the been doing on the food safety front -- what has the usda been doing on the food safety front? >> the food safety department of the department of agriculture is in slightly different regulatory place than the fda. we have the capacity to shut down processing facilities and a fairly restrictive menu of things we are responsible for -- meat, poultry and process stakes. we're focused primarily on beefing up our regulatory regimes and making sure we are focused on higher standards for e coli, salmonella, and other pathogens that we know to be causing serious food borne illnesses. we have been increasing training and inspections, we have been working to develop bbtter communication between the fda and the usda, so if there is an incident that implicates our school lunch and school breakfast programs, we can immediately notify the schools to make sure they take the necessary precautions. it has been a holistic and comprehensive effort, consistent with the food safety working group the president established with myself and kathleen to bilious at health and human services. we have 50 r

the fda. what has u. da usda been doing? >> the fsis, the food safety department of the department of agriculture, the mission of the department of agriculture is in a slightly different regulatory place. we have the capacity to shut down processing facilities and we have a fairly restrictive menu of things that we are responsible for. meat, poultry, and processed eggs. we have been focused primarily on beefing up our regulatory regimes, making sure that we are focused on higher standards of e coali, salmonella, and other path jen that is we know to be causing serious food-borne illnesses. we've been increasing training, inspections, working to develop better communication between f.d.a. and u.s. dad so if there's an incident that they're aware of that implicates our school lunch and breakfast programs, that we're able to immediately notify the schools to make sure that they take the necessary precautions. so it's been a holes stick and comprehensive effort with the food safety group that the president has established and we

it is at the forest service and the usda over in afghanistan risking their lives. asked the folks, what would you separate yourself from your family? why would you seearate yourself from your friend? why would you take yourself from your comfortable home and community and travel halfway around the world to a barren place where you are never sure if your next step might be your last? why would you do that? every single person i talked to, of all the people we had over there, they all came from small towns. they all came from rural communities. they all felt it was their responsibility, their obligation, their duty, to dearer -- to their country, to you, to me, to take that risk. they are humble people come regular folks. they do not think of themselves as heroes. they do not think of themselves as great. but they are. and you are. people who live in these rural communities, who fight every single day. that is why it is important for this country to spend time and attention, not just the farmers and ranchers talking about the farmers, not just the agricultural commun

the usda has invested in the status of efforts, as has usaid. it is important to have those tools at our disposal. we need to use every tool at our disposal. >> you have stated on several occasions that in agricultural development, women are central to usaid goals and activities. what specifically are you doing to promote this? >> that is a great question. usaid is one of the agencies that two decades ago started the drum beat that women and girls are critical to development. we know that we have seen study after study that shows every additional $1 of income that goes to a woman is far more likely to be invested in the children, improving their nutrition, access to school, their ability to pull the community out of poverty and into a more successful life. and yet, when we look to the millennium development goals, the established goals for development and education, across the board one area where the goals have been slower are those things that touch on women and girls. maternal and child health is an example. this administration has tried to f

i worked closelyywith the usda's department of rural housing service for the steps in 502 single family guaranteed loan fleasm house of representatives and usda's rural housing service have done our jobs. it's my sincere hope that the senate will act quickly on 502 single family guaranteed loan program so bank cans close on loans. the house has passed anti-predatory lending legislation and is now in conference with the senate on legislation that will increase consumer protection by reforming our financial services regulation and legislation. moreover, the house of representatives has passed legislation re-authoriiing the national flood insurance program that will help americans in their times of need. hundreds of thousands of first-time home buyers will be unable to close on their homes if they are located in floodplains and require flood insurance. i humbly ask that the senate re-authorize the national flood insurance program as quickly as possible. mr. speaker, dozens of communities across the nation have planned events and activities throughout june to highlight the benefits of home

