Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) objected to the food safety legislation, but offered his own alternative according to The Hill's Healthcare Blog.
Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid (D-NV) asked for "unanimous consent on a bipartisan agreement worked out by the Senate HELP Committee, incorporating amendments exempting small farms and restrictions on the use of the Bisphenol-A chemical in food and beverage containers." Coburn objected and "said that he'd approve an alternative that appropriates rather than authorizes the money" and does not include the Bisphenol-A amendment.
The food safety legislation was worked out by the Senate HELP Committee with bipartisan support. "The legislation would give FDA the power th recall tainted food, quarantine geographical areas and access food producers' records. The House passed its version of food safety in July 2009."
According to Politico, the "Coburn offer would require the food safety package, which is an authorization bill that the Congressional Budget Office scores as not needing offsets, to be fully paid for." "As of Wednesday evening, Coburn also had not disclosed how he planned to offset the bill, leaving Democrats wary of signing off on something that they guessed could take funds from anywhere."
To read The Hill Blog's story, click here.
To read the Politico story, click here.
Posted: 09/23/2010
