Prayer, Food and Politics

By

Don Deichman

It's increasingly acceptable to talk about religion in a political context, so I'll share a story from last week's razor-close House vote (215 to 214) giving the president "trade promotion authority."  Just after the vote, my main ally in trying to defeat it, Bill Gill, head of Americans for Trade Defense, left me a phone message musing that he had prayed for it to be defeated, and "maybe no one listened" to his prayer.

While his comment was tongue-in-cheek, it caused me to recall this: in His wisdom, the Lord knows what's best for us when we don't.  While I, too, remembered making a quick prayer as I headed out on the day of the vote, I knew that "what's best for us" may be still more lessons of what "going global" means. Indeed, the vote result was good news for anyone running next year against incumbents who voted yes.

In the week before the vote, Gill struck on an argument against trade promotion authority  ("Fast Track") that is especially dramatic: Evidence that 4,000 Americans annually die of food poisonings caused by imported
food!

Gill got the figure from a House Energy & Commerce hearing where Congressman John Dingell (D-MI) grilled Health & Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson.  Dingell pointed to the fact that government inspections of imported food have failed to keep pace with surging food imports. (Now only one-half of one percent of imported food is inspected, while in 1992, eight percent was inspected.)

Thompson, who could have noted that most of that change came in the Clinton years, said the Food and Drug Administration has only 150 inspectors for 307 points of entry.  This prompted Dingell to ask if he had sought
authority over USDA food inspectors, and Thompson replied: "There are some big trade issues in that.  I've inquired... (and) all I can tell you is that the trade office (presumably office of U.S. Trade Representative) has indicated to me that there would be some trade implications, some trade problems with it..."

Before the House vote, Congressman Sherrod Brown (D-OH), joined by  fellow Democrats Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut and Gene Green of Texas, held a press conference to warn that Fast Track would further "weaken food safety standards."  They said: "Harmful substances, ranging from pathogens to  chemical contaminants, once confined to an isolated region of the world can now travel around the globe in just a matter of hours."

A few weeks ago, Gill said school prayer debate can include that children should pray that their lunch is safe to eat.  This column goes to papers in towns represented by Republicans Kenny Hulshof, Sam Graves, and (I think) Jo Ann Emerson, as well as Democrat Ike Skelton.  All four followed the Washington-based farm lobbies and voted for Fast Track. Maybe they'll pray that the Senate buries the issue rather than addressing it next year, an election year