those authorities and those resources is one of the many reasons why the state department and usaid have had a more challenging time than usual. this is both a policy tool as well as an attempt to explain and justify what is we believe we can accomplish. i want it institutionalized. howard berman put it into legislation. it is not just a one-shot deal. it will require the same level of rigor and analysis every four years. >> all the way in the back there. >> i have a question about the dividend after being received by the administration.

the usda is going to test more at meat packing plants, looking out for the deadly e. on measures to make sure your vegetables are safe. we had so many headlines about tomatoes and spin achl over the past few months and years that is something that may really help. in fact, some of the grocery stores were even in on saying look, we want to make sure people when they come here they can trust their food and we want the system to have some more rules. >>> it may take longer than you were hoping for home prices to come back. a mortgage insurance company is predicting home prices are going to keep falling all the way until 2011. they even say in most major cities there is a 75% chance prices will keep on falling and the reason for that, they're looking at the rising unemployment rates and the rising foreclosure rates and finally want to throw in our sister website, cnnmoney.com says they have heard from thousands of homeowners that they haven't been able to get help under the new obama making home affordable plan. we're hoping that there's going to be more work on that beca

. >> the usda re recommends having 3 glasses of fat free milk every day. >> the mul milk mustache.hing about the perfect mustaches. >> it's a perfect consistency. >> michael is going to do a misbeinmilkmustache with me. >> this is a blend of ice cold milk. >> while you're in baltimore, before you laugh and make fun of me, you could be doing this later today. >> the trick is? >> the trick is to tip it back and get it right on your lip. >> okay. >> excellent. >> is that good. >> you're good. >> you have joined more than 250 celebrities that have done the milk mustache? >> how do i look? >> people across the other cities. >> that doesn't look great? >> it looks great. >> as i try to lick my off. we will tell people here in baltimore how to do this, too. >> come out to our event at discovery museum. >> thank you so. >> thank you. >> still ahead, get 100% cajun flavor for 50% off. we have this week's dining deal coming up next. >>> and life gets a little too real for the real word cast. why they're facing even more >>> ees and forests are important in regulating the earth's climate. he

states now have nutritional standards for school lunches and briefcases that are stricter than the current usda standards. only four states could make that claim. no question that 19 is a whole lot better than four but it's not 50. and while it's great to see the states leading like this, now it's time for federal policy to catch up and maybe even lead again. 28 states now have nutritional standards for the competitive foods that are sold a-la-cart in school cafeterias, vending machines and other school fundraisers. in 2004, only six states had such standards. this suggests we're making progress and having schools become healthier and perhaps healthy places for our children to spend their days. good news. but 22 states have no nutritional standards for competitive foods at all. and that's unconscionable. on the physical activity side, every state now has some form of physical education requirement for schools but local implementation has been very slow. driven largely by concerns about costs and misplaced fears that spending more time in physical activity might slow academic achievement and the

the usda says they'll test mure at meat packing plants. make sure that your food is safer.u, i'm jennifer westhoven. >> thanks. you can get more great money advice from jennifer westhoven each weekday on morning express from 6:00 to 10:00 a.m. eastern. >>> money problems in massachusetts could force two zoos to shut down and sadly some animals could lose their lives in the process. >>> former cia director michael hayden is denying claims the bush administration misled congress about the details of his post 9/11 surveillance program. in an interview with the associated press, hayden says he personally kept top members of congress well informed all along the way. the ex-cia chief was reacting to a report which called the program unprecedented. the report also questioned its legal rationale and the security that surrounded it. >>> in washington state, a brother and sister who said their father sexually molested them as kids now insists that it never happened. former police officer clyde spencer was convicted and spent nearly 20 years in prison for the alleged crime. in 2004, t

i took a trip down south to the usda and exposed my skin to hundreds of bloodthirsty mosquitoes. sible for looking at repellents and developing new repellents for the military, primarily. and then with some benefit to the rest of the world. >> although tests at his lab may seem extreme. if a product makes it here, it should work for the average person . so with a rather of repel wnder the mosquitoes felt about them. >> one thing that we wanted to look for is that they're going to last outdoors. >> reporter: there are four types of repellents that are proven to work well. ones that contain deet. ir-3535 and lemon eucalyptus oil. but there are other products out there that also claim to do the job. >> a lot of these are not efficacious. they do not stop mosquitoes from biting. >> reporter: time to try these out and face my enemy. first up we dried a deet repellent and alongside it a bracelet containing geranium oil. that's it. this is not a fashion statement. they're landing on the bracelet. and on my rest right now. okay? ay-yi-yi. look at the difference. my arm with deet, nice and

we're going to look for ways to better coordinate with the treasury, usda, the white house. i have been very pleased of the response that we have had since we began the sounding board, the online form i established to solicit your ideas on how to improve the department and usaid. you have submitted over 300 ideas. i would say a significant number of those discussed ways to get greater access to mobile computing technology. this is not rocket science. many organizations have been using these tools for years. we have just not kept pace. because of your input, irm is increasing investment in our mobile computing program. we have purchased an additional 2500 mobile systems. this will make our team more productive. it will free people from their desks. it will enable some of you to actually go home that are staying in the office waiting for communication from a time zone many miles away. this could not have happened without your input. you came up with the idea. we then worked it. we used stimulus dollars for it. [laughter] we thought it would stimulate you. [laughter] we are mak

with a specificity and accuracy i would like to be able to answer them. >> in the farm bill this year, it was included that usda and fda collect that data, track? >> the animal drug use, yes. [inaudible] >> there are no provisions that i'm aware of in the farm bill that would require the collection. [inaudible] >> there is some research that is authorized in the farm bill to kind of provide the background for the issue to figure out why antibiotics are used to trace their movement off the farm. that is in the farm bill. it is a program that, although authorized, there are no funds appropriated for it which we would very much like to see happening. it is a kind of data that we would very much like to have, but on top of that, we also would like to have what they have in denmark, for example. they are able to tell you precisely the quantities of antibiotics used in their animal agriculture, and for what purposes, so they can really follow it overtime. >> i think that's very valid. i totally support, i think people have the knowledge, or exam, i am the chair so i believe we will be able to make progress. as you ta