Personal Injury Law

I am not becoming a Republican - I hope

By Bill Marler, Esq.

Like many interested in food safety, I keep hoping to see S. 510 move to a vote on the Senate floor. Politico reports:

Senate Democrats say they are on the brink of passing a sweeping food safety overhaul the House approved more than a year ago — but Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) is blocking a final push from the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee to reach a consent agreement on the bill.

Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) told reporters Tuesday he believed the bipartisan legislation — which gained momentum over recess as thousands of Americans fell ill from more than half a billion contaminated eggs — could pass within the next 24 hours. But sources close to the situation say committee staffers are working to fashion an agreement acceptable to the Oklahoma Republican. …

The pending legislation would give much-needed updates to a food regulatory system that is nearly a century old, granting the Food and Drug Administration recall authority and also imposing stricter rules on mandatory inspections, trace-back protocol, access to company records and whistleblower protections — all of which are lacking in the current food safety law.

Here is Coburn's beef:

Despite Reid's optimistic 24-hour prediction, it's unclear how Democrats will be able to strike a deal on a bill that Congressional Budget Office estimates will cost $1.4 billion over five years. The bill is not fully offset.

"If this was a priority for the majority, they would have already paid for it," Coburn's spokesman said.

Coburn has a point. Passing legislation without having the means to pay for it makes no sense at all.

Full post as published by Marler Blog on September 14, 2010 (boomark / email).