Voss Wins Senate Panel Backing Despite Harsh Attack

Henry Voss, seeking confirmation as director of the Food and Agriculture Department, came under harsh attack Wednesday for state pesticide regulation and the aerial spraying of malathion but nevertheless won the crucial endorsement of the Senate Rules Committee.

At a stormy hearing that ended on a 3-2 vote in support of Voss, the director was assailed by Los Angeles residents who contended that the repeated spraying of malathion to eradicate the Mediterranean fruit fly is causing thousands of people to suffer vomiting, rashes and diarrhea.

And Voss was grilled by Democratic senators who argued that the Department of Food and Agriculture should have banned aldicarb, a pesticide found in ground water, and parathion, a pesticide that poses serious health hazards for farm workers.

“The department identifies itself not so much with the farmers but with the chemical companies,” said Sen. Nicholas C. Petris (D-Oakland), who voted against Voss’ confirmation. “There doesn’t seem to be a genuine concern for the worker and the public.”

Petris was joined in voting against confirmation by Senate President Pro Tem David A. Roberti of Los Angeles. Voting to recommend that the full Senate confirm the director were Sen. Henry J. Mello of Watsonville, the panel’s lone rural Democrat, and two Republicans--Sen. Robert G. Beverly of Manhattan Beach and William A. Craven of Oceanside.

A former president of the California Farm Bureau, Voss has served as director since he was appointed last April by Gov. George Deukmejian and has presided over the controversial malathion spraying for Medflies in Los Angeles, Orange and San Bernardino counties.

For more than two hours Wednesday, Voss listened quietly as critic after critic attacked his handling of pesticide issues. Most of the 20 witnesses who testified were residents from the spraying areas who had traveled by bus from Los Angeles in an attempt to scuttle his confirmation.

“As concerned mothers, we understand that the agriculture department has a job to eradicate the Medflies,” said Lyn Rappaport of Toluca Lake, trying to fight back tears. “But what we don’t understand is how they can jeopardize our health, and violate our constitutional rights, by spraying a pesticide over our homes. Any pesticide is a poison. Malathion is a poison.”

The testimony prompted Roberti, the chairman of the committee, to lash out at the Deukmejian Administration for treating residents of Los Angeles as “non-people.”

“It’s almost as if they treat the city of Los Angeles as a foreign territory,” said Roberti. “Anything goes in Los Angeles. . . . It’s as if the people of Los Angeles don’t amount to anything. . . . And I think that’s why the attitude is you can just spray all you want in Los Angeles.”

In his opening statement to the committee, Voss noted that his house is in his peach orchard, which is regularly sprayed from the air with pesticides.

But that prompted even more criticism from the witnesses. “That’s his choice,” said Susan Kacy of Sylmar. “We have no choice in the matter.”

Voss said after the hearing that he still believes that the malathion spraying is safe and is frustrated that he has not been able to persuade the public that their fears are unwarranted. “I can sympathize with people and their concerns,” he said. “My real concern is there is so much bad information out there and I haven’t been able to find a way to counter that.”

AERIAL SHOWDOWN--Pasadena moved to use police helicopters to shadow and cite state aircraft for spraying malathion over city limits. B1