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Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts’ bill to preempt state GMO labeling laws, or some version of it, could very well be up next, sources tell [Morning Agriculture].
The Senate is looking to finish its bill to fight opioid addiction this week, and Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has yet to say which bill could come up next. While his office told MA that scheduling announcements haven’t been made, sources say the word in the halls of the Capitol is that Roberts’ GMO labeling measure could be on deck. . . If nothing else, McConnell is interested in Roberts’ legislation, according to a source following the bill, who said that “a lot of folks have been getting called into his office” to talk about it.
In the meantime, Roberts (R-Kan.) is working with Michigan Sen. Debbie Stabenow, his panel’s top Democrat, to try to reach a compromise that would gain bipartisan support, according to an Agriculture Committee spokeswoman. The three Democrats who helped pass the bill in committee — Sens. Joe Donnelly (Ind.), Heidi Heitkamp (N.D.) and Amy Klobuchar (Minn.) — all said they had reservations about the measure. Other Democrats, led by Sens. Jeff Merkley (Ore.) and Barbara Boxer (Calif.), are backing bills that would require labeling. The House, which passed its own voluntary labeling bill in the summer, is unlikely to agree to anything with those requirements.
With so many competing views on what labeling should look like and the Roberts bill’s quick track from introduction last week to floor time potentially this week or next, expect a lot of amendments before a final vote.
Read full, original post: Is GMO labeling legislation headed to the Senate floor?
