It prevents the FDA from restricting the sale of dietary supplements and allows manufacturers of vitamins, minerals, herbs, etc. to make health claims based on scientific evidence. The FDA vehemently opposes this legislation, but seems too busy salivating over cigarette regulation to put up much of a fight. Unfortunately, the Senate has been busy with important work, like ClintonCare and the Criminal, oops, I mean Crime bill. The Act has plenty of support. After a bill is referred out of committee, it must be scheduled for a vote.
Scheduling is just as political as any other step in a bill's precarious life.
In the Senate, a bill can be scheduled for a vote only with the consent of both parties. Since a Republican, Orrin Hatch, sponsored S 784, we can be pretty confident that Bob Dole, the minority leader in the Senate, will support the scheduling of a vote. In this case, the majority party is the key. The Democrats have an elaborate leadership structure that includes a leader, a whip, a chief deputy whip and dozens of deputy, at-large and assistant whips. These are the people we need to convince.