[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 24 (Thursday, February 8, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Page S1790]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. KOHL (for himself and Mr. Leahy):
  S. 536. A bill to amend the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 to 
prohibit the labeling of cloned livestock and products derived from 
cloned livestock as organic; to the Committee on Agriculture, 
Nutrition, and Forestry.
  Mr. KOHL. Mr. President, I am introducing a bill to provide further 
clarity that cloned animals and the products of cloned animals may not 
be considered organic under the National Organic Program.
  A recent article in the Washington Post suggested that there has been 
some confusion over this point at USDA. I would hope that the 
Department's advisory board on these matters would utilize existing law 
to protect the integrity of organic standards without Congressional 
intervention. I believe they have more than adequate authority to do 
so. But if they fail to do so, Congress may be left with no option but 
to intervene.
  This bill has one purpose and one purpose only; to protect the 
integrity of organic standards. The conditions under which cloned 
animal products enter our general food systems will be much debated in 
the months and years to come. But I would hope that we can begin that 
discussion with general consensus that it is not acceptable for cloned 
food products to enter the marketplace under the organic label.
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