美国参议员希望在休会前通过食品法案

    食品伙伴网导读：美国参议员多数党领袖哈里里德（民主党-内华达州）于周二表示他希望在8月休会前，能通过食品安全立法以及儿童营养重新授权法案这两项重要是食品法案。
  
    多数党督导参议员迪克杜宾（民主党-伊利诺伊州）作为FDA食品安全现代化法案的主要发起人，他与7月28日对政治脉冲（POLITICO's Pulse ）的记者说，现在与以前很长一段时间相比，他对该法案的前景感觉更好了。里德还表示，周二他想推动关于儿童营养的重新授权法案，该法案将提高学校午餐的偿还率补助，使垃圾食品和碳酸饮料远离自动贩卖机和快餐店，并推出农场到学校的直接联系以扩大学校早餐计划。

    据悉，现行的儿童营养法案被延长1年，将于9月30日到期。而参议院定于8月9日开始长达一个月的休会。

原文报道：
by Helena Bottemiller | Jul 29, 2010
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) said Tuesday he hopes to pass pending food safety legislation and the child nutrition reauthorization, two major food bills, before August recess.

Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), the primary sponsor of the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, which was unanimously voted out of committee in November, told POLITICO's Pulse yesterday he feels better about the bill's prospects "than I have in a long time."

The food safety bill has lost steam in the Senate, as Food Safety News recently reported, there are currently three challenges for the legislation: time, bisphenol-A (BPA) politics, and small farmer concerns.

Several media outlets recently reported that Sen. Dianne Feinstein's (D-CA) insistence on adding controversial language to ban the use of BPA in food and drink containers is the primary holdup for the legislation.

Durbin told POLITICO's Pulse yesterday, however, he doesn't think BPA will be a problem, adding that he believes the bill will have bipartisan support.

"We're ready," he said. "We're talking to her; we're talking about the amendment, and I hope we can work something out."

Feinstein's office says she's still working with Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Chairman Tom Harkin (D-IA) and ranking member Mike Enzi (R-WY) on a compromise.

Many insiders believe that if the bill were given a timeline for getting to floor, the final details would be ironed out and compromises would be reached.

Reid also said Tuesday he would like to move on the child nutrition reauthorization bill, which would raise the reimbursement rate for school lunch, make way for taking junk food and soda out of vending machines and snack bars, launch farm-to-school pilots, and expand school breakfast programs.

"It would be nice if we could do something with child nutrition--we're going to try to do that," Reid told reporters on Capitol Hill Tuesday. "I'm told that that could be bipartisan."

The one-year extension on the current child nutrition bill expires September 30. The Senate is scheduled to begin a month-long recess August 9.