I

107TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 115

To provide for a program to educate the public regarding the use of biotechnology in producing food for human consumption, to support additional scientific research regarding the potential economic and environmental risks and benefits of using biotechnology to produce food, and

for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JANUARY 3, 2001

Mr. HOLT introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee

on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in

each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

A BILL

To provide for a program to educate the public regarding

the use of biotechnology in producing food for human

consumption, to support additional scientific research regarding the potential economic and environmental risks

and benefits of using biotechnology to produce food, 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,
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Food Biotechnology

3 Information Initiative Act’’.

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

5 Congress makes the following findings:

6 (1) Biotechnology has been used for many years

7 to develop new and useful products used in a variety

8 of industries.

9 (2) Biotechnology holds the potential for bene10 fits to mankind in a number of areas by allowing in11 dividual, well-characterized genes to be transferred

12 from one organism to another organism and thus in13 creasing the genetic diversity available to improve

14 commercial plant species.

15 (3) Plant varieties created with biotechnology

16 will offer foods with better taste, more nutrition, and

17 longer shelf life. Farmers will be able to grow these

18 varieties more efficiently, leading to lower costs for

19 consumers and greater environmental protection

20 through effective and targeted pesticide and herbi21 cide use and a reduction in soil erosion through an

22 increase in the use of no-till farming.

23 (4) On April 5, 2000, the National Research

24 Council released a report entitled ‘‘Genetically Modi25 fied Pest-Protected Plants: Science and Regulation’’.

26 The report emphasized that there is no evidence that
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1 foods produced though biotechnology are unsafe to

2 eat, but that, given the current level of public con3 cern over these foods, Federal agencies should con4 duct more research to reduce the concern about po5 tential harm to human health and the environment.

6 In addition, the report recommends that the quan7 tity, quality, and public accessibility of information

8 on the regulation of transgenic pest-protected plant

9 products should be expanded.

10 (5) The Food and Drug Administration, the

11 Department of Agriculture, and the Environmental

12 Protection Agency are all involved in the regulatory

13 process for the use of biotechnology in foods.

14 (6) United States consumers are increasingly

15 concerned that food safety issues regarding the use

16 of biotechnology in foods are not being adequately

17 addressed.

18 (7) All foods, including those based on bio19 technology, should continue to be subject to a rig20 orous Government regulatory process that evaluates

21 the safety of the products to the consumer and the

22 environment. This process should continue to be

23 based on scientific methods that meet state-of-the24 art scientific standards.
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1 (8) Ensuring that the underlying scientific in2 formation and the regulatory framework for man3 aging biotechnology is shared with consumers is im4 perative and should be an integral part of United

5 States food and agriculture programs.

6 SEC. 3. PROGRAM OF PUBLIC EDUCATION REGARDING USE

7 OF BIOTECHNOLOGY IN PRODUCING FOOD

8 FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION.

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year after the

10 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agri11 culture, in collaboration with the Secretary of Health and

12 Human Services (acting through the Commissioner of

13 Food and Drugs and in consultation with the Adminis14 trator of the Environmental Protection Agency), shall de15 velop and implement a program to communicate with the

16 public regarding the use of biotechnology in producing

17 food for human consumption. The information provided

18 under the program shall include the following:

19 (1) Science-based evidence on the safety of

20 foods produced with biotechnology.

21 (2) Scientific data on the human outcomes of

22 the use of biotechnology to produce food for human

23 consumption.

24 (3) An analysis of the risks and benefits to the

25 environment of such use, conducted in accordance
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1 with established scientific principles, and including

2 information from the Administrator of the Environ3 mental Protection Agency.

4 (b) ADMINISTRATION AS COMPONENT OF PRESI5 DENT’S FOOD SAFETY INITIATIVE.—Subsection (a) shall

6 be carried out as a component of the Food Safety Initia7 tive announced by the President on January 25, 1997, and

8 carried out by the Secretary of Health and Human Serv9 ices, the Department of Agriculture, and the Environ10 mental Protection Agency. Of the funds available for such

11 Initiative for fiscal years 2001 and 2002, not more than

12 $10,000,000 may be expended each such year for carrying

13 out subsection (a).

14 SEC. 4. GRANTS FOR RESEARCH ON ECONOMIC AND ENVI15 RONMENTAL RISKS AND BENEFITS OF USING

16 BIOTECHNOLOGY IN FOOD PRODUCTION.

17 (a) EXPANSION OF CURRENT RESEARCH PRO18 GRAM.—Subsections (a) and (b) of section 1668 of the

19 Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990

20 (7 U.S.C. 5921) are amended to read as follows:

21 ‘‘(a) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this section to—

22 ‘‘(1) authorize and support research intended to

23 identify and analyze technological developments in

24 the area of biotechnology for the purpose of evalu25 ating the potential positive and adverse effects of
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1 such developments on the United States farm econ2 omy and the environment and addressing public con3 cerns about potential adverse environmental effects

4 of using biotechnology in food production; and

5 ‘‘(2) authorize research to help regulators de6 velop policies, as soon as practicable, concerning the

7 introduction and use of biotechnology.

8 ‘‘(b) GRANT PROGRAM.—The Secretary of Agri9 culture shall establish a competitive grant program to pro10 vide the necessary funding for research designed to further

11 the purposes specified in subsection (a). The grant pro12 gram shall be conducted through the Cooperative State

13 Research, Education, and Extension Service and the Agri14 cultural Research Service’’.

15 (b) TYPES OF RESEARCH.—Subsection (c) of such

16 section is amended—

17 (1) by redesignating paragraph (4) as para18 graph (5); and

19 (2) by inserting after paragraph (3) the fol20 lowing new paragraph:

21 ‘‘(4) Research designed to evaluate the poten22 tial effect of biotechnology developments on the

23 United States farm economy, the competitive status

24 of United States agricultural commodities and foods

25 in foreign markets, and consumer confidence in the
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1 healthfulness and safety of agricultural commodities

2 and foods.’’.

3 (c) PRIORITY.—Subsection (d)(1) of such section is

4 amended by inserting before the semicolon the following:

5 ‘‘, but giving priority to projects designed to develop im6 proved methods for identifying potential allergens in pest7 protected plants, with particular emphasis on the develop8 ment of tests with human immune-system endpoints and

9 of more reliable animal models’’.

10 (d) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—(1) Subsection

11 (g)(2) of such section is amended by striking ‘‘for research

12 on biotechnology risk assessment’’.

13 (2) The heading of such section is amended to read

14 as follows:

15 ‘‘SEC. 1668. GRANTS FOR RESEARCH ON ECONOMIC AND

16 ENVIRONMENTAL RISKS AND BENEFITS OF

17 USING BIOTECHNOLOGY IN FOOD PRODUC18 TION.’’.

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