BREAKING NEWS -- Senator McCain Backs Away From Proposed Bill

Where Does Dietary Supplement Bill S. 3002 Stand Today?
John Gay | Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer | Natural Products Association
March 8, 2010

Senator McCain intends to back away from enforcing S. 3002 bill as it was presented.

After a whirlwind of activity late last week, I wanted to give you an update on where things stand with S. 3002, the Dietary Supplement Safety Act proposed by Senators John McCain and Byron Dorgan.

Senator McCain has told our Congressional champion Sen. Orrin Hatch that he intends to back away from S. 3002, and work with Hatch on amendments to the Food Safety Bill (S. 510) and the DSHEA full implementation legislation. McCain will not push any of the provisions of S. 3002 that we objected to, but will support S. 510's language on recall and registration. He also will seek language pushing for new dietary ingredient (NDI) guidance from the Food and Drug Administration, and to encourage more cooperation between the FDA and the Drug Enforcement Administration. The NPA will need to keep an eye on these talks as they progress. Sen. Dorgan also is reportedly backing off S. 3002.

While McCain's shift is good news (and evidence of the effectiveness of grassroots), we should not let up our campaign, because the bill could easily be picked up by another member of Congress.

Keep in mind that things change. Thursday night we were told that McCain was soon introducing a reworked bill. By Friday morning, McCain had committed to working with Hatch. While this change is encouraging, the possibility remains that discussions could fail.

I want to thank you for your advocacy efforts so far, through your letters, e-mails and phone calls to your members of Congress, and through your efforts to keep your customers informed about this threat to our industry. Please continue to educate your legislators as well as your customers. I also wish to express our appreciation to all members of Congress who support our efforts, particularly Sens. Hatch, Tom Harkin, and Michael Enzi.

We will continue to provide you with updates about any changes to the bill's status.