Senate Pushes Toward Food Safety Action after November Elections

According to a recent AP report, the U.S. Senate will consider a food safety bill after the November elections that would give the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) more power to prevent foodborne illness.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., laid the groundwork late Wednesday for a cloture vote on S. 510, the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act. Cloture, Senate Rule 22, is defined as the only formal procedure that Senate rules provide for breaking a filibuster and, if successful, ends debate to allow a vote on a bill.

The rule requires the votes of at least three-fifths of the Senate (normally 60 votes), and, if successful, this would end debate on the bill when Congress returns after the Nov. 2 elections. The procedural maneuver is a way to circumvent one senator's objections. Republican Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma has blocked the legislation, saying it adds to the deficit.

The bill would give the FDA more power to recall tainted products, increase inspections of food processors and require producers to follow stricter standards for keeping food safe.

The legislation passed the House last year.