A number of bills have already been introduced in the new Congress to overhaul the food safety system in the United States. Driven by concerns that current laws are not providing adequate protection for consumers, House members and Senators have proposed the following measures: H.R. 185 – Introduced January 6, 2009, by Representative José Serrano (D-N.Y.), this bill would require that consumers be notified if food products are made with crops, livestock or poultry raised on land to which sewage sludge was applied. Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and the Committee on Agriculture. H.R. 759 – Introduced January 18, 2009, by Representative John Dingell (D-Mich.), this bill would require fees for facility registration, verification that food plants are operating under an HACCP plan, HHS guidance or regulations to establish science-based standards for conducting hazard analysis and implementing preventive controls, HHS biannual review of data to identify…
Category Archives Issue 291
President Barack Obama (D) has issued an executive order (E.O. 13497) revoking executive orders issued by his predecessor that, among other matters, gave the White House control over federal agency guidance documents and expanded the regulatory oversight authority of policy officers appointed by the president. Additional information about one of the revoked Bush-era executive orders appears in issues 199 and 213 of this Update. The agency watchdog group OMB Watch issued a statement applauding the president’s action, saying that his “decision to revoke E.O. 13422 so early in his administration sends a clear signal that he hopes to limit the role of politics in the regulatory process.” E.O. 13422 required agencies to identify the specific market failure that justified agency rulemaking action and gave regulatory policy officers the right to initiate or stop rulemakings at any time without public input. OMB Watch characterized the Bush-era order as an attempt “to paralyze…
12
