H.R. 2749, the "Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009"

On June 17, 2009, the Energy and Commerce Committee approved H.R. 2749, the Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009, by a voice vote.  This legislation grants the Food and Drug Administration the authorities and resources it needs to better oversee the safety of the nation's food supply.  The legislation also increases industry's responsibility for overseeing the safety of their own products and provides FDA with new and enhanced tools to hold them accountable when they fail.  The House of Representatives passed H.R. 2749 by a vote of 283-142 on July 30, 2009.  No further action was taken on H.R. 2749 in the 111th Congress.

On December 19, 2010, H.R. 2751, an unrelated bill passed by the House and pending on the Senate Legislative Calendar, was laid before the Senate by unanimous consent.  A motion to strike all after the enacting clause of H.R. 2751 and take the text of S. 510, the Senate companion bill to H.R. 2749, was agreed to by unanimous consent.  Subsequently, the Senate agreed to H.R. 2751 as amended by unanimous consent.  The title of the bill was also amended to read as: "A bill to amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act with respect to the safety of the food supply."

On December 21, 2010, the House passed H.R. 2751, the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, by a vote of 215-144.  The President signed the bill into law on January 4, 2011, making it Public Law No. 111-353.