When the Lame Duck Senate returns to Capitol Hill after the November elections, members face mustering 60 votes to invoke cloture on a motion to proceed on a long-delayed food safety bill. The House passed its version of the legislation in July 2009. Senator Harry Reid, D-Nev., has blamed Tom Coburn, R-Okla., for single-handedly blocking action on the Senate bill. Coburn wants to offset $1.4 billion in new spending the bill would authorize.
The bill's supporters argued that offsets aren't needed for authorizations, because the funding is discretionary and would have to be appropriated. A bipartisan package of changes designed to get an agreement on the ground rules for floor debate is seen as a positive. The measure would overhaul food safety laws and strengthen Food and Drug Administration enforcement powers.
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