Sanders Opposes Bill to Block GMO Labeling

[proverbialwisdom]

26. And on another related front...

http://www.statnews.com/2016/01/12/califf-senate-vote-fda/

Califf wins Senate panel vote, but faces trouble on food labeling
By SHEILA KAPLAN
JANUARY 12, 2016

WASHINGTON — Dr. Robert Califf won approval from a key Senate committee on Tuesday to become the next Food and Drug Administration commissioner, but one senator says she’ll block his path to a full Senate vote because of a dispute over genetically modified fish.

The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee approved Califf’s nomination by voice vote, with no senators voting against him. Normally, that would be a sign that the Duke University cardiologist can expect an easy confirmation by the full Senate.

But Senator Lisa Murkowski, a Republican from Alaska, said she will place a “hold” on his nomination to prevent a Senate vote, saying she’s angry about her treatment by Califf and the FDA when she raised concerns about the agency’s plans for the labeling of genetically modified fish.

Murkowski, who wants mandatory labeling, says she talked to Califf about the issue after the committee’s confirmation hearing in November, and that he promised to listen to her concerns. But shortly after the hearing, the FDA issued guidelines that called for voluntary labeling of genetically modified foods, not mandatory labeling.

Murkowski is convinced that voluntary labeling won’t work because not enough companies will comply — and she told reporters that Califf was “not straightforward” with her about what he knew about the FDA’s plans. She also said a Department of Health and Human Services official who was supposed to discuss the issue with her merely called her office after hours and left a message.

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