Pompeo trying to make law

In a Congress that launches many bills just for show, Rep. Mike Pompeo, R-Wichita, is actually trying to make law.

He and co-sponsor Rep. G.K. Butterfield, D-N.C., get credit for pushing past some fierce lobbying to usher their Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act to House passage last week on a bipartisan 275-150 vote.

The bill would bring order and certainty to the increasingly unworkable state-by-state regulation of food made with genetically modified organisms, by replacing state and local mandatory labeling laws with a voluntary GMO-free certification program overseen by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Farmers and agribusinesses in Kansas and nationwide would benefit. So would consumers, because disparate state labeling laws drive up costs.

Critics have dubbed the bill the “DARK Act” (“Deny Americans the Right to Know Act”). Some people understandably balk at seeing the federal government limit states’ regulatory authority, especially when it comes to what they see as issues affecting their health and safety.

But GMOs have been deemed safe to eat by the World Health Organization, the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Medical Association, and 90 percent of the corn, soybeans and cotton grown in America are genetically engineered.

It’s easy to stir worries with talk of “Franken-food” – but hard to find credible research demonstrating harm or even risk. Uniform GMO labeling nationwide makes sense, especially with bioscience and biotechnology sure to play a vital role in agriculture and food production from now on.

“These genetically engineered products are not only providing safe food for Kansans, but will feed the next billion people across the world,” Pompeo said in a statement after the House action.

The bill also would clarify and regulate the use of the word “natural” on food labels.

Whether Pompeo’s latest effort will go any further is unknown. The bill lacks a clear champion in the Senate, let alone the 60 votes needed to end debate and ensure passage. And then-candidate Barack Obama promised in 2007 to “let folks know whether their food has been genetically modified,” though Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has been supportive of GMO crops.

In any case, Pompeo’s willingness to take on an issue of such complexity and importance to Kansas farmers is impressive, and in keeping with the tireless, deliberative process he used to get the Small Airplane Revitalization Act passed into law in 2013.

Pompeo is making a name for himself in other, arguably partisan ways, too – including his seat on the Benghazi investigatory committee and his new revelation with Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., of the Iran treaty’s side deals. But especially given the dysfunctional context on Capitol Hill, his skill for building consensus stands out.

For the editorial board, Rhonda Holman

This story was originally published July 30, 2015 at 7:06 PM with the headline "Pompeo trying to make law."