What would it take to hire 1000s of new FDA employees?

[OwnedByFerrets]

"Meanwhile, the FDA is so understaffed, it’s only able to inspect roughly 1 percent of foods that are imported into the country. And the rate of inspections at U.S. plants isn’t much better. The FDA had not inspected Peanut Corporation of America’s Georgia plant since 2001. Investigators say PCA’s own internal tests repeatedly found salmonella traces, but it continued to sell peanut butter products."
"Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsak told NBC News in February that “we need to figure out how to coordinate what FDA does and USDA does and ultimately merge those entities into a single food agency that would be responsible for all food products so that there’s no possibility of something falling through the cracks.”

Don’t be surprised if a central theme in the president’s Food Safety Working Group includes merging the responsibilities of the USDA and FDA into a single agency.

However, experts also suggest food safety will not improve unless cities and states also improve their food safety procedures."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30388073/

Why not stimulate the economy and hire new employees with good paying jobs??? They are obviously needed.

[aquart]

1. Hiring sufficient inspectors in all areas, OSHA, too, for instance....

Would do much to alleviate unemployment AND SAVE AMERICAN LIVES. If that's of concern to anyone.

[babylonsister]

2. How long would it take to train them? And how long is the training? nt

[OwnedByFerrets]

3. I dont know, but I would rather be training FDA inspectors

than new killing machines in boot camp.

[babylonsister]

4. Please. What about the rest of our government? FDA isn't even a

fraction of what this government controls.

[OwnedByFerrets]

5. I am sorry I dont understand your post.

I understand that FDA is but a small fraction, but hiring inspectors would take people off the unemployment rolls AND put more money into public circulation....unlike what giving it to banks is doing. And, since we are inspecting but 1% of our food supply, it seems to be in our national interest to do so.
If we(the administration) were really interested in building the middle class, we would be hiring "corporate" inspectors for the purpose of prosecuting CEO's who are breaking immigration laws. It would be much more efficient than building more walls and putting more enforcement on the boarder. And again, it would put money into middle america.

[babylonsister]

6. Have you checked out the new stimulus package or anything related

to it? Or have you voiced your displeasure about what the FDA didn't get?

I haven't, and don't know. Do you? If so, please share. If it sucks too bad, maybe we can make this another issue this prez should address.