- Wednesday, December 9th, 2020
PASSED: Scott’s Bipartisan Bill to Address Challenges Posed by Food Allergies
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WASHINGTON – Today, the United State Senate passed the Food Allergy Safety, Treatment, Education, and Research (FASTER) Act, a bill introduced by U.S. Senators Tim Scott (R-SC) and Chris Murphy (D-CT). This bill addresses the growing challenges posed by food allergies, which affect tens of millions of Americans. The bill modernizes our nation’s labeling laws by codifying sesame as a major food allergen and calls for a comprehensive report on food allergies in the United States that will assist future governmental and private-sector efforts to monitor, study, and combat these allergies. Approximately 1.5 million Americans are allergic to sesame. “With approximately 32 million Americans living with food allergies, it’s important for us to take targeted steps to address the growing challenges posed by food allergies and to protect those who are vulnerable,” said Senator Tim Scott. “Nationwide, caring for children with food allergies costs an average of $25 billion annually, and can pose extreme hardships on low – and middle –income families. I’m glad that this bipartisan legislation passed the Senate and hope that we can continue to make progress for Americans affected by this issue.” “For years, parents in Connecticut have told me about the challenges associated with sesame allergies—about how dangerous it is for them or their children to go to a grocery store or eat in the school cafeteria and not know if their food might hurt them. They helped me see it was inexcusable that federal law didn’t require sesame labeling on food products, like it does for other allergens. That is why I was proud to work across the aisle with Republican Senator Tim Scott to draft legislation to finally require sesame labeling, and I’m excited to have it pass the Senate today. I look forward to this legislation passing in the House and heading to the president’s desk,” said Murphy. The FASTER Act would:
The bill was cosponsored by Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME), Angus King (I-ME), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI). A one-pager on the legislation can be found HERE. The full version of the bill text can be accessed HERE.
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