Senate OKs Food Safety Measure Again

The Senate on Sunday night cleared a food safety package, curbing earlier fears the popular bill would die by the end of this session as a result of a procedural error by upper chamber lawmakers.

Aides close to the bill expect it to return to the House this week and that the overhaul of a nearly-century-old regulatory system finally will find its way to the president's desk after a circuitous and frustrating go-around the Capitol.

The Senate first passed the food safety bill on an overwhelming bipartisan vote at the end of November, but the effort was voided after it was revealed the bill included several tax-related provisions that had to originate from the lower chamber. The House then included the language of the food safety legislation in its version of the continuing resolution to avoid government shutdown.

Fearful that top Senate negotiators would remove the food safety language from the overall spending bill to pass the budget measure before Christmas, supporters of the legislation found a shell bill that originated from the House to use as the vehicle for the food safety bill and return it to the lower chamber - therefore eliminating the original constitutional constraint.

"Tonight we unanimously passed a measure to improve on our current food safety system by giving the FDA the resources it needs to keep up with advances in food production and marketing, without unduly burdening farmers and food producers," Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said in a statement after the measure was approved by unanimous consent.

"Families in Nevada and across America should never have to worry about whether the food they put on their table is safe. This is a common-sense issue with broad bipartisan support."

With final passage of the bill this expected week, Democrats add another check on a wish list of items they sought to clear during a busy lame-duck session, including a high-profile compromise on taxes and a repeal of the military's "Don't ask, don't tell" policy.

The food safety bill boosts the power of the Food and Drug Administration, giving the agency the authority to issue its own recalls over contaminated products, as well as increased access to manufacturer records in the case of emergencies. The legislation also enables third-party testing to ensure that FDA-regulated products meet the standards set by the agency.

The Senate faced increased pressure to move the bill this summer in the wake of a massive recall of more than a half billion eggs that sickened thousands of Americans and Reid had made it a campaign issue in Nevada, where the legislation enjoyed significant support. The House had approved its version of the original bill in July 2009.

“It is a major step toward improving how the U.S. Food and Drug Administration protects people from preventable illnesses that sicken millions and kill thousands of Americans every year,” said Erik Olson, the Pew Health Group’s director of food and consumer product safety, when the legislation cleared the Senate last month. “It is our hope that this legislation is brought to the president’s desk as soon as possible.”



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