Latest Senate Food Safety Bill Very Similar to Earlier Manager's Version

(See ITT’s Online Archives or 11/19/10 news, 10111906, for BP summary of the Senate’s failure to vote on the Harkin amendment on Nov. 18 and the resulting agreement to the cloture vote on Nov 29.

Note that the House passed its version of the Food Safety Bill (H.R. 2749) in July 2009. The House version shares many commonalities with this Harkin amendment including a program for “safe” food importers; requiring certain food tracing; increased food-related inspections; food facility hazard analysis and preventive controls; new produce food standards; etc. However, the Harkin amendment differs from H.R. 2749 by not requiring food importers and customs brokers to register, by not increasing penalties, and by including a foreign supplier verification program requirement not found in H.R. 2749.³)

Virtually Identical to Aug Version Except for Small Entity & Budgetary Provisions

This Harkin amendment in the nature of a substitute is virtually identical to the August 2010 “Manager’s Amendment” for S. 510 posted by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee in August 2010⁴, with few exceptions, including:

Small entity provisions. There are numerous additions and modifications regarding small entities and small farms. For example, certain small, qualified facilities would be exempt from the hazard analysis and risk-based controls that food facilities would be required to establish; and certain farms with more revenue from direct sales to consumers would be exempt from the required standards for produce safety.

New section on budgetary effects. There is also a new section called Determination of Budgetary Effects which states that the budgetary effects of S. 510, for the purpose of complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go-Act of 2010, would be determined by reference to the latest statement titled, “Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation,” provided that such statement has been submitted prior to the vote on passage.

Earmark, Food Safety & IRS Amendments Expected to Precede Nov 29 Vote

According to Senate HELP committee sources, the November 29, 2010 cloture vote on Senator Harkin’s amendment is expected to be preceded by votes on a:

• Senator Coburn (R) amendment on earmarks;
• Senator Coburn (R) amendment on food safety; and
• Senator Johanns (R) and Baucus (D) amendments on the Internal Revenue Service 1099 Form.

Nov 29 Vote Not Expected to Include BPA or Importer Registration Amendments

The sources note that the November 29 vote is not expected to include any amendments on Bisphenol A (BPA), which committee sources had stated in August 2010 were holding up finalization of the bill, along with the provisions on small entities and farms (which seem to have been included in the bill).

In addition, the sources note that Senator Landrieu’s (D) amendment with numerous import-related provisions, including a requirement that food importers register with FDA; maintain good importer practices as a condition of maintaining registration; etc. is also not expected tobe included as part of the November 29 vote.

¹A cloture vote is a procedure by which the Senate can vote to place a time limit on consideration of a bill or other matter, and thereby overcome a filibuster. The Senate may limit consideration of a pending matter to 30 additional hours, but only by vote of three-fifths of the full Senate.

²An amendment in the nature of a substitute is an amendment that strikes out the entire text of a bill and inserts a different full text. An amendment in the nature of a substitute can be similar to the bill it replaces, or quite different.

³See ITT’s Online Archives or 09/01/09, 08/25/09, 08/12/09, 08/10/09 and 08/04/09 news, 09090120, 09082510, 09081205, 09081015 and 09080415, for BP summaries of House-passed H.R. 2749’s provisions on: ceramicware, Bisphenol A & infant formula; facilities and exporting; food tracing; broker registration and new reasons to detain food; and importer registration, certification for high-risk imports, and increased inspections.

⁴The August 2010 Manager’s Amendment would establish new importer requirements and fees, certification for high risk food imports, hazard prevention controls, a program for “safe” food importers, etc. (See ITT’s Online Archives or 09/07/10 news, 10090717, for comprehensive BP summary.)