OR-Sen: Jeff Merkley (D) Renews Fight Against The Monsanto Protection Act In New Spending Bill

DailyKos:

Looks like Senator Jeff Merkley (D. OR) is getting ready for another familiar fight: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...

House Republicans will include an extension of the so-called Monsanto Protection Act in the spending bill designed to avert a government shutdown, according to text of the legislation released Wednesday by House Appropriations Chairman Hal Rogers (R-Ky.). The Monsanto measure was originally enacted into law in March by being slipped into the previous spending resolution, which is now set to expire. Since its quiet passage, the Monsanto Protection Act has become a target of intense opposition. Monsanto is a global seed and herbicide company that specializes in genetically modified crops. The law effectively prevents judges from placing injunctions on genetically modified seeds even if they are deemed unsafe. Monsanto has argued that it is unfair to single out the company in the nickname for the law, which is officially known as the Farmer Assurance Provision, when other major agribusiness players also support it.

Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) has waged a campaign against the measure and told HuffPost he plans to fight its reenactment. "The proposed House continuing resolution includes an extension of the Monsanto Protection Act, a secret rider slipped into a must-pass spending bill earlier this year," Merkley said. "I will fight the House's efforts to extend this special interest loophole that nullifies court orders that are protecting farmers, the environment, and public health." Earlier this year, Merkley and Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) took to the Senate floor to publicly oppose including the provision in any subsequent legislation. "The Monsanto Protection Act refers to a policy rider the House slipped into the recently passed continuing resolution and sent over to the Senate. Because of the time-urgent consideration of this must-pass legislation -- necessary to avert a government shutdown -- this policy rider slipped through without examination or debate," Merkley noted on the floor in June. - Huffington Post, 9/11/13

It's not that surprising that the Monsanto Protection Act was brought back to life: http://www.politico.com/...

Big money is making a comeback in the GMO-labeling battle, but opponents argue that the food industry’s dollars might not carry as much weight this time around. The most prominent opponents of GMO labeling, Monsanto and DuPont Pioneer, wrote $4.5 million and $3.2 million checks, respectively, this week to fund the campaign against I-522, a labeling ballot initiative in Washington, the state’s campaign finance disclosures show. Monsanto and DuPont’s contributions give a clear indication that, like the GMO ballot initiative fight in California last year, corporations are not afraid to pour millions into the effort. It also signals the food industry is ready to kick its campaign — which so far has been backed by the Grocery Manufacturers Association, Monsanto, Bayer Cropscience, Dupont Pioneer and Dow Agrosciences — into high gear. When asked about the $4.5 million check during a wide-ranging interview held Tuesday in POLITICO’s offices, Robb Fraley, executive vice president and chief technology officer of Monsanto, said the biotech giant is ready to back a campaign against GMO labeling in Washington “for the same reasons we opposed the California initiative” “The reason people are funding campaigns for mandatory labeling is because they basically want to get rid of biotech, and they want biotech to suffer the same view as salt or sugar on the label, and the science doesn’t support it,” he said. - Politico, 9/11/13

And activists are ready to continue fighting with Merkley: http://www.salon.com/...

“It is extremely disappointing to see the damaging ‘Monsanto Protection Act’ policy rider extended in the House spending bill,” said Colin O’Neil, director of government affairs for Center for Food Safety. “Hundreds of thousands of Americans called their elected officials to voice their frustration and disappointment over the inclusion of ‘Monsanto Protection Act’ this past spring. Its inclusion is a slap in the face to the American public and our justice system.” Via a release from the food safety advocates: In addition to being completely unnecessary, the rider represents an unprecedented attack on U.S. judicial review, which is an essential element of U.S. law and provides a critical check on government decisions that may negatively impact human health, the environment or livelihoods. This also raises potential jurisdictional concerns with the Senate Agriculture and Judiciary Committees that merited hearings by the Committees before its consideration. Today over 100 of the nation’s top organizations and businesses will send a letter to Senate Majority Leader Reid and Senate Appropriations Chairwoman Mikulski calling on them to strip the rider from the bill. Senator leadership issued strong statements last spring opposing the rider and Center for Food Safety hopes they will stay true to their word. - Salon, 9/11/13

Farmer's are speaking out against Monsanto as well: http://www.businessweek.com/...

Washington State agriculture officials are examining a farmer’s claim that his alfalfa was rejected for export because it was contaminated with Monsanto Co.’s (MON:US) gene for herbicide tolerance. The state is analyzing the farmer’s alfalfa seeds at a laboratory in Yakima after being contacted by the grower, Mike Louisell, a spokesman with the Washington State Department of Agriculture, said by phone today. The farmer claims his crop was rejected because a test found the plants were genetically modified to tolerate Roundup herbicide, Louisell said. The trait was developed by St. Louis-based Monsanto and marketed as Roundup Ready. Louisell declined to identify the farmer or the location of his land. He couldn’t say who conducted the original test that led to the export rejection. - Bloomberg Businessweek, 9/11/13

Glad to see Merkley keep up this fight.  Please contact your Senator and Congressman and tell them you reject the Monsanto Protection Act: Senate: http://www.senate.gov/ House: http://house.gov/ And how about saying thank you to Senator Merkley by donating to his 2014 re-election campaign:

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