US Senate
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Will the Food Safety Modernization Act harm small farms or producers?
Voting on S. 510 could happen Wednesday. If this food-safety bill passes, it will greatly expand the FDA's authority and lessen food-borne illnesses. But in doing so, will it knee-cap America's nascent local-food system? Grist's panel of experts take their gloves off for an epic debate.
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Will the Food Safety Modernization Act better protect us from contaminated food?
Our invited panel of experts -- and two scrappy Grist readers -- debate whether the bill now before the Senate will decrease large-scale food-borne illness outbreaks of the type we've recently seen in eggs and peanut butter.
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The Food Safety Modernization Act
We've invited an array of food-policy experts along with a few Grist readers to debate whether there is indeed a food-safety crisis and if so, whether the current legislation before the Senate will protect eaters and punish the right producers.
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PBS on Senate dysfunction and filibuster abuse [VIDEO]
Over the weekend, the PBS show Need to Know ran a fantastic piece on Senate dysfunction, focused in particular on filibuster abuse. It features Sen. Tom Udall, a big supporter of Senate rules reform, and George Packer, who wrote a stellar piece on Senate dysfunction for The New Yorker earlier this year. It's a lot of good info packed in 15 minutes.
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What the midterms mean for federal ag-policy reform
That two-headed beast known as the Congressional Ag Committees got a major blood transfusion from voters Tuesday. Here's how it shook out -- and what to expect going forward.
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Election 2010: The Senate gets lots of new climate deniers
Republicans failed to take the Senate, but added lots of new climate deniers to its ranks. The Senate will now be even more hostile to climate action.
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Senate ag committee chair is opening up. Who's in line?
Blanche Lincoln, chair of the Senate agriculture committee, is headed for defeat. You won't catch me shedding tears over her exit, but who will replace her in this key role? A Big Ag politician, or one who might support Farm Bill reform?
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The Senate livability bill has no teeth. That’s okay
The administration wants to curb sprawl and promote walkable neighborhoods through incentives, not mandates. Relax, critics -- the market's going to help on this one.
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Colorado climate scientists tell Ken Buck: Global warming is not a 'hoax'
Colorado's climate scientists dismissed claims made by the state's Republican candidate for the US Senate, Ken Buck, that global warming is a hoax.