A bill to amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, the Federal Meat Inspection Act, and the Poultry Products Inspection Act to broaden the discretion of the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare and the Secretary of Agriculture regarding certain substances found to induce cancer in animals.
Latest action. Referred to House Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce.
Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, the Federal Meat Inspection Act and the Poultry Products Inspection Act to allow the use, in meat, poultry, or other food products, of a food additive for dietary management of health disorders or disease, even though such additive is found to induce cancer in animals, if the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare or, where appropriate, the Secretary of Agriculture determines the benefits to human health of such use outweigh the risks. Directs the Secretary to take into account in making such a determination: (1) all scientific data and information on the additive; (2) the scientific validity and analysis of the tests of such additive; and (3) current knowledge about the reliability of predicting cancer in humans from use of an additive found to induce cancer in animals.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on April 10, 1979. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on April 10, 1979: Referred to House Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 96th Congress (1979-80), 613 of the 12,581 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 4.9 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
ELWOOD HILLIS (R-IN) introduced it on April 10, 1979. No cosponsors are recorded.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on April 10, 1979, 17320 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 17320 days ago, on April 10, 1979.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 96th Congress has not finished by January 3, 1981 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers