JUNE 10, 2009,
5:18 P.M. ET
Deal
Clears Way for Food-Safety Bill in House
Source
of Article: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124466603019903387.html
The House took the first step toward passing
legislation aimed at plugging holes in the nation's food-safety system,
after lawmakers reached a compromise over user fees and other requirements.
The legislation would boost the authority and funding
of the Food and Drug Administration. It would impose a $500 annual
registration fee on every food facility to increase funds for the FDA's
food-safety operations, and would require the food industry to make it
easier for the FDA to track tainted products.
The measure cleared the Energy and Commerce
Committee's health subcommittee Wednesday on a unanimous voice vote. Energy
and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D., Calif.) said the full
committee will likely vote on it next Wednesday.
To win support of Republicans and the food industry,
Democrats agreed to halve the registration fee to $500 and add a cap so no
single company would be charged more than $175,000. The industry, which has
argued that using the fees expressly to pay for inspections could create a
conflict of interest, will have a say—through public hearings—on how the
FDA should spend the money. And instead of imposing a sweeping
record-keeping requirement, Democrats agreed to ask the FDA to first study
how the industry should maintain records, and the costs and benefits
associated with it.
"Serious, substantive progress has been
made," said Rep. Joe Barton of Texas, the Energy and Commerce
Committee's ranking Republican. Still, he said, Republicans will work to
change some provisions of the legislation.
The bill doesn't address meat, poultry, dairy and
eggs, which are regulated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Food-safety legislation has also been introduced in
the Senate. It is unclear when senators might take up their bill, which has
bipartisan support.
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