caller: 32 years with the usda. i think it is that the rest of the -- the rest of america cannot have such a planned host:. what is your plan? how oll are you? caller: i am 56. host: are you still working or are getting ready to retire? caller: with my wife being laid off, i am not ready to retire. i will get 64% of my current salarr. host: what is that? caller: about $91,000. host: ida's wanted to get those numbers on the table. -- i just wanted to get those numbers on the table. caller: it is insolvent but there are some issues with its ability to keep going. i was wondering if there was a system to make sure that the corporations that are being guaranteed are paying inappropriate amounted to the be guaranteed? it is almost like the fdic because of the number of banks because i do think have been collecting enough for watching the parameters of how these companies are finding themselves in order to keep from having these guarantee corporations giving our tax dollars to the private sector. the last caller was concer

i like pointing out that the usda budget is i think more than $60 billion goes into supporting programs that make food accessible to needy populations here in the united states and if you look across any country food system, really tackling hunger requires working both on the production side and on the side that ensures access to vulnerable populations. when you look at what is happening in the world right now, i was in bangladesh were 47% of kids are stunted. that means they suffer chronic town attrition and that means at that age that they are going to slow their brain growth, their ability to learn, their ability to thrive for the rest of their lives. it doesn't have to be that way. we know how to solve that and that is why we are so committed to bringing all the tools of the federal government together in order to win this war on hunger. >> talking about food accessibility, and your dress you mentioned briefly some of the efforts you have been making in terms of reducing barriers for food transportation between countries. one of the issues you will find in the agricultural community

i know that last year when the stimulus package was passed, they were hoping for jobs at the usda. nintelligible] i am happy to see what i have seen. some people are quite poor. host: we are going to move on to atlanta, georgia on the line for democrats. caller: this is my first time coming. there is evidence of stimulus spending in our area. host: what kind of evidence are you seeing? caller: it is pertaining to public housing. they are giving funds to renovate apartments and it is all over georgia. there have been pictures seen all over the internet. it is really booming. how long it is going to last, i do not know. there has been a rundown apartment in public housing for years. now they are getting things they never had such as air conditioning. it is really great for the people who have dealt with public housing. host: the know anybody who has been able to move in at the new housing or worked on it? caller: there are tenants that are live there. they are upgrading. new roof, air conditioning, anything that funds were not available to do. host: springfield, illinois, republican l

he said, well, you were wearing a suit and you stepped outside the usda a cab. he said i don't stop for people wre wearing shorts an sneakers because they're not looking for a ride. peop coming out of this uilding in suits a. i'm a guy in a suit and a time of day that i would be logical looking for a ride. commonsense thing. law enforcement needs to use the commonsense indicators, from what kind of clothes people wear, my suit, what kind of shoes people wear, accent if they have one, the type of grooming that they might have, there are all kinds of indicators there ansometimes it is a sixth sensand can't put their finger on it. but these law enforcement oficers, if they were going to be dcriminating against people onhe le basis of race, that would be going on already. and we would have already the bjections th are taking place. but this is about a political argument. it's not abouizona's law being unconstitutional or preempted by federal law or somehow had stretched thbounds that had been set by case l that's out there. it's not about that. they would like to sa

extend biofue in a timely manner, many of my constituents have expressed frustration with the slow pace of usda's implementation. nebraska's third congression district is a leader in biofus and i remain committed to advancing the biofuel industry while decreasing our nation's dependence on foreign oil. i'confident we can provide a cleaner environment and relieve some of the economic pain americans perience. without a strong commitment our advanced biofuels industry faces massive uncertainties, jeopardizing our nation's past to energy independence. i yield back. the eaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back th bance is time. for what purpose does the gentleman from new york rise? >> to address the house for e minute. the speaker pro tempore: so ordered. >> mr. speaker, today we see the first benefits from the new health care reform lawassed earlier by this congress and signed io law by the president. 80,000 seniors across america will be receiving checks tt are being sent o starting today for $250 to he pay the cost of their pscription drug coverage while in the doughnut ho. other seniorthat re