Safe Food Act 2007, Congressional Cosponsors

I was excited to see that Senator Hillary Clinton recently decided to cosponsor Senate bill S. 654: Safe Food Act 2007.¹ It makes me feel like all our writing is paying off.

A refresher:

The Safe Food Act 2007 would:

• Create one Food Safety Administration (FSA), consolidating the food safety functions of various agencies (FDA, USDA, FSIS, CFSAN, CVM, EPA, etc.).
  
• Increase inspections, both domestic and foreign.
  
• Implement a sampling program. (Boy, would I like to see some meaningful seafood sampling.)
  
• Increase enforcement powers. (The FDA currently has no mandatory recall authority. They can just ask nicely.) The new FSA could:
  • Detain, seize, or condemn food.
    
  • Order a recall.
    
  • Increase inspection frequency.
    
  • Withdraw the mark of inspection.

The above list is not inclusive. You can read the entire bill or a summary here.

Cosponsorship Slowly Growing

Along with the Senate sponsor of the bill, Senator Richard Durbin [IL], there are today 3 Senate cosponsors:

Senator [State] - Date of Cosponsorship
Sen Schumer, Charles E. [NY] - 2/15/2007
Sen Casey, Robert P., Jr. [PA] - 3/21/2007
Sen Clinton, Hillary Rodham [NY] - 5/8/2007

Along with the House sponsor of the bill, Representative Rosa DeLauro [CT-3], there are today 15 House cosponsors:

Representative [State - Congressional District] - Date of Cosponsorship
Rep Kaptur, Marcy [OH-9] - 2/16/2007
Rep McDermott, Jim [WA-7] - 2/16/2007
Rep Miller, George [CA-7] - 2/16/2007
Rep Matsui, Doris O. [CA-5] - 2/16/2007
Rep Berkley, Shelley [NV-1] - 2/16/2007
Rep Grijalva, Raul M. [AZ-7] - 2/16/2007
Rep Woolsey, Lynn C. [CA-6] - 2/16/2007
Rep McCollum, Betty [MN-4] - 2/16/2007
Rep Capuano, Michael E. [MA-8] - 3/7/2007
Rep McGovern, James P. [MA-3] - 3/19/2007
Rep Clay, Wm. Lacy [MO-1] - 3/19/2007
Rep Lofgren, Zoe [CA-16] - 4/20/2007
Rep Green, Gene [TX-29] - 4/23/2007
Rep Schakowsky, Janice D. [IL-9] - 4/25/2007
Rep Jackson, Jesse L., Jr. [IL-2] - 5/16/2007

If your Senators or Representatives are not listed, and you'd like to see some of the above actions implemented, drop them a line. The more cosponsors a bill has, the more likely it is to get out of the cobwebs of a Committee and on to the floor for a debate.

While you're at it, drop an email to President Bush too. After all, he's the one that will eventually sign it.
________¹ See the Library of Congress' thomas.loc.gov site for updates to this bill.