Common Sense Nutrition Disclosure Act of 2015
Floor Speech
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Mr. GUTHRIE. 2017, including an exchange of letters between the Committees on Energy and Commerce and the Judiciary.
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Mr. GUTHRIE. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Chairman, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 2017, the Common Sense Nutrition Disclosure Act, sponsored by Conference Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers and Representative Loretta Sanchez.
This legislation, first and foremost, is about making menu labeling work for the American people and American businesses. Providing accurate information to consumers when they are deciding what to order is at the heart of this bill. This is not about hiding the calorie information. This bill is about making menu labeling requirements work for the entire industry.
It seems obvious to me that a one-size-fits-all solution will not work for all restaurant chains; yet FDA's menu labeling recommendation does just that, and its burdensome rules have raised alarm bells with businesses across the country.
Convenience stores, grocery stores, take-out restaurants, pizza restaurants, movie theaters, amusement parks, bowling alleys, and chain restaurants, I think it is fair to say, can be very different. Expecting these distinct businesses to all comply with the same standards is simply not reasonable; in fact, it is ridiculous.
Furthermore, FDA's existing regulations force businesses to provide information that is often useless to the consumer. The Common Sense Nutrition Disclosure Act provides calorie information to the customers when it would actually be helpful before they order. Knowing how many calories are in your meal at the point of purchase is not going to help anyone. Having calorie information when you place your order will help customers make healthier decisions.
The current FDA menu labeling rules also will expose restaurants and retailers to harsh penalties. This bill makes sure that employees don't get penalized for an inadvertent error. This bill would also help protect businesses from frivolous lawsuits.
Our bill also addresses other impractical, unworkable aspects of FDA's regulation. For example, flyers and advertisements were never meant to be considered menus; yet, through guidance, the FDA confirmed that they consider flyers and advertisements menus. FDA had their chance to make corrections and they did not. This must be fixed, and our bill does just that.
This bill came through our Subcommittee on Health with a voice vote. In full committee, it passed with a bipartisan vote of 36-12-1. I look forward to passing H.R. 2017 through the House with an even stronger bipartisan vote. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 2017.
House of Representatives, Committee on the Judiciary, Washington, DC, February 10, 2016. Hon. Fred Upton, Chairman, Committee on Energy and Commerce, Washington, DC.
Dear Chairman Upton: I am writing with respect to H.R. 2017, the ``Common Sense Nutrition Disclosure Act of 2015,'' which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce.
As you know, H.R. 2017 contains provisions that fall within the Rule X jurisdiction of the Committee on the Judiciary. As a result of your having consulted with the Committee and in order to expedite the House's consideration of H.R. 2017, the Committee on the Judiciary will not assert its jurisdictional claim over this bill by seeking a sequential referral. However, this is conditional on our mutual understanding and agreement that doing so will in no way diminish or alter the jurisdiction of the Committee on the Judiciary with respect to the appointment of conferees or to any future jurisdictional claim over the subject matters contained in the bill or similar legislation.
I would appreciate a response to this letter confirming this understanding with respect to H.R. 2017, and would ask that a copy of our exchange of letters on this matter be included in the Congressional Record during Floor consideration of H.R. 2017. Sincerely, Bob Goodlatte, Chairman. ____ House of Representatives, Committee on Energy and Commerce, Washington, DC, February