GAO asked to probe livestock drug regulation

Des Moines Register | Philip Brasher | September 21, 2009

The New York congresswoman who has been working to restrict the use of antibiotics in livestock is asking congressional investigators to look into the way that federal officials are monitoring usage of the drugs.

In a letter to the Government Accountability Office, Rep. Louise Slaughter wants to know among other things whether the USDA is tracking antibiotic-resistant bacteria in meat and livestock. She also asked the GAO to find out how closely the Food and Drug Administration is regulating the use of the drugs.

Slaughter, a Democrat who chairs the House Rules Committee, held an unusual hearing on the issue this summer, unusual because her panel usually sticks to writing rules for what issues can be considered when bills reach the House floor. The livestock industry was stunned when the FDA used the hearing to call for ending the use of antibiotics for growth promotion in food animals and requiring veterinary approval for all other uses of the drugs.

The GAO report could help her build a case for her bill that stop the non-therapeutic use of antibiotics in livestock, H.R. 1549, the Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act.

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