Philip Brasher of the Des Moines Register reports that the food-safety bill is in jeopardy. The bill passed first in the Senate and then the House, but because of a procedural kink, the Senate has to vote on it again. Brasher reports that its most likely chance at survival is being attached to a bill that is sure to pass, but that could draw objections from any senator.
“At this point, a really strong, bipartisan bill that passed both the House and the Senate by wide margins -- about 2 to 1 and 3 to 1, respectively -- is now in jeopardy due to partisan bickering over a technical error,” according to a statement today from a coalition of consumer advocacy groups called Make Our Food Safe.
That statement could apply to any number of failed efforts of the past two years. What's been so frustrating about this Congress is how many times -- like the vote on the Paycheck Fairness Act and previous votes on the Dream Act -- that bills with support from majorities fail because of Senate procedure. These aren't efforts with marginal support, like the 2003 Bush tax-cut vote, which passed only with a tie-breaking vote from Vice President Dick Cheney. These bills have as many as 58 senators voting for them.
-- Monica Potts
