00:00Now recognize the gentlelady from the Buckeye State, Ms. Brown, for five minutes.
00:04Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
00:06For generations, farmers have fed and fueled this country,
00:10all while navigating uncertainty from extreme weather and labor shortages to market volatility.
00:15It is our job here in Congress to ensure farmers have the full range of tools they need to meet these challenges head-on.
00:21One of the most important tools in their toolbox has been pest control products.
00:25When used safely, legally, and effectively, they protect our crops, preserve yields, and secure our nation's food security.
00:34And that is why we have a strong and science-driven regulatory system,
00:37a system built on rigorous standards, not rhetoric, a system founded in fact, not fear,
00:43and a system informed by stakeholder input, not political agendas.
00:48Unfortunately, that brings me to the Make America Healthy Again movement, the Maha Report,
00:53released earlier this year by the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human Services.
00:58By USDA's own admission, farmers and other key stakeholders did not have input when it came to this report.
01:04The report contains broken citations, misleading claims, and appears to cherry-pick data
01:10while ignoring the long-standing science-based framework that governs crop protection tools.
01:16Mr. Abbott, you noted in your testimony that the Maha Commission's report, and I quote,
01:21undermines trust in the regulatory process by citing unverifiable sources,
01:27omitting key stakeholder voices, including farmers, food producers, and scientists,
01:31and making sweeping claims not grounded in the science or structure of the current system.
01:37I agree.
01:39If we are going to trust the science, we need to know that we are operating from the same set of facts.
01:44Moving forward, what would you like to see from the Commission to restore credibility
01:49and demonstrate that it is engaging in an honest, scientific process?
01:56I'm assuming it's me you're talking to.
01:58Yes.
01:59Okay. I would like to see that, once again, we're founded in science-based.
02:04We all appear on this panel, and people we work for believe in the system, right, when it works.
02:10We want to make sure that we're adequately funding, and I keep hammering that because we're not adequately funding
02:16to get the science that we need and the products out the door for the tools for the farmers.
02:21So I really would say that we need to make sure that we're founded in science, and we continue to do that.
02:28And I agree wholeheartedly with you.
02:30We don't want to make this a political issue.
02:34The Maha report also calls for more research into health impacts of pesticides and other crop protection tools.
02:40But at the same time, the President has proposed a budget that poses significant cuts to agriculture
02:46and public health research programs that are essential to answering those very questions.
02:51How can we take the report's call for more science seriously if this administration seeks to defund
02:57the very institutions needed to produce it?
03:00So, Mr. Witherby, how important are federal research dollars to ensuring that our regulatory process
03:06remains grounded in sound, up-to-date science?
03:11Well, I think part of it, first of all, is just making sure that you have the best scientists
03:16that are part of that regulatory process reviewing these, that they're up-to-date on modern technologies,
03:21that they've had a look at this, and that they have the opportunity to quickly review
03:26and understand the, you know, safety and the environmental impacts to some of these new technologies.
03:34That alone, and then, you know, we have land-grant universities and folks that are there to test some of these new properties.
03:40Part of it is getting through the regulatory process in order to enable that testing to be done.
03:45That also requires dollars to do some of that testing at the universities.
03:50So, funding, part of that research is vital to building up our scientific knowledge and our understanding
03:57of some of these new technologies and how they're, you know, how quickly we can get them through
04:01some of those regulatory, you know, resourcing in order to have their appropriate people in place
04:07to allow these new technologies to get through in a timely manner is important.
04:12Thank you so much.
04:13Sound policy starts with sound science, and that means trusting the facts.
04:17Please know that I am committed to working with my colleagues to support the next generation
04:21of crop protection tools grounded in research and innovation so we can build a food supply
04:27that's not just safe, but more resilient and secure for the future.
04:31And with that, Mr. Chairman, I yield back.
04:33All right. Thank you, General Lee.
04:35Now, we'll be right back.
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