Leahy-Snowe Bill To Repeal Anti-Organic Rider
Now Supported By A Majority Of The Senate

52 Cosponsorships In 3 Days A Sign Of Bill’s Broad Bipartisan Support
 

WASHINGTON (Fri., Feb. 28) – The Organic Restoration Act (S.457), introduced on Wednesday by Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), now has 52 Senate cosponsors – more than half of the Senate.  The bill would repeal a rider in the recently enacted Omnibus Appropriations Act which undermines the four-month-old national organic standards, overseen by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

“A strong bipartisan coalition is rapidly coming together to repeal the rider,” said Leahy.  “This kind of momentum will help us fix this problem sooner rather than later.  Sooner is better, in the interest of maintaining the credibility of the new organic standards and labeling program.” 

Late in the Appropriations process, after the House-Senate conference committee had met on the Omnibus Appropriations Bill, a rider was added to the bill allowing producers to label their meat and dairy products “organic” even though they do not meet the strict criteria set forth by USDA, including the requirement that the animals be fed organically grown feed.  This approach was considered and rejected by USDA last June.  The rider was included in the bill to benefit one Georgia producer, but it is written broadly enough that it essentially creates a loophole for any livestock producer in the country to get around the organic feed requirement.

In a statement released Wednesday, Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman repeated her support for the existing standards and for bipartisan efforts to restore them.  Leahy, who spoke twice this week with Veneman, said he welcomed and appreciated her statement.

The Leahy-Snowe bill would repeal the organic rider, restoring what USDA has called “the most comprehensive national organic standards in the world.”  Counterpart legislation to repeal the rider has been introduced in the House by Rep. Sam Farr (D-Calif.) and Rep. Ron Kind (D-Wisc.) and others.

# # # # #

Click here to view USDA June 2002 letter on organics