[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 115 Introduced in House (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.''.
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