The Senate Appropriations Committee advanced funding legislation that would stop proposed FDA labeling rules for restaurant menus, and would bar USDA from expanding the types of food retailers in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
The provisions are part of the Senate Appropriations Committee’s fiscal year 2017 funding bill for the Agriculture Department and the Food and Drug Administration. The Committee approved the bill on a voice vote on May 19. The bill would provide $21.25 billion in discretionary funds to USDA and FDA, a $250 million decline compared to the previous year.
The measure doesn’t have as many policy riders as its $21.3 billion House counterpart, which cleared its appropriations committee just last month, giving Congress the opportunity to work out the differences in a conference committee if both bills pass their full chambers. Leaders in both the House and Senate have not announced floor votes for either bill.
Like its House counterpart, the Senate funding bill would delay the FDA from implementing a rule requiring chain restaurants print nutritional information on their menus.
The Senate Appropriations Committee also approved an amendment from Chairman Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) that would bar USDA from finalizing a rule to expand the types of foods retailers participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program must offer.
Additionally, as approved by the committee, the bill includes full funding of $200 million for Market Access Program (MAP) and $34.5 million for Foreign Market Development (FMD), as authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill.
