Food safety bill "back from the dead"

by: desmoinesdem

Sun Dec 19, 2010 at 17:41:54 PM PST

Today Jamie Dupree reported that the Senate took the food safety language from the "continuing resolution" on spending that had already passed the House and added it to "a House-passed Cash for Clunkers" bill. The Senate then approved the new bill by unanimous consent. Amazingly, no Republican gummed up the works on that, not even the food safety bill's deadly enemy Tom Coburn. The bill now goes back to the House, where Dupree says approval is expected this week.

UPDATE: The Hill's Alexander Bolton and Matthew Jaffe of ABC News report on the Senate maneuvering.

I had almost given up on this bill passing. It's not perfect, but it's a good step forward.

Help the 9/11 First Responders and Heroes

by: Eddie C

Tue Nov 16, 2010 at 19:12:40 PM PST

It was looking grim for H.R. 847: James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010 that had already passed in the House. Now there is some hope for a bill named after James Zadroga, an NYPD detective who died at age 34, the first police officer to die of a respiratory disease attributed to participation in rescue and recovery operations at the World Trade Center.

The legislation that provides $3.2 billion for long-term health care for rescue and construction workers at Ground Zero, plus another $4.2 billion in compensation for others who were exposed to the toxic dust that resulted from the collapse of the World Trade Center towers in 2001 will probably have no chance in the new Congress.

So there is a big push with Ground Zero Workers lobbying in D.C. Sen, Harry Reid working to get the bill out of a committee and bring it directly to the floor. New York Senators are drumming up support. Mayor Bloomberg met with three Republican Senators today. Even Republican House members from the area are working to pass this bill.  

ACTION: Time to Get Behind the "Better Than Nothing" School Lunch Bill

by: Jill Richardson

Wed Nov 10, 2010 at 10:40:31 AM PST

Well. Get ready to get excited for one more fight for something that's not quite what you believe in but, well, it's better than nothing. The Senate version of the school lunch bill.

OK, so it ain't perfect. But it does 2 of the 3 major things it needs to do. First, it sets stronger nutrition standards for school lunch. Second, it makes sure more hungry kids will get fed. And, third, well... it doesn't really give as much money as the lunch program needs. But it does give a whopping $.06 per meal and a total of $4.5 billion in new money over 10 years. And THAT is a LOT MORE THAN YOU CAN EXPECT FROM THE REPUBLICANS.

At first we were asking Congress for the perfect bill. Then we were asking them to at least pass the House version instead of the Senate one. And now, with little time left in this Congress, we're down to just asking them to pass the Senate. For this, you need to focus your action on the House (bug the Senate about the DREAM Act and repealing Don't Ask Don't Tell).

Details here. Take action by writing, faxing, or calling your Representative.

Committee Turnover in Congress

by: Jill Richardson

Wed Nov 03, 2010 at 21:17:41 PM PDT

I've also gone through and made a list of which Blue Dogs stay and go. And many more are going than staying. This election - and the loss of so many Blue Dogs to Republicans - made the Democratic party better, but it made the Congress worse.

The biggest impact will be to the House Ag committee. Out of 27 Democrats that went into this election, 21 of whom were Blue Dogs, only 12 will be returning to Congress, 10 of whom are Blue Dogs.  

Committee Turnover in Congress

by: Jill Richardson

Tue Nov 02, 2010 at 18:59:23 PM PDT

The following is a list of members of Congress, by committee, who will not be back in January either because they lost, retired, or ran for a different office than the one they had before.

Senate

Agriculture:
Blanche Lincoln (Walmart-AR) - Lost to John Boozman (R)

Ag Appropriations:
Robert Bennett (R-UT) - Lost in primary
Kit Bond (R-MO) - Didn't run, replaced by Roy Blunt (R)
Byron Dorgan (D-ND) - Retiring
Arlen Specter (D-PA) - Lost in primary

House

Agriculture: (Farm bill, Food safety-USDA)
John Boccieri (D-OH) - Lost
Bright, Bobby (AL-02) - Blue Dog, lost
Travis Childers (D-MS) - Blue Dog, Lost
Kathy Dahlkemper (D-PA) - Blue Dog, Lost
Brad Ellsworth (D-IN) - Blue Dog, Ran for Senate, lost.
Debbie Halvorson (D-IL) - Lost
Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (D-SD) - Lost
Steve Kagen (D-WI) - Lost
Frank Kratovil (D-MD) - Blue Dog, Lost to Andrew P. Harris (R)
Betsy Markey (D-CO) - Blue Dog, Lost
Earl Pomeroy (D-ND) - Blue Dog, Lost
Zachary Space (D-OH) - Blue Dog, Lost

