HR 3553 · 112th Congress 2011–2013, ended

Genetically Engineered Food Right to Know Act

Introduced Dec 2, 2011 Originated House Sponsor Dennis J. Kucinich D-OH

Fact sheet Spreadsheet

Latest action · Dec 9, 2011 Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.

Progress

Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.

  1. IntroducedDec 2, 2011
  2. Passed HouseNot reached
  3. Passed SenateNot reached
  4. To the PresidentNot reached
  5. Became lawNot reached

Summary

Genetically Engineered Food Right to Know Act - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), the Federal Meat Inspection Act, and the Poultry Products Inspection Act to deem a food misbranded if it contains or was produced with a genetically engineered material unless its labeling contains statements meeting specified requirements. Requires the periodic testing of such foods transferred along a chain of distribution to assure accuracy of labels, subject to specified exceptions. Excludes, in all three Acts, food: (1) served in restaurants; or (2) prepared primarily in a retail establishment, ready for human consumption, but not offered for sale for immediate consumption in the establishment.

Excludes, for purposes of the FFDCA, a medical food as defined in the Orphan Drug Act.

Subjects violators to civil monetary penalties, exempting recipients who accept a guarantee of the absence of genetically engineered material in good faith or producers whose food inadvertently becomes contaminated by genetically engineered material.

Authorizes citizen suits as specified.

Cosponsors 31

Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Dec 2, 2011 to Nov 16, 2012; 12 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.

SeatCosponsorSigned on
D-CABarbara LeeOriginalDec 2, 2011
D-MEChellie PingreeOriginalDec 2, 2011
R-AKDon YoungOriginalDec 2, 2011
D-CAFortney Pete StarkOriginalDec 2, 2011
D-CAJackie SpeierOriginalDec 2, 2011
D-VAJames P. MoranOriginalDec 2, 2011
D-COJared PolisOriginalDec 2, 2011
D-NYLouise McIntosh SlaughterOriginalDec 2, 2011
D-CALynn C. WoolseyOriginalDec 2, 2011
D-CAMaxine WatersOriginalDec 2, 2011
D-CAMike ThompsonOriginalDec 2, 2011
D-AZRaúl M. GrijalvaOriginalDec 2, 2011
D-CABob FilnerDec 16, 2011
D-TNSteve CohenDec 16, 2011
D-ORPeter A. DeFazioJan 18, 2012
D-NYCarolyn B. MaloneyFeb 3, 2012
D-RIDavid N. CicillineFeb 3, 2012
D-MIHansen ClarkeFeb 3, 2012
D-CAZoe LofgrenFeb 3, 2012
D-OREarl BlumenauerMar 6, 2012
D-CAHoward L. BermanMar 6, 2012
D-NYMaurice D. HincheyApr 18, 2012
D-NYCharles B. RangelApr 25, 2012
D-NYJerrold NadlerApr 25, 2012
D-CAMichael M. HondaApr 25, 2012
D-MAJames P. McGovernJul 12, 2012
D-NYYvette D. ClarkeJul 17, 2012
D-MDDonna F. EdwardsJul 23, 2012
D-VTPeter WelchJul 23, 2012
D-MAJohn F. TierneyAug 2, 2012
D-MEMichael H. MichaudNov 16, 2012

Committees 2

Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.

ChamberCommitteeWhat it did
HouseAgriculture Committee
Referred Dec 2, 2011
HouseEnergy and Commerce Committee
Referred Dec 2, 2011
Health Subcommittee
Referred Dec 9, 2011

Actions 3

Everything that happened, newest first.

  1. Dec 9, 2011Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
  2. Dec 2, 2011Introduced in House
  3. Dec 2, 2011Referred 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.

In the Congressional Record 1

Days the Record’s own index lists this bill, newest first, with the pages and the members it names. Pages starting H are the House, S the Senate, E Extensions of Remarks.

WhereIn the RecordMembersDate
HouseDebate and remarks H6073Dennis J. Kucinich D-OHSep 19, 2012

Research

What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.

Constitutional authority

Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant to the following: Article 1, Section 8, Clause III of the Constitution.

The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the page H8125.

CRS reports 2

Congressional Research Service work that CRS links to this bill or the law it became, newest first.

Cite it 2

Products on other subjects that cite it, usually among other measures.

ProductTitleKindPublished
R41486Genetically Engineered Fish and Seafood: Environmental Concerns ArchivedReportFeb 20, 2013
R41613Fishery, Aquaculture, and Marine Mammal Issues in the 112th Congress ArchivedReportJan 22, 2013

Titles 2

Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.

Official Title as Introduced
To amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, the Federal Meat Inspection Act, and the Poultry Products Inspection Act to require that food that contains a genetically engineered material, or that is produced with a genetically engineered material, be labeled accordingly.
Short Titles as Introduced
Genetically Engineered Food Right to Know Act

Subjects

Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Agriculture and Food.

Text 1

Each version as it was printed, newest first.

  1. Dec 2, 2011Introduced in House

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Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.