Frank Pallone: “The amendment offered to H.R. 1599 by Congresswoman Pingree and Congressman DeFazio would replace the underlying bill…”

“The amendment offered to H.R. 1599 by Congresswoman Pingree and Congressman DeFazio would replace the underlying bill with a voluntary certification program for non- genetically engineered foods, enabling companies that elect to go through this process to certify that their food is non-GE and share this information with consumers through a seal established by the USDA, similar to the organic program. This amendment is a step forward in providing consumers with the information they want. While this amendment would preserve the ability of States and localities to act in regards to the labeling of non-GE and GE foods, it unfortunately does not address the problem many of us have heard about today, and that is a patchwork of food labeling requirements across the country. As I have said previously, I can't support preempting State labeling laws without establishing a national mandatory labeling standard in its place. Moving forward, I hope that we can work with the Senate to strike a balance that will address concerns we have heard on both sides of this issue.”