After months of alerts, the Senate is scheduled to vote on S.510, the Food safety Modernization Act, this evening (Monday, November 29). The first step will be a cloture vote to allow the “Managers Package” version of the bill to proceed, which will require 60 votes. Four amendments will then be debated, followed by a final vote on the bill.
As it currently stands, the Managers Package of the bill includes the Tester-Hagan amendment. For many months, we have been one of the leading organizations in a coalition effort fighting for this amendment to provide critical protections for small-scale, direct marketing producers.
The version of the Tester-Hagan amendment that is included in the bill exempts producers grossing under $500,000 (adjusted for inflation) and selling more than half of their products directly to “qualified end users” from the HACCP-type requirements and the produce safety standards. “Qualified end users” means individual consumers (with no geographic limitation), or restaurants and retail food establishments that are either located in the same state or within 275 miles of the producer. While complex, this amendment effectively carves out small-scale producers who are selling in-state or to local foodsheds from two of the most burdensome provisions of the bill.
The amendment does not solve all of the problems with S.510. Although most local producers will be covered by the amendment, some will still be subject to the new regulations. And the bill increases FDA’s power overall, which is a significant problem given the agency’s track record of abusing the powers it already has. But the amendment is a significant improvement.
Despite its flaws, the bill will most likely be approved by the Senate because of the pressure to pass a food safety bill. And Agribusiness still hopes to get the bill to pass without the Tester-Hagan amendment. Groups such as the Produce Marketing Association and the Western Growers Association are busy lobbying the Senate to have the amendment pulled back out.
It is critical to ensure that the protections of the Tester-Hagan amendment are not lost in last-minute backroom deals.
What's Next?
Whatever happens today, there is a lot more to come! If S510 passes the Senate, it then goes to the House of Representatives. Rather than try to reconcile the bill with the House version (HR 2749), the House leadership has agreed to vote on S510. If the House passes S510 without further amendments, the bill will go to the President.
Passing the law is only one step in this process. Next year, Congress will face the issue of how to pay for all of the new regulations and FDA bureaucrats. To actually implement the entire bill, Congress will have to approve $1.4 billion of new spending or cut other programs accordingly, based on the CBO estimates. This gives us a chance to impact the level of funding and how the money can be spent.
And, on the agency side, the FDA will have to go through the rulemaking process. We expect that the agency will focus on writing rules that benefit Agribusiness and disadvantage independent producers, as usual. We will have to take action to ensure that our concerns are on the record and to urge Congressional official to take steps to rein in the agency from overstepping its bounds.
Action to Take:
Call your Senators and ask to speak to the staffer who handles food safety issues. Urge them to stand firm on including the Tester-Hagan amendment in the bill. Explain to them that you're worried about what FDA will do with expanded powers, given its track record of helping Agribusiness at the expense of independent farmers and consumers. Let them know that, beyond the bill, you want them to take action to protect local food producers through the appropriations process and through oversight of the agency.
If you get their voice mail, leave a message: “My name is ____, and I am a constituent calling about S510, the food safety bill. I urge Senator _____ to stand firm against Agribusiness pressure and ensure that the Tester-Hagan amendment stays in the bill. I also urge my Senator to take steps next session to rein in the FDA’s abuses and pro-Agribusiness decisions. I would like to talk with you more about this, please call me back at ________.”
Contact Information
You can call the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 and ask to be connected to your Senators’ offices. You can also find your Senators’ contact information online at http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm If their phone line is busy, you can use their web form to contact them or fax a short note.
Other Amendments
During the last several months, we have also asked you to call on two other amendments to the bill: to support an amendment to ban BPA and to oppose an amendment to add criminal penalties. Senator Feinstein chose to withdraw her amendment to ban BPA in the face of industry opposition. Senator Leahy’s amendment to add criminal penalties appears to be dead, although we will continue to watch for it.
Read more about S.510 on our website