Food Additive Safety Amendments of 1979
Latest action. Referred to House Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce.
Food Additive Safety Amendments of 1979 - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to deem any food additive safe if the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare: (1) makes a finding, based on recommendations of an advisory committee, that the public benefit from permitting the use of such additive would exceed the public risk which might result from such use; (2) gives notice in the Federal Register of such a finding and invites public comment thereon; and (3) issues a final order not earlier than 120 days after such publication in the Federal Register of such findings. Specifies factors the Secretary must take into consideration when evaluating a food additive or its proposed use. Authorize the Secretary to include in any food additive regulation a labelling requirement to identify the additive and its degree of risk. Prohibits the Secretary from denying a petition for a food additive regulation solely on the basis of evidence of tumors developed in test animals where the dosage levels used on such animals exceeds one hundred times the reasonably expected maximum human consumption of such additive. Amends the Saccharin Study and Labeling Act to extend from 18 to 36 months the period following enactment during which restrictions may not be imposed on the sale or distribution of saccharin, or any food, drug, or cosmetic containing it.
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 30, 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 30, 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?
JAMES MARTIN (R-NC) introduced it on April 30, 1979, and 1 member has since signed on as a cosponsor.
They are 1 Republican.
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 30, 1979, 17300 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 17300 days ago, on April 30, 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