Ag Appropriations:
Sanford Bishop (D-GA) - Blue Dog, Lost
Allen Boyd (D-FL) - Blue Dog, Lost to Steve Southerland (R)
Lincoln Davis (D-TN) - Blue Dog, Lost to Scott DesJarlais (R)

Education & Labor: (School lunch)
Carol Shea-Porter (D-NH) - Lost to Frank Guinta (R)
Joe Sestak (D-PA) - Ran for Senate
Michael Castle (R-DE) - Ran for Senate, lost in Primary
Phil Hare (D-IL) - Lost. This one hurts.

Energy & Commerce: (Food Safety-FDA)
Roy Blunt (R-MO) - Won for the Senate
Steve Buyer (R-IN) - Retiring
Bart Gordon (D-TN) - Blue Dog, Retiring, seat won by Diane Black (R)
Baron P. Hill (D-IN) - Blue Dog, Lost to Todd Young (R)
Charlie Melancon (D-LA) - Blue Dog, Lost
George Radanovich (R-CA) - Retiring
John Shadegg (R-AZ) - Retiring
Zachary T. Space (D-OH) - Blue Dog, Lost
Bart Stupak (D-MI) - Retiring, seat won by Dan Benishek (R)

Hey Blanche, Na Na Na Na... Na Na Na Na... Hey Hey Hey...

by: Jill Richardson

Mon Mar 01, 2010 at 20:37:26 PM PST

This means a lot to progressive Democrats as a whole because Lincoln's often the would-be 59th or 60th vote to break a filibuster, making her one of the single biggest reasons why health care reform has not passed yet. In fact, the House has passed 290 bills that the Senate has not passed so far this session, and Lincoln is one of the single biggest reasons why nothing gets done in the Senate.

But this election means something significant for food and agriculture too. As the chair of the Senate Ag Committee, Lincoln will be in charge of the Child Nutrition Reauthorization (i.e. school lunch) this year. That's not great. But if she's re-elected, she'll get to write the 2012 Farm Bill. And that will be REALLY bad.

Lincoln's beholden to cotton, rice, factory farms (particularly poultry), and Wal-Mart. If she loses in 2010, she'd likely be succeeded by Debbie Stabenow of Michigan as the new chair of the Senate Ag Committee. We'll get a significantly better Farm Bill from Stabenow than we would from Lincoln.

Fortunately, Lincoln's chances of winning are slim:

Recent polls have shown Lincoln trailing a little-known Republican field led by Rep. John Boozman and her being potentially vulnerable to a challenge from within the Democratic Party.

So what can we do to help Halter?

1. Spread the word (especially to people in Arkansas)
2. Volunteer for his campaign (phonebanking or canvassing). If you don't live in Arkansas, you might be able to phonebank for him from home.
3. Donate to his campaign, even if it's only $5. The sooner you do this, the better. I've added Halter to our Act Blue page so you can give to him through there if you'd like.

Senate Agriculture Committee will get new leader next year

by: desmoinesdem

Tue Feb 02, 2010 at 11:44:32 AM PST

Assuming Lincoln loses, either to a Democratic primary challenger or to a Republican in November, the Senate Agriculture Committee will be needing a new chair in January 2011. Currently, Democrats are expected to retain a majority in the Senate, which would put Debbie Stabenow of Michigan in line to chair the Agriculture Committee. Republicans have a slim chance at winning enough seats to take over the Senate this November. Saxby Chambliss of Georgia would be the likely new chair, since is the ranking Republican on the committee now, but it's possible that the GOP caucus could shuffle things around.

Food safety bill may not clear Senate this year

by: desmoinesdem

Sat Oct 10, 2009 at 12:52:02 PM PDT

The Senate has been bogged down in the debate over health care reform, and Harkin said his staff is tied up working on other must-pass bills. He said he hoped to have the committee take up the bill in December, but he assured her the issue wouldn't die.

"We're going to get it done," he said.

Recent food scares linked to peanut butter and other products have spurred interest in Congress in increasing the FDA's authority. Michael Taylor, a senior adviser at the FDA, told the victims and their families that the agency was poised to tighten its regulation of foods if Congress would just pass the legislation. "The forces have come together," he said. "Society is finally ready to deal with this problem."

Speaking about food safety legislation last month,

Harkin said he expected the committee's bill to be a modified version of legislation introduced by Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill. Like the House bill, Durbin's legislation would give the Food and Drug Administration more authority over the 80 percent of the food supply - everything but meat and poultry - that the agency regulates. The administration would be required to inspect processors more often, and processors in turn would face new regulations for controlling against pathogens.

