Continue To Oppose Food Safety Legislation

Continue to Oppose Food Safety Legislation

UPDATE: The Senate voted to approve a cloture motion today, November 17, with a 74-25 vote, well above the 60 votes required to limit debate on S. 510. This sets a dangerous precedent and is a momentum builder for passing even more controversial legislation as the lame duck session continues. Clearly, many Republicans crossed the aisle for this very unconstitutional bill. The Food Safety Act can now be brought to the floor any day now for a final vote by the Senate. Only a simple majority will be required for passage.

The Food Safety Modernization Act, S. 510

S. 510 calls for enhanced expansion of FDA authority over small farms, ranches, and other food producers, establishes burdensome administrative requirements for large and small operations, and an arbitrary legal authority to recall “unsafe medications,” the definition of which is not clearly established. Under S. 510 more power would be granted to an unaccountable agency, hyper-regulating small producers out of business, leaving the industrial food system that currently has the highest number of food safety problems, to commandeer the marketplace.

This massive expansion of government regulation of the food industry, completely unauthorized by the Constitution, would limit the right to produce, distribute, and consume the foods of one's labors and choice. The constant refrain of "safety" is no excuse for granting practically unlimited authority to an unaccountable bureaucracy.

For more details on the specifics of the bill see our legislative alert.

If you believe food safety is best achieved at the local level, contact your senators immediately to express your opposition to such plans. Have them do everything in their power to defeat S. 510.

Thanks,

Your friends at The John Birch Society