The AP reports, “The House defeated a far-reaching food safety bill Wednesday after farm-state lawmakers complained it would be too invasive and others said it was pushed to the floor too quickly.” The measure “was considered under a suspension of House rules and needed a two-thirds vote for passage. The 280-150 vote was just a few shy of that threshold.” Majority Democrats “quickly scheduled another vote on the bill — under normal House rules, in which only a simple majority is needed — for Thursday.”
The Wall Street Journal notes that “the legislation would allow the FDA to order recalls of tainted foods, set production standards to prevent contamination and tell companies how to keep records so outbreaks of food-borne illnesses can be traced more easily. The measure would also require many food companies to register with the FDA, pay an annual $500 fee, and give the FDA access to their records during routine inspections.” The Senate, meanwhile, “isn’t expected to act on a similar bill until the fall, after it finishes work on healthcare legislation.”
NYTimes endorses bill. In an editorial, the New York Times urges the House to approve the Food Safety Enhancement Act, even if “the bill does not solve all of the problems of food safety, of course. There will still be a patchwork of federal inspection programs done by a variety of different agencies. In the future, one food agency that works for consumers and food producers makes more sense. Right now, the FDA has the responsibility for 80 percent of the nation’s food supply, and this bill would give it a lot more of the muscle it needs to do that job.”
