[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2752 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2752

  To ensure the sale and consumption of raw oysters and to direct the 
Food and Drug Administration to conduct an education campaign regarding 
    the risks associated with consuming raw oysters, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            November 9, 2009

  Mr. Vitter (for himself, Mrs. Hutchison, Mr. Cornyn, Mr. Nelson of 
Florida, Mr. LeMieux, and Ms. Landrieu) introduced the following bill; 
     which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, 
                     Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To ensure the sale and consumption of raw oysters and to direct the 
Food and Drug Administration to conduct an education campaign regarding 
    the risks associated with consuming raw oysters, 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 ``Gulf Oyster Industry Jobs Protection 
Act''.

SEC. 2. LIMITATION ON USE OF FUNDS REGARDING POST-HARVEST OYSTER 
              PROCESSING AND TREATMENTS.

    Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no funds appropriated 
or otherwise made available to the Secretary of Health and Human 
Services (referred to in this Act as the ``Secretary'') may be used by 
the Secretary to require that oysters be treated with post-harvest 
processing or other treatment or cooking requirements that result in a 
prohibition on selling or consuming raw oysters.

SEC. 3. EDUCATION CAMPAIGN REGARDING RAW OYSTERS.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary, acting through the Commissioner of 
Food and Drugs, and in cooperation with the oyster industry, the 
Interstate Shellfish Sanitation Conference, and any other agency such 
Commissioner deems appropriate, shall conduct an education campaign to 
increase awareness of the risks associated with consuming raw oysters.
    (b) Content.--The education campaign conducted under subsection (a) 
shall include the following components:
            (1) A focus on educating the populations most at risk for 
        harm from eating raw oysters, especially those with liver 
        diseases or weakened immune systems.
            (2) Informing oyster harvesters, processors, and 
        distributors of all the requirements for oyster storage and 
        handling and best practices to keep oysters safe for human 
        consumption.
    (c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out this section.

SEC. 4. REQUIRED ANALYSES OF RULES RELATING TO DOMESTIC SEAFOOD.

    If the Secretary issues a proposed regulation or guidance that 
affects the harvesting, processing, or transportation of seafood 
harvested in the United States, then in no case may such regulation or 
guidance become final or take effect until the Secretary submits to the 
appropriate committees of Congress a report that contains--
            (1) a cost-benefit analysis and an economic impact study on 
        such proposed regulation or guidance;
            (2) a health impact analysis that describes any alleged 
        health risks that such proposed regulation or guidance seeks to 
        address and an explanation of how such regulation or guidance 
        would addresses those risks; and
            (3) an analysis that compares such proposed regulation or 
        guidance to any similar regulations or guidance with respect to 
        other regulated foods, including a comparison of risks the 
        Secretary may find associated with seafood and the instances of 
        those risks in such other regulated foods.
                                 <all>