Congress is voting this Wednesday on the National Uniformity for Food Act (a.k.a. H.R. 4167), a proposal which bars states from implementing stronger or more protective food safety requirements than the baseline Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA). That is, some representatives in the House intend to gut existing state laws governing warning labels and food-safety inspections. How much will it cost to lower our food-safety standards? Combining predicted revenue, spending, and regulatory costs, this legislation will cost the average family 92 cents and each single person 28 cents. (WashingtonWatch.com, 2006). While this is hardly a significant cost to the American taxpayer, it is counterintuitive that the elimination of food-safety laws should actually incur cost.
According to the Cost Estimates of the Congressional Budget Office implementation would cost roughly $500,000 in the first year and thereafter $100 million over a five-year period. A large part of these costs relate to promotion of federal regulations and litigation expenses. The $100 million estimate does not assume the cost of State petitions to retain existing requirements that exceed federal standards. The CBO estimates 200 such petitions by 2007, and 240 overall by 2011. Each will cost the FDA roughly $400,000 each to process. (Congressional Budget Office, 27 February 2006)
- Spending ($ millions)
- Year . . . H.R. 4167 . . Current Law . .Proposed Change
- 2006 . . . . . 1,460 . . . . . 1,460 . . . . . 0
- 2007 . . . . . 1,523 . . . . . 1,516 . . . . . 7
- 2008 . . . . . 1,589 . . . . . 1,568 . . . . . 21
- 2009 . . . . . 1,637 . . . . . 1,603 . . . . . 34
- 2010 . . . . . 1,693 . . . . . 1,667 . . . . . 26
- 2011 . . . . . 1,737 . . . . . 1,725 . . . . . 12
- Total . . . . . 9,639 . . . . . 9,539 . . . . . 100
Although, it is interesting to understand what some of these numbers mean, clearly, the true cost of this legislation is public health.
