[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 80 (Tuesday, June 3, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1114]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  THE GINSENG LABELING CORRECTION ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JOHN T. DOOLITTLE

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 3, 2003

  Mr. DOOLITTLE. Mr. Speaker, I rise to discuss legislation I 
introduced today called The Ginseng Labeling Correction Act. This 
legislation seeks to fix a technical problem with a provision that was 
included in the farm bill Congress passed last year.
  Section 10806(b) of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 
2002 amended the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act by placing 
limitations on the use of the term ``ginseng'' as the common or usual 
name for plants classified within the genus Panax. The purpose of this 
provision was to address confusion that had arisen from products 
derived from different plants being labeled as ``Siberian ginseng.''
  When labeling changes are enacted, the Food and Drug Administration 
recognizes that, in order to assure an orderly and economical industry 
adjustment to new labeling requirements, a sufficient lead time is 
necessary to permit planning for the use of existing label inventories 
and the development of new labeling materials.
  Unfortunately, the ginseng provision Congress included in the farm 
bill lacked a specific effective date that would have allowed FDA's 
typical transition period to occur. Therefore, on May 13, 2002, the day 
the farm bill was signed into law, companies that had products labeled 
``Siberian ginseng'' became criminally liable. This was clearly not the 
intent of Congress, and was simply an oversight on the part of the 
Senate and House in writing that portion of the farm bill. In fact, 
Senator Tom Harkin, the Ranking Member of the Senate Agriculture 
Committee, attempted to correct this omission in the FY 2003 Emergency 
Wartime Supplemental, PL-108-11. However, in the rush to complete work 
on the bill the provision was left out even though there were no 
objections to it.
  However, this omission needs to be corrected as soon as possible. 
Therefore, I have introduced The Ginseng Labeling Correction Act, which 
states that Section 10806(b) of the Farm Security and Rural Investment 
Act of 2002 will become effective thirty days after the legislation 
becomes law.
  It is my desire to have this bill move to the House floor as quickly 
as possible. I hope my colleagues will join me in supporting this 
minor, but critically important, correction to the farm bill.

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