Last night, against all expectations, Senate Republicans cut a deal with Harry Reid to advance the so-called "Food Safety Bill," that everyone thought was dead. And those of us who have been following it were stunned… asking ourselves: “What Happened!?!”
While that bill had no forced-unionism implications, the way they snuck it through late on a Sunday night without even a roll-call vote tells us a lot about the kind of deal-making and arm-twisting that is going on right now.
Not a single Republican objected, even though dozens voted against the bill just a few weeks ago. Just one objection would have killed the bill for the year.
Clearly, a backroom deal was cut. But at what price??
With Big Labor still demanding the Police and Firefighter Monopoly Bargaining Bill (S. 3991), it's critical we keep up the pressure.
Please, contact Senator Barbara Boxer and Senator Dianne Feinstein or your Senators (Senators from your State.) right away and insist they oppose this union-boss power grab on all votes, including cloture, if Harry Reid pushes it to the Senate floor again.
After you've contacted your Senators, or if you have already called and know where they stand, please call Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell and Republican Senators Scott Brown, Susan Collins, and Olympia Snowe.
Insist they oppose any version of the Police and Firefighter Monopoly Bargaining Bill -- and any attempt by Harry Reid to use the bill as leverage in another deal.
Senate Minority Leader McConnell: (202) 224-2541
Senator Brown: (202) 224-4543
Senator Collins: (202) 224-2523
Senator Snowe: (202) 224-5344
Tell them that the time for deal-making is over.
Harry Reid's renegade "lame duck" Congress does not represent the will of the American people, who rejected Big Labor-backed incumbents on Election Day.
The union bosses are scrambling to ram through S. 3991 before newly elected pro-Right to Work Senators and Congressmen take office in just a couple of weeks.
With Senate Republicans no longer united to filibuster legislation before a continuing resolution to fund the government is passed, the union chiefs think they have the votes if Reid puts the Police and Firefighter Monopoly Bargaining Bill back on the Senate calendar.
Olympia Snowe, Susan Collins, and Scott Brown are among the handful of Republicans who have supported earlier versions of S. 3991, and Big Labor is banking on them to support this power grab now.
If you haven't already, please urge Senator Barbara Boxer and Senator Dianne Feinstein or your Senators (Senators from your State.) to oppose any renewed attempt to ram through the Police and Firefighter Monopoly Bargaining Bill (S. 3991).
And please, tell Senate Minority Leader McConnell and Republican Senators Scott Brown, Olympia Snowe, and Susan Collins that they should not cut any more deals with Harry Reid and let him abuse what little time remains in the "lame duck" session to pay back his union-boss benefactors.
Senate Minority Leader McConnell: (202) 224-2541
Senator Brown: (202) 224-4543
Senator Collins: (202) 224-2523
Senator Snowe: (202) 224-5344
Don't let the Senate make another deal behind closed doors to ram through controversial legislation. Please, act now.
Sincerely, 
Mark Mix
Originally Posted: Sunday 12.20.10
In Sunday-evening surprise, Senate unanimously passes food safety bill
What happened here???
By Alexander Bolton - 12/19/10 07:55 PM ET
The Senate unexpectedly approved food safety legislation by unanimous consent Sunday evening, rescuing a bill that floated in limbo for weeks because of a clerical error.
The Senate passed the Food Safety and Modernization Act on Nov. 30 by a vote of 73-25. But the bill was later invalidated by a technical objection because it was a revenue-raising measure that did not originate in the House — Senate staff had failed to substitute the food safety language into a House-originated bill.
A coalition of groups supporting the bill sent a letter Sunday to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) calling for action on food safety.
“Our organizations are writing to support attaching S. 510, the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, to the Senate's proposed short-term continuing resolution,” the groups wrote. “Strong food-safety legislation will reduce the risk of contamination and provide FDA with the resources and authorities the agency needs to help make prevention the focus of our food safety strategies.”
The American Public Health Association, the Center for Science in the Public Interest, Consumer Federation of America, Consumers Union and other groups signed the letter.
Democrats first attempted to attach the food safety bill to the two-and-a-half-month spending measure but Republicans balked because they wanted to keep that measure clean, according to Senate aides.
Republicans, however, later agreed to pass it by unanimous consent.
Reid announced he would send the legislation — this time properly attached to a House-originated measure — back to the lower chamber for final approval.
“Our food safety system has not been updated in almost a century. Families in Nevada and across America should never have to worry about whether the food they put on their table is safe," Reid said in a statement. "This is a common-sense issue with broad bipartisan support.
"Tonight we unanimously passed a measure to improve on our current food safety system by giving the FDA the resources it needs to keep up with advances in food production and marketing, without unduly burdening farmers and food producers,” he said.
The legislation is a high priority for Reid and Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chairman Tom Harkin (D-Iowa).
Reid’s staff earlier in the day had told a coalition of groups supporting the legislation that it had a chance of passing but the prospects appeared to dim as Sunday wore on. The swift approval by unanimous consent caught some aides and lobbyists working on it by surprise.
Sen. Tom Coburn, the outspoken conservative Republican from Oklahoma, had been blocking the legislation. He lifted his objection at the final moment.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2645072/posts#37 Excerpt:
Next year, Congress will face the question of appropriating money to implement the new laws and regulations. S510 authorizes, but does not appropriate, monies for the FDA-expanded regulation of domestic and imported conventional food producers, distributors, and retailers, and the hiring of more FDA bureaucrats. To carry out all of the new rules and FDA authorities, Congress will have to approve $1.4 billion of new spending or cut other programs accordingly, based on the CBO estimates. This gives us a chance to affect the level of funding and how the money can be spent.
FDA will start the rulemaking process. The agency will almost certainly try to marginalize the role of local foods producers and consumers in the process. We will have to take action to ensure that our concerns are on the record and that elected officials in Congress are also involved to try to rein in the agency from overstepping its bounds.
Fascist Control Over Our Food Supply? The S.510 Food Safety Scam
Would you vote for a Food Bill Monsanto Supports?
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