McCarthy
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield) says the U.S. House of Representatives will consider the Senate’s GMO labeling bill this week.
The House Rules Committee will meet to consider the GMO labeling bill Tuesday afternoon, before the measure will be considered by the full chamber, according to the Hagstrom Report. The bill is a bipartisan compromise written by Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts of Kansas and ranking Democrat Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, but the bill is technically an amendment to a House bill. House Agriculture Committee Chair Mike Conaway, a Texas Republican, said last week that he finds the legislation to be “problematic,” but offered his support to the amendment. Conaway said he “will never fully support federally mandating,” but added that it was his “intention to support the bill.”
The bill would preempt state laws requiring the labeling of GMO foods and establish a mandatory federal disclosure system. Agricultural groups largely praise the vote and called on Congress to continue advancing legislation. The Senate and House now have to work on dealing with differences in legislation from the Senate bill and a House bill passed last summer.
The House adjourns Friday until September.
Parts of this article are from the National Association of Farm Broadcasting news service.