[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 3]
[Senate]
[Page 3175]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




    FILLING THE SUPREME COURT VACANCY AND GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOOD 
                             LABELING BILL

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, in the last national election, the 
American people elected a Republican Senate. Since then, we have 
accomplished a lot of important things for our country--landmark 
education reform, permanent tax relief for families and small 
businesses, significant action to repair America's roads and bridges--
and, just last week, decisive steps to address the prescription opioid 
and heroin epidemic. The Republican Senate has been able to lead on 
many important issues because we focused on areas where both sides can 
agree, rather than just fight about issues where we don't.
  Everyone knows one issue where we don't agree; that is, whether the 
American people deserve a voice in filling the current Supreme Court 
vacancy. Republicans think the people deserve a voice in this important 
vacancy. The President and Senate Democrats do not.
  Whoever is chosen to fill the Supreme Court vacancy could radically 
change the direction of the Court for a generation. The American people 
obviously deserve a voice in such an important conversation. They can 
continue making their voices heard, and we can continue doing our work 
in the Senate to move America forward on important issues.
  Americans elected this Republican Senate to serve as a check-and-
balance to the President. It is natural that both parties will disagree 
in some areas. It is natural we will find common ground in others. 
Let's keep focused on those areas of common ground.
  For instance, today I hope colleagues across the aisle will join us 
in working to protect middle-class families from unnecessary and unfair 
increases in their food and grocery bills. Vermont passed food-labeling 
legislation that will be implemented soon and could increase annual 
food costs across America by more than $1,000 per family. It is one 
State's decision, but it could negatively affect families--especially 
lower and middle-income families--in other States. Now we see other 
States following in Vermont's footsteps, which could lead to a 
patchwork of State laws. We should work to protect America's middle 
class from the unfair higher food prices that could result, and that is 
just what the Senate is working to do now.
  We know this may be the last chance to stop this economic blow to the 
middle class, but we can't act if colleagues block us from helping the 
middle class. As our Democratic colleagues know, we are eager to 
continue working toward a solution. I would encourage our colleagues 
across the aisle to work with the bill managers to offer the amendments 
or alternative proposals they may have.
  The commonsense, bipartisan legislation offered by Chairman Pat 
Roberts of the Agriculture Committee would set clear, science-based 
standards in order to prevent families from being unfairly hurt by a 
patchwork of conflicting State and local labeling laws passed in places 
where they don't even live. This bipartisan bill would help meet 
consumer interest for information about how food is made, while keeping 
costs from rising at every level of production. It has earned the 
support of more than 650 groups nationally, including farmers and small 
businesses. As Kentucky's agriculture commissioner put it, this 
bipartisan bill would ``allow for a more efficient flow of food to 
consumers everywhere and would cut down on production costs.''
  We know this is not a safety or health issue. It is a market issue. 
Officials at both USDA and the FDA--the two agencies charged with 
ensuring the safety and delivery of our Nation's food supply--have 
found there are no health, safety, or nutritional risks associated with 
bioengineered crops and products. At the same time, we recognize that 
many families have a desire to know what is in the food they are 
purchasing. That is why the legislation Chairman Roberts is working on 
would offer incentives for the marketplace to provide more information 
to consumers while also addressing many of the unintended consequences 
of a patchwork of State laws. I thank Senator Roberts for his continued 
work with colleagues from both sides of the aisle to move to a solution 
this week.
  The Agriculture Committee recently passed the chairman's mark by a 
bipartisan vote, and the House passed its own legislation last summer. 
Now it is time for the full Senate to act so we can protect the middle 
class from higher food costs, and with continued cooperation from 
across the aisle, that is just what we can do.

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