Source: US HOUSE AG COMMITTEE, 3/17/15

At a hearing this morning of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Under Secretary for Agriculture Kevin Concannon indicated that the Department would grant a short-term 30 day comment period extension for the report of the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee.

“The 571 page report of the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee not only went way out of scope in dealing with non-nutritional science issues, the advisory committee potentially excluded influential scientific studies when crafting their recommendations,” said Chairman Conaway.  “Our constituents will use this additional time to ensure that all pertinent studies are submitted for review by the Secretaries.”

Chairman Conaway along with Subcommittee Chairs Walorski and Rouzer wrote to Secretaries Vilsack and Burwell on March 3, 2015 requesting that the comment period be extended and that the Secretaries commit to fully reviewing and considering the comments they receive.

“While I appreciate some recognition of the complexity of the issues presented by extending the comment period,” said Chairman Conaway. “I must once again call on the Secretaries to commit to a process wherein those comments will be fully reviewed and considered.”