This is scarey….. and really stupid.

WASHINGTON, DC, February 15, 2007 (ENS) - Over congressional objections, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, FDA, is closing seven of its 13 laboratories across the country, according to documents released today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, PEER, a national association of employees in natural resources agencies.

The closures will be completed during the next few months, before the new Congress can act to block the shutdowns through the appropriations bill for the next fiscal year, PEER said.

According to briefings of agency staff, facilities in Denver, Detroit, Philadelphia, Kansas City, San Francisco, Winchester, Massachusetts; and San Juan, Puerto Rico will be closed.

These laboratories are often the first line of defense in detecting and combating potential bio-terrorist attacks on foods.

In addition, they trace tampering with food and medicines and respond to public health threats, such as E. coli and listeria outbreaks, and support agency compliance inspections and enforcement actions.

FDA specialists have argued that eliminating laboratories will slow agency response time to outbreaks or attacks, as samples may have to be transported long distances.

In addition, closing laboratories located near ports or large food distribution centers may reduce the agency’s ability to uncover contamination before the effects ripple through the country’s food chain.

Congressional committee chairs, such as Senator Ted Kennedy, a Massachusetts Democrat who chairs the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions; and Congressman John Dingell, a Michigan Democrat who chairs the House Energy and Commerce Committee have raised concerns about FDA lab closure plans, PEER said.

The FDA has informed agency staff that no money has been set aside for buy-outs of employees who lose their positions or relocation costs for specialists whose jobs have been moved to one of the six remaining labs.

“FDA has yet to explain why slashing its network of laboratories will make it more capable of protecting the American people,” said PEER Executive Director Jeff Ruch, noting that a previous review by the Government Accountability Office failed to confirm any fiscal savings from a similar laboratory consolidation plan a decade ago.

Both President George W. Bush and Congress have proposed more funds to increase FDA laboratory capacity to respond to bio-terrorist attacks. But due to the collapse of the FY 07 budget process, none of those funds were actually delivered to the FDA.

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