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A sweeping $1.1 trillion spending deal released late last night would repeal mandatory country-of-origin labeling in a bid to stave off hefty retaliatory tariffs from Canada and Mexico and also would try to limit the impact of the 2015 Dietary Guidelines. But the more than 2,000-page bill lacks many of the blockbuster policy riders that food and agriculture trade groups lobbied aggressively for, including the pre-emption of state GMO-labeling laws and a roll-back of the EPA’s Waters of the U.S. rule. . .
The spending package may not deal with mandatory GMO labeling broadly, but it does seek to block the sale of genetically engineered salmon until FDA publishes labeling guidelines. . .
On top of dabbling in policy, the bill allocates $21.75 billion in discretionary spending for agriculture programs. The bill would give the FDA a $104.5 million bump for food safety — more than double what House and Senate bills previously proposed — and $1 billion for the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service, which is $3.3 million above the president’s request. The bill also boosts funding for citrus greening and avian influenza research, among other things.
Congress is now looking to pass a short term continuing resolution to keep the government funded through Dec. 22 to allow for more time to pass the omnibus. The full text of the bill is here: http://1.usa.gov/1OvD8yt. The full bill summary is here: http://1.usa.gov/1QLFH46. The agriculture summary is here: http://1.usa.gov/1T1cEbP.
Read full, original post: Omnibus would repeal COOL
