For the past several months, members of Congress and agriculture associations have decried a supposedly imminent regulatory threat by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) – new standards for a type of air pollution referred to as "farm dust." Despite assurances from EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson that the agency will not issue new Clean Air Act regulations for coarse particulate matter (PM10), which would include farm dust, the mere notion of new air pollution standards has sent legislators and some agriculture groups into a frenzy to block future agency actions.

The multistate outbreak of listeriosis, linked to cantaloupes from Colorado-based Jensen Farms, is the deadliest foodborne disease outbreak in a decade. Infections caused by listeria have taken 23 lives, caused at least one miscarriage, and sickened over 100 people in 24 different states. The grim effects of recent foodborne illness outbreaks illustrate the need for continuous improvements to our food safety programs. Public health depends on agencies having the authority and resources to issue necessary safeguards, conduct adequate inspections, and enforce food safety rules.

The congressional Super Committee, tasked with forging a $1.2 trillion deficit reduction package by Thanksgiving, is currently deliberating on which revenues – if any – to raise and to include in its plan. With Wall Street at the center of the 2008 economic collapse, the committee should look to a pair of revenue options that would fulfill the dual roles of addressing risks to the economy posed by Wall Street and raising much needed revenue: a financial speculation tax and a financial crisis responsibility fee on large financial institutions.