S. 2609: An original bill to amend the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 to require the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a national voluntary labeling standard for bioengineered foods, and for other purposes.

Before you vote › Federal bills

S. 2609: An original bill to amend the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 to require the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a national voluntary labeling standard for bioengineered foods, and for other purposes.

114th Congress · introduced 2016-03-01 · Agriculture and Food · Latest: By Senator Roberts from Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry filed written report. Report No. 114-403. Additional views filed.

federal

Save to my notebook What does this mean? Print

Official title

An original bill to amend the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 to require the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a national voluntary labeling standard for bioengineered foods, and for other purposes.

Plain summary

(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary has been expanded because action occurred on the measure.) (Sec. 1) This bill amends the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 to require the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to establish a national voluntary bioengineered food labeling standard. The standard applies to food that either contains or was developed or produced using genetic material that: (1) has been modified through in vitro recombinant deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) techniques, and (2) could not otherwise be obtained through conventional breeding or found in nature. (Recombinant DNA is DNA that has been altered by joining genetic material from two or more different organisms.) USDA regulations implementing this bill must: prohibit claims regarding the safety or quality of food based on whether or not the food is bioengineered, determine the amounts of a bioengineered substance that may be present for a food to be labeled as bioengineered, and establish a process for requesting and granting determinations regarding other factors and conditions under which a food may be labeled as bioengineered. USDA must provide science-based information through education, outreach, and promotion to address consumer acceptance of agricultural biotechnology. USDA and the Department of Health and Human Services must report to Congress regarding the availability of information for determining whether food is bioengineered or bioengineering was used in the development or production process. The labeling standard established by this bill preempts state and local laws regarding the labeling of bioengineered or genetically engineered food or seeds.

Congressional Research Service summary (Reported to Senate without amendment), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

The strongest published arguments

Alternatives

Needs sources: no published alternatives yet (for example a different bill, a law instead of an amendment, or keeping current law). We only show items backed by a published source. Suggest one.

How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Sen. Roberts, Pat [R-KS] · 0 cosponsors

Cost estimate: CBO cost estimate: S. 2609, a bill to amend the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 to require the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a national voluntary labeling standard for bioengineered foods, and for other purposes (2016-03-18)

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Sources

• Congressional Research Service summary (Reported to Senate without amendment)
• Congress.gov
• Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-114s2609.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/114/s>

Record fed-us-cong114-s2609 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong114 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong114