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Thu Nov 18, 2010 at 14:39:56 PM PST
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| I've got two sets of news from DC. First, genetically engineered salmon. Alaska Senator Mark Begich (D) has introduced two bills, which have also been introduced in the House by Alaska Congressman Don Young (R). One simply stops the FDA from legalizing the GE salmon. The second says that if it's legalized, it must be labeled.
Second, food safety news. My inbox is FLOODED with news about this and it seems that Senator Tester has spoken on the floor of the Senate on behalf of small farmers. Here is what an email I received said about the state of the compromise taking place on the Tester Amendment.
Consumer groups and the bipartisan authors of S.510 have all agreed to compromise language for the Tester Amendment. That means the amendment will either be included in the manager's package (and would therefore become part of the overall bill), or it will be voted up or down as a stand-alone amendment.
The compromise differs in three respects from the most recent version of the amendment:
· Language has been added that gives FDA authority to withdraw an exemption from a farm or facility that has been associated with a foodborne illness outbreak.
· The distance from a facility or farm that is eligible to be a "qualified end-user" has been reduced from 400 miles to 275 miles.
· Language clarifying that farmers' market sales are "direct-to-consumer" for FDA's purposes has been revised to avoid creating unintended consequences (the effect is the same).
A summary of the revised amendment is online: http://tester.senate.gov/Legis...
Revised language is online: http://tester.senate.gov/Legis...
So, with all of that taken care of... will there be a vote? All eyes are now on Sen. Coburn. |
| Jill Richardson :: News from DC: Two Anti-GE Salmon Bills and the Food Safety Bill |
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