House Votes to Give FDA Greater Powers
Yet another bill that would give the Food and Drug Administration new powers over our food supply has been introduced and passed in the House of Representatives. This new bill, known as the Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009 (H.R. 2749), was passed on July 30 by a vote of 283-142.
H.R. 2749 is just one of several bills in Congress that would expand the powers of the FDA. What are the differences between one bill and another? Anyone’s guess is as good as another! This bill, like many others, was literally rushed through the voting process leaving House members little-to-no time to read, debate, or offer any significant amendments on the legislation.
A recent blog post on JBS.org stated, “One version [of H.R. 2749] was introduced at 12:15 a.m., one at 9:36 a.m., and 10:50 a.m. on Wednesday morning. By Thursday the bill was again on the table, this time with the option that representatives could offer amendments. One was offered. No action was taken on it, which leaves the question, again, how many representatives voting on this stealth bill actually read it.”
Much like the previously reported H.R. 875, or other legislation that would further federalize our food supply, H.R. 2749 would threaten the livelihood of small farms and other food producers by placing costly and burdensome restrictions on the companies and potentially forcing them out of business.
Opponents of the bill argue that small farmers and local vendors would be held to the same standards of multinational companies. This would place heavy restrictions on anyone hoping to sell their products to consumers who frequent farmer’s markets, fruit stands or other venues of that nature.
Use The John Birch Society’s legislation alert system to write your Senators and urge them to oppose H.R. 2749 and any other legislation that would centralize our food system.
Thank you,
Your friends at The John Birch Society