Good News—Food Safety Bill Suddenly on Life Support!

The Senate’s controversial FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (S. 510) now appears to be dead in the water.

As we reported to you yesterday, the Senate passed its version of the Food Safety bill by a margin of 73 to 25, and sent it on to the House of Representatives for approval. Congressman Henry Waxman (D-CA) had previously agreed to accept the Senate’s bill in place of the House’s version, already approved, so this approval was expected to be pro-forma.
But it turns out that Section 107 of the Senate bill contains a revenue-raising (i.e., taxing) provision. And such a provision is unconstitutional: “All bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives,” according to Article I, Section 7, of the Constitution. Because the Senate violated the funding origination clause, the House has implemented a procedure known as “blue slipping” to block the bill, keeping it out of consideration and sending it back to the Senate.
The only possible “quick fix” would be a unanimous consent agreement in the Senate to strike that revenue-raising provision from the bill—but Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) has already stated that he will oppose, so unanimity will be impossible. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is now faced with some tough choices: spend a huge amount of time all over again to deal with this (which is unlikely in a Lame Duck Congress, especially considering how controversial the bill is); or do nothing, and allow the bill to die at the end of this Congress. This will mean a new Food Safety Bill will be introduced next year—but next year’s Congress will be very different from the current one, so we expect that the bill will look very different, and could be much more favorable to the natural health community.
As always, we will keep you posted on any new developments.

8 comments

  1. Vow this is indeed providential.
    We are in great times when unforeseen hands take a decisive role and totally leave us agape.
    I might be told I am talking out of turn, but the tenor and the fine line which was very akin to a gut reaction on reading this write up , was that the bill is surely dead in the water. There is no way it will see the light of day before the next tabling, which gives ample room for many developments.
    From the kind of unravelling of wrong doings that have been mushrooming all over the world, I would not be surprised if this will be done, meriting justice the way it should, since there will be far greater irons in the fire, for this to take centre stage.
    We need to be with natural love within the confines of the home and unconditional love to all of the external with the bondages being made with a fine thread sourcing from an awareness of non physical reality. This alone will give us a broader and a sensory perspective which will truly enable us to draw and make correct inferences for the polity and their correct governance
    This is in total adherence to the Rights of the people together with a transparency and accountability worthy of a Nation of status , USA.
    Thank you.

  3. This is GREAT news! I am very pleasted with this new information. Where did you obtain it from?

  4. This is indeed good news! My question is do we kneed to do anything to make sure that the House “blue slips” this or has that already happened?
    Also here is another glaring reason not to give the FDA any more power:
    Micheal Taylor was Monsanto`s chief attorney and lobbyist. He knows his way around the FDA and USDA since he`s influenced both agencies. Now he is The FDA “senior advisor to the commissioner” also referred to as “food-czar”.
    http://www.grist.org/article/2009-07-08-monsanto-FDA-taylor/
    We should be investigating the FDA as to why they are not doing their job—is it any wonder with this obvious conflict of interest? Clearly the solution is not giving them more power with the passage of S.510. Can we really trust the FDA with our food safety or protecting family farms after they stated on public record that the American people have no “fundamental right to their own bodily and physical health” and “do not have a fundamental right to obtain any food they wish”, or trust Monsanto’s former attorney to exempt small family farms!? This is like putting the fox in charge of guarding the hen house!

  5. Great news, but why will Congress bring up another bill? There should be no discussion and no bill regarding our right to eat what food we want. It is not about safety, it’s about controlling the people.

  6. Let’s just pray that those people don’t find some sort of loophole to shove this evil obscenity through in spite of everything.

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