I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 5973 

To amend the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 to provide for 

continuous improvement of organic standards, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 17, 2023 

Mr. NEWHOUSE (for himself, Mr. CARBAJAL, Mr. PANETTA, Ms. PINGREE, 

and Mr. VALADAO) introduced the following bill 

OCTOBER 25, 2023 

Referred to the Committee on Agriculture 

A BILL 

To amend the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 to 

provide for continuous improvement of organic standards, 

and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Continuous Improve5 ment and Accountability in Organic Standards Act’’ or the 

6 ‘‘CIAO Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. ADDITIONAL GUIDELINES. 

2 Section 2122(a) of the Organic Foods Production Act 

3 of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 6521(a)) is amended to read as follows: 

4 ‘‘(a) CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT OF ORGANIC

5 STANDARDS.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

7 after the date of enactment of the Continuous Im8 provement and Accountability in Organic Standards 

9 Act, and not less frequently than once every 5 years 

10 thereafter, the Secretary shall publish in the Federal 

11 Register a request for information soliciting the 

12 public’s input with respect to which regulations im13 plementing this title should be prioritized for revi14 sion during the following five-year period. 

15 ‘‘(2) IMPLEMENTING RECOMMENDED

16 CHANGES.—Based upon the information received 

17 pursuant to the request for information under para18 graph (1), and in consultation with the National Or19 ganic Standards Board, the Secretary shall, not 

20 later than 5 years after the date on which a request 

21 for information is published under paragraph (1)— 

22 ‘‘(A) publish in the Federal Register a list 

23 of proposed changes to the regulations imple24 menting this title that will be prioritized for re25 vision; 


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1 ‘‘(B) obtain from the National Organic 

2 Standards Board recommendations for each of 

3 the proposed changes listed under subpara4 graph (A), except for any such changes for 

5 which the National Organic Standards Board 

6 has previously provided recommendations that 

7 are sufficient (as determined by the Secretary) 

8 for implementation; and 

9 ‘‘(C) after obtaining recommendations 

10 from the National Organic Standards Board, 

11 and after public notice and an opportunity for 

12 comment, revise such regulations accordingly. 

13 ‘‘(3) CONSIDERATIONS.—When implementing 

14 paragraph (2), the Secretary and the National Or15 ganic Standards Board shall each consider the best 

16 available information, including environmental and 

17 ecological data, consumer and market data, organic 

18 production and handling practices, organic research, 

19 and scientific data. 

20 ‘‘(4) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

21 this subsection shall be construed as— 

22 ‘‘(A) altering the Secretary’s obligation to 

23 consult with the National Organic Standards 

24 Board pursuant to section 2104(c); 

25 ‘‘(B) affecting section 2118; or 


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1 ‘‘(C) precluding from occurring on a more 

2 frequent or urgent timeline any revisions to reg3 ulations implementing this title.’’. 

Æ 


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