But the Durbin bill omits a key feature of the House-passed bill: a $500 fee on processors to offset the cost of increasing the administration's budget.

Scott Faber, a lobbyist for the Grocery Manufacturers Association, told Philip Brasher of the Des Moines Register that he thinks this bill has less than a 50/50 chance of getting through Congress. The Grocery Manufacturers Association supported the food safety bill the House approved in June, but Faber observed, "As we get closer and closer to the [2010] election it makes it harder to move legislation."

Lincoln looking vulnerable in 2010

by: desmoinesdem

Wed Sep 30, 2009 at 14:41:10 PM PDT

On the other hand, this poll was in the field before yesterday's Senate Finance Committee hearing on the health care bill, during which Lincoln was one of three Democrats who refused to back both public health insurance option amendments. That probably won't go over well in Arkansas, where a strong majority of voters support "creating a government-administered health insurance option that anyone can purchase to compete with private insurance plans."

Lincoln's re-election campaign will be generously financed by corporate interests; she has already pulled in a lot of money from healthcare industry. Big agribusiness will be there for her as well, and probably Wal-Mart and the Chamber of Commerce too, since Lincoln now opposes the Employee Free Choice Act (after voting for that pro-labor bill in 2007, when she knew President Bush would never sign it).

Corporate money could get Lincoln re-elected, but if the economy continues to be weak and the Democratic base is uninspired to lift a finger to help her, she could have a very tough road. MoveOn is already running ads against Lincoln.

I don't normally post here about campaigns and elections, but I thought the La Vida Locavore community would want to know that there's a very real chance the Senate Agriculture Committee will be choosing a new chair (Debbie Stabenow?) in early 2011.

Senate Prospects for 2010

by: Jill Richardson

Sun Sep 20, 2009 at 15:19:13 PM PDT

Senate Unanimously Cuts Funding for NAIS

by: Jill Richardson

Tue Aug 04, 2009 at 22:25:12 PM PDT

Call to Action: Cut NAIS funding

by: JudithM

Mon Aug 03, 2009 at 05:00:00 AM PDT

The costs of NAIS, in both time and money, will drive many sustainable livestock farmers out of business and place heavy burdens on people who are simply trying to raise food for themselves or their local communities.

Right now, we have an opportunity in the Senate to cut back on the funding for NAIS, an important step in stopping this program.  Please keep reading and take action!

The 60th Vote

by: Jill Richardson

Tue Jun 30, 2009 at 15:17:02 PM PDT

We had 59 "Democrats" if you count those with a D next to their name plus independents (to the left) Bernie Sanders and (to the right) Joe Lieberman. And that's also counting newly minted "Democrat" Arlen Specter, who switched parties recently but swore he would not shift any of his positions or votes as a result of that switch. And then there are "Democrats" like Ben Nelson, Mary Landrieu, and Blanche Lincoln who seem to forget that being a Democrat means supporting things like access to affordable health care for all Americans or a right for workers to organize.

When Al Franken takes his seat, we'll technically have 60 Senators in the Democratic Caucus, which means that we can override any Republican filibuster... but only if ALL of the Democrats actually vote like Democrats. This gives the DINOs (Democrats in Name Only) and moderate Republicans Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins far too much power, as they can make whatever demands they wish in exchange for their support in overriding filibusters.

Mr. rossl goes to Washington

by: rossl

Sat Mar 28, 2009 at 22:13:54 PM PDT

It was a great trip.  I feel like I actually do have a bit of power in this corrupt, mangled political system of ours, and I'd love to tell you why.

Feingold Makes a Statement on Dairy Bill

by: Jill Richardson

Wed Mar 25, 2009 at 22:47:26 PM PDT

A bill to allow modified bloc voting by cooperative associations of milk producers in connection with a referendum on Federal milk marketing order reform.

What I do know is that dairy is heavily influenced by a big, bad cooperative. It seems the Feingold bill S.665 allows individual members within cooperatives to vote on issues separately from the cooperative if they wish.

He also introduced S.666 to prohibit products with ultrafiltered milk, milk protein concentrate (MPC), or casein from being labeled as "domestic natural cheese" (great bill!) and S.667, which is about milk pricing.

Meanwhile, Tom Vilsack plans to make a "major dairy announcement" tomorrow (Thursday). While I've been generally happy with Vilsack, he's making the announcement before the IL Farm Bureau, and that worries me.