Schumer Pushes For More Funding To Fight Foodborne Bacteria
U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) yesterday announced he is pushing for an increase of at least $32 million in the 2020 federal budget now being negotiated in order to give the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) additional resources to prevent the spread of foodborne illness and beat back the uptick in pathogen spread.
Schumer’s announcement came Just days after the FDA unveiled a major study showing serious foodborne bacteria was found in ice cream production plants across 32 states, including New York.
The additional allocation to the FDA’s food safety program can help the agency better inspect, detect and do away with bad foods before they wind up on store shelves or kitchen tables. Additionally, Schumer is pushing a plan to better protect meats, vegetables, and even ice cream from nasty bacteria, germs and diseases like Salmonella, Listeria, E. Coli and other pathogens that can make us very sick—or worse.
“The nation’s food supply, continuously stretched and under heavy demand, continues to see foodborne bacteria and germ outbreaks that know no limits, not even when it comes to sacred foods like ice cream,” said Schumer. “That’s why the FDA both needs and requires new tools and robust support to better help inspect, detect and do away with contaminated foods at the source.”
Weprin Statement on the Shooting at the Chabad of Poway
Assemblyman David Weprin (D-Fresh Meadows, Richmond Hill) yesterday was both mournful and resolute in addressing hate crimes following the deadly shooting at the Chabad Synagogue in Poway, California, leaving one woman dead and three others injured.
Police say the suspect, 19-year-old John Earnest, opened fire on worshippers celebrating the last day of Passover. He was apprehended following a firefight with police.
“I was appalled to learn about the attack on worshipers at the Chabad of Poway during the last day of Passover and saddened by the continuing rise in hate-fueled violence. We must stand united as a country to condemn these disgusting acts of anti-Semitism and work to restrict access to automatic weapons which have been used in countless hate crimes. We must remember that an attack on one of us is an attack on all of us. My thoughts and prayers are with the victims, their loved ones, and the Poway community,” said Weprin.
Meeks Reintroduces Investor Choice Against Gun Proliferation Act
U.S. Rep. Gregory W. Meeks (D-Jamaica, Laurelton, Rosedale, Cambria Heights, Saint Albans, Springfield Gardens, The Rockaways, JFK Airport) last week reintroduced the Investor Choice Against Gun Proliferation Act, which would require public companies to disclose their financial relationships with manufacturers, dealers and other entities in the gun industry.
In recent years, mass shootings have prompted many companies to sever ties with the National Rifle Association (NRA). The bill would help to increase transparency and help investors make informed decisions.
“While common sense gun reform has languished in the partisan halls of Congress, American consumers and investors have taken action into their own hands by boycotting or divesting from companies tied to the gun industry. My Investor Choice Against Gun Proliferation Act would increase transparency in order to equip investors with information so they can create a portfolio that is consistent with their morals,” said Meeks.
“Tens of thousands of lives are lost every year to gun violence, and Americans have a right to know whether their financial investments are inadvertently having a negative human impact,” he added.
Van Bramer To Hold Hearing On Cultural After School Adventures Initiative
City Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer (D-Astoria, Long Island City, Sunnyside, and Woodside) today will chair a Committee on Cultural Affairs and Libraries hearing on the Cultural After School Adventures (CASA) initiative.
The CASA initiative connects arts and cultural institutions with over 700 New York City public schools to enrich students’ lives with world-class arts education. The hearing will feature special musical performances, videos, and testimony from young people who have benefited from CASA programming.
The hearing is slated for 10 a.m., today, April 29 at City Hall in Lower Manhattan.
