After more than a year of fighting the biotech rider, dubbed the "Monsanto Protection Act," Senator Mikulski (D-MD) announced she was striking it from both the short-term continuing resolution (CR) to fund the government for the next 3 months, and that it is not in either the House or Senate 2014 appropriations bills! This is a huge victory—and it's yours! Since learning of this rider just over a year ago, CFS members – YOU – sent hundreds of thousands of emails to Congress opposing this dangerous provision. Your voices made a real difference.
We also owe a big thanks to Senator Mikulski for her leadership on this issue. The American people asked Congress to stand up against corporate interests and Senator Mikulski along with Senate leadership answered the call. We applaud their resolve during this contentious time on Capitol Hill, putting good policy over backdoor politics. She promised us that she would not let the Monsanto Protection Act live past its September 30th expiration date, and she has delivered on her promise!
The 'Monsanto Protection Act' was bad policy and had no place in a short term spending bill. Removing it from the bill preserves the strength of our judicial review system and is a major win for the food movement. The House-passed bill would have extended the dangerous policy rider for another three months.
Senator Mikulski's office released the following statement on the "Monsanto protection act":
"My promises made are promises kept. I have never supported the Monsanto provision, and I continue to oppose it. When I became Appropriations Chairwoman and inherited this problem, I promised I would work to solve it. The Monsanto provision is not included in either of the Senate or House FY14 Agriculture Appropriations bills, and that is a good thing. There's no reason for it to be included in a short-term CR, either.
"I have long fought for strong food safety measures. I have supported a bill requiring labeling of genetically engineered fish, an amendment to the Farm Bill that allows states to require labeling of edible foods and beverages for sale that contain genetically engineered ingredients, and called for labeling of cloned animals or their progeny.
"I will continue to fight for food safety and consumer information to support the health and well-being of families across America."
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