Good afternoon Rebecca –

The DARK Act has stalled in the Senate! This morning, the Senate voted 49 ‘yes’ to 48 ‘no’ to invoke cloture on Senate Bill 764, the latest Senate version of the DARK Act. 60 ‘yes’ votes were needed to pass the cloture motion and move the bill forward, which would have allowed for full debate on the bill and a final vote. Some Senators broke party rank with three Democrats voting for cloture and six Republicans voting against. All four Senators from the Carolinas voted ‘yes’ to move the bill forward.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) voted against cloture, which allows him to bring up the legislation up again later if members draft a compromise that more Senators will support. Senators Jeff Merkeley (D-OR) and Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) stood firm in their opposition to the bill and spoke at length on the Senate floor about the high consumer demand for GMO labeling on products.

Senator McConnell’s vote against cloture wasn’t just wishful thinking; Senators could still reach a compromise that melds parts of this Republican-backed bill and another recent GMO labeling bill put forward by Senate Democrats, which seeks to make GMO labeling mandatory and offers food manufacturers several options for including GMO information on or near the ingredients list.

CFSA will continue to track this legislation and keep you informed if there is any movement towards new Senate legislation around GMO labeling.

Thanks to all of you that called and emailed your Senators!

Sincerely,
The CFSA Policy Team