| Food Biotechnology Information
Initiative Act (Introduced in the House)
HR 115 IH
107th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 115
To provide for a
program to educate the public regarding the use of biotechnology in producing
food for human consumption, to support additional scientific research regarding
the potential economic and environmental risks and benefits of using biotechnology
to produce food, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 3, 2001
Mr. HOLT introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition
to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently
determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions
as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
A BILL
To provide for a
program to educate the public regarding the use of biotechnology in producing
food for human consumption, to support additional scientific research regarding
the potential economic and environmental risks and benefits of using biotechnology
to produce food, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the
Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in
Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as
the `Food Biotechnology Information Initiative Act'.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following
findings:
(1) Biotechnology has been
used for many years to develop new and useful products used in a variety
of industries.
(2) Biotechnology holds
the potential for benefits to mankind in a number of areas by allowing
individual, well-characterized genes to be transferred from one organism
to another organism and thus increasing the genetic diversity available
to improve commercial plant species.
(3) Plant varieties created
with biotechnology will offer foods with better taste, more nutrition,
and longer shelf life. Farmers will be able to grow these varieties more
efficiently, leading to lower costs for consumers and greater environmental
protection through effective and targeted pesticide and herbicide use and
a reduction in soil erosion through an increase in the use of no-till farming.
(4) On April 5, 2000, the
National Research Council released a report entitled `Genetically Modified
Pest-Protected Plants: Science and Regulation'. The report emphasized that
there is no evidence that foods produced though biotechnology are unsafe
to eat, but that, given the current level of public concern over these
foods, Federal agencies should conduct more research to reduce the concern
about potential harm to human health and the environment. In addition,
the report recommends that the quantity, quality, and public accessibility
of information on the regulation of transgenic pest-protected plant products
should be expanded.
(5) The Food and Drug Administration,
the Department of Agriculture, and the Environmental Protection Agency
are all involved in the regulatory process for the use of biotechnology
in foods.
(6) United States consumers
are increasingly concerned that food safety issues regarding the use of
biotechnology in foods are not being adequately addressed.
(7) All foods, including
those based on biotechnology, should continue to be subject to a rigorous
Government regulatory process that evaluates the safety of the products
to the consumer and the environment. This process should continue to be
based on scientific methods that meet state-of-the-art scientific standards.
(8) Ensuring that the underlying
scientific information and the regulatory framework for managing biotechnology
is shared with consumers is imperative and should be an integral part of
United States food and agriculture programs.
SEC. 3. PROGRAM OF PUBLIC EDUCATION
REGARDING USE OF BIOTECHNOLOGY IN PRODUCING FOOD FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION.
(a) IN GENERAL- Not later
than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary
of Agriculture, in collaboration with the Secretary of Health and Human
Services (acting through the Commissioner of Food and Drugs and in consultation
with the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency), shall develop
and implement a program to communicate with the public regarding the use
of biotechnology in producing food for human consumption. The information
provided under the program shall include the following:
(1) Science-based evidence
on the safety of foods produced with biotechnology.
(2) Scientific data on the
human outcomes of the use of biotechnology to produce food for human consumption.
(3) An analysis of the risks
and benefits to the environment of such use, conducted in accordance with
established scientific principles, and including information from the Administrator
of the Environmental Protection Agency.
(b) ADMINISTRATION AS COMPONENT
OF PRESIDENT'S FOOD SAFETY INITIATIVE- Subsection (a) shall be carried
out as a component of the Food Safety Initiative announced by the President
on January 25, 1997, and carried out by the Secretary of Health and Human
Services, the Department of Agriculture, and the Environmental Protection
Agency. Of the funds available for such Initiative for fiscal years 2001
and 2002, not more than $10,000,000 may be expended each such year for
carrying out subsection (a).
SEC. 4. GRANTS FOR RESEARCH
ON ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL RISKS AND BENEFITS OF USING BIOTECHNOLOGY
IN FOOD PRODUCTION.
(a) EXPANSION OF CURRENT
RESEARCH PROGRAM- Subsections (a) and (b) of section 1668 of the Food,
Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 5921) are amended
to read as follows:
`(a) PURPOSE- It is the
purpose of this section to--
`(1) authorize and support
research intended to identify and analyze technological developments in
the area of biotechnology for the purpose of evaluating the potential positive
and adverse effects of
such developments on the United
States farm economy and the environment and addressing public concerns
about potential adverse environmental effects of using biotechnology in
food production; and
`(2) authorize research
to help regulators develop policies, as soon as practicable, concerning
the introduction and use of biotechnology.
`(b) GRANT PROGRAM- The
Secretary of Agriculture shall establish a competitive grant program to
provide the necessary funding for research designed to further the purposes
specified in subsection (a). The grant program shall be conducted through
the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service and the
Agricultural Research Service'.
(b) TYPES OF RESEARCH- Subsection
(c) of such section is amended--
(1) by redesignating paragraph
(4) as paragraph (5); and
(2) by inserting after paragraph
(3) the following new paragraph:
`(4) Research designed to
evaluate the potential effect of biotechnology developments on the United
States farm economy, the competitive status of United States agricultural
commodities and foods in foreign markets, and consumer confidence in the
healthfulness and safety of agricultural commodities and foods.'.
(c) PRIORITY- Subsection
(d)(1) of such section is amended by inserting before the semicolon the
following: `, but giving priority to projects designed to develop improved
methods for identifying potential allergens in pest-protected plants, with
particular emphasis on the development of tests with human immune-system
endpoints and of more reliable animal models'.
(d) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS-
(1) Subsection (g)(2) of such section is amended by striking `for research
on biotechnology risk assessment'.
(2) The heading of such
section is amended to read as follows:
`SEC. 1668. GRANTS FOR RESEARCH
ON ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL RISKS AND BENEFITS OF USING BIOTECHNOLOGY
IN FOOD PRODUCTION.'. |