Getting closer to a semblance of food safety but not quite there yet ...
The Senate passed its version of the food safety bill 73-25. The battle isn't quite over; the House and Senate versions have to be reconciled for a bill that President Barack Obama can sign. Do not be surprised if the House passes the Senate version as is; the House bill is stronger but there is literally a ticking clock on the bill.
Then, there was the news late last night that the House may "blue slip" the bill. The Senate bill contains fees — revenue raisers, which is the House's responsibility as defined in the Constitution. That verse was left out of the "I'm Just a Bill" song in Schoolhouse Rock.
In English, this means the bill is in deep trouble. The House isn't going to pass the Senate bill as is. And the Senate may not be able to pass a new or old House bill — Tom Coburn will see to that.
But if you were watching coverage of the Senate on CSPAN2, you could have wondered who was who in the debate on the Senate floor. And whether sausage making would have been better to watch.
Two of the major forces on the Senate floor in yesterday's testimony was a doctor and a former Secretary of Agriculture. You would think that you would want to be on the side of a doctor and an Agriculture Secretary.
But in this topsy-turvy Senate, two leading arguers against food safety reform were gynecologist Dr. Tom Coburn (R-OK) and Mike Johanns (R-NE).
As Ton Harkin (D-IA) noted on the Senate floor, improvements in food safety haven't come around in 70 years.
Sen. Johanns and Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) offered unrelated amendments designed to defeat the legislation. Johanns served as Ag Secretary from 2005 to 2007. Coburn has placed a hold in the past on the food safety legislation. The Johanns and Baucus amendments were defeated as was Coburn's alternate proposal. (And in an unusual twist only explained by U.S. politics, Johanns voted for the bill.)
So why would a doctor and a former Secretary of Agriculture be against a food safety reform bill?
Maybe they don't think the bill will be strong enough? Nope. They think the bill does too much.
They are opposed to government intervention against private companies, even if our food supply is at stake. Right now, the FDA has no power to do things people would think the FDA should do, such as insist on requiring companies to participate in a recall.
As Sen. Harkin noted on the Senate floor, this bill won't stop people from getting sick, but it will greatly help.
One of the 73 yes votes came from the newest senator, Mark Kirk (R-IL). Kirk has taken his seat replacing outgoing Sen. Roland Burris (D-IL). Since Burris was appointed to fill the rest of Barack Obama's Senate seat, Kirk takes over now instead of January.
Kirk is somewhat moderate by Republican standards. Burris was a reliable "yes" vote on both the food safety and school lunch bills.
Other Senate Republicans who voted for the bill are Lamar Alexander (TN), Scott Brown (MA), Richard Burr (NC), Susan Collins (ME), Mike Enzi (WY), Chuck Grassley (IA), Judd Gregg (NH), Mike Johanns (NE), George LeMieux (FL), Richard Lugar (IN), Lisa Murkowski (AK), Olympia Snowe (ME), David Vitter (LA), and George Voinovich (OH). Gregg, LeMieux, and Voinovich are now returning to the Senate in January.
No Democratic senators voted against the bill.
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