Technology Slice Blog

Senate Bill 510: Food Safety Bill - A pivotal vote tonight will be the clearest signal yet whether or not food safety reform legislation will pass the Senate this year. If the cloture vote is successful, Sen. Harry Reid said that a final vote on S. 510, the Food Safety Modernization Act, could come late this evening or on Nov. 30. Invoking cloture is the only procedure by which the Senate can vote to place a time limit on consideration of a bill and avoid a filibuster. Cloture requires 60 votes, or three-fifths of the Senate. The bill includes an amendment by Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., that exempts smaller operations from some requirements, drawing opposition from produce industry groups. Allowing exemptions for small food operations has created an element of uncertainty about the fate of the bill, said Kam Quarles, director of legislative affairs for the Washington, D.C.-based McDermott Will & Emery law firm. “It’s anybody’s guess, especially in this kind of strange poli...