HR.1599 passed the House decisively in July, 2015. A very different draft (S.2609) surfaced in the Senate in March, 2016, and then suddenly a triple subterfuge was carried out:

1. A new bill -- much more complex than S.2609 -- was proposed two days before the scheduled vote on S.2609.
2. This bill was an "amendment" (SA.3450) to S.764, The Defund Planned Parenthood Act of 2015, with which, of course, it had nothing to do.
3. Its statement of purpose in its introductory clause was "to reauthorize and amend the National Sea Grant College Program Act, and for other purposes" (!)

1. introduced it as SA.7435,
2. immediately amended it (SA.7436) to say it would take effect 1 day after passage, then
3. introduced it again as SA.7436 with a 2-day effective date, and then
4. immediately amended it twice more (SA.7437-39) with 3- and 4-day effective dates.

1. Senate final assault -- Senate Amendment(s) SA.7435-7439 (June 20-29, 2016)
1. Skulduggery -- see note above
2. Main Provisions
1. Pre-empts existing or future state/local GMO labeling laws
2. Covers foods and seeds
3. Proposes "mandatory" labeling, but suppresses access to GMO content information by restricting labeling to:
1. Smartphone-scannable QR codes (but 1/3 of all Americans, 1/2 of rural Americans, and 3/4 of seniors don't have smartphones)
2. Toll-free numbers (useless if you don't have a phone and a usable signal in the store)
3. Website links (requires typing in the link for every product, even if you have a device and a signal)
4. Explicitly exempts GMO-fed meats
5. Exempts all GE technology except the obsolete recombinant-DNA
6. Doesn't provide a definition of what "contains GMO" means, and gives the conflict-of-interest-laden Ag Secretary a minimum of 2 years to provide one
7. Failure to make required disclosures is a "prohibited act," but no penalties are provided, and Federal-ordered recall of such foods is expressly prohibited.
3. Bill text sources
1. Government listing: SA.4935 and SA.4937 -- includes sponsors and all actions
2. June 20 draft
1. Senate format
2. Easier-to-read text -- reformatted by me
3. June 29 succession of amendments (Congressional Record)
4. Roll call of Senate vote to move forward with no debate: YES = pro-GMO (July 2)
5. My letter to the editor
6. My July 1 fax to Sens. King and Collins.
2. Senate Sneak Attack -- Amendment SA.3450 (March 14, 2016)
1. Skulduggery -- see note above
2. Main Provisions -- yeah, those other purposes
1. Pre-empts existing or future state/local GMO labeling laws
2. Covers foods and seeds
3. Exempts all GE technology except the obsolete recombinant-DNA
4. Excludes restaurants
5. Establishes a voluntary standard
6. Ag Secretary has a year to define "substantial participation" and a minimum of two years to determine if substandard participation warrants a mandatory standard
7. Any mandatory standard would permit GMO information either on the label or "means other than the label or labeling, including responses to consumer inquiries through call centers, the Internet, websites, social media, scannable images or codes or other similar technologies that would allow consumers to access the information."
8. Prohibits any implicit claim that a non-GMO food is safer than GMO
9. Doesn't provide a definition of what "contains GMO" means, and gives the conflict-of-interest-laden Ag Secretary a minimum of 2 years to provide one
10. Failure to make required disclosures is a "prohibited act," but no penalties are provided, and Federal-ordered recall of such foods is expressly prohibited.
3. Bill text sources
1. Government listing (no listing of actions)
2. Official text
3. Easier-to-read text -- reformatted by me
4. Role call of Senate cloture vote: YES = pro-GMO (March 16)
5. Center For Food Safety Legal Analysis
6. "The Great GMO Cover-Up" -- The Institute for Responsible Technology's full-page ads in The Hill (my transcripts)
1. March 15 (with references)
2. April 12 (with references)
7. My letter to the editor
8. My April 16 followup fax to Sens. King and Collins.
3. First Senate Bill -- S.2609 (March 1, 2016)
   Vote was scheduled for March 14, pre-empted by SA.3450 sneak attack)
1. Main Provisions
1. Pre-empts existing or future state/local GMO labeling laws
2. Establishes a voluntary standard within 2 years
3. Exempts all GE technology except the obsolete recombinant-DNA
4. Prohibits any implicit claim that a non-GMO food is safer than GMO
5. Propaganda! -- Government "shall provide science-based information, including any information on the environmental, nutritional, economic, and humanitarian benefits of agricultural biotechnology, through education, outreach, and promotion to address consumer acceptance of agricultural biotechnology."
2. Bill text sources
1. Government listing -- includes sponsors and all actions
2. Official text
3. Easier-to-read text -- reformatted by me
4. Original draft text (February 19, 2016)
       same, reformatted and annotated (by me, sent to Maine Senators' staff)
3. Center For Food Safety Legal Analysis (6-point summary)
4. Senate hearing, October 21, 2015
5. My letter to the editor
   (prior to Senate hearing, on exposure of Monsanto's hidden RoundUp records)
4. 2015 House Bill -- HR.1599
1. Main Provisions
1. Prohibits GMO labeling, pre-empting existing or future state laws
2. Limits "non-GMO" labeling to yet-to-be-established USDA regulation
3. Opens "natural" labeling to yet-to-be-established USDA regulation
4. Effectively prevents FDA from doing its own safety testing
2. Bill text sources
1. Government listing (includes sponsors and all actions)
2. Official text
3. Easier-to-read text -- reformatted by me
3. House Roll Call Vote 462
4. My letter to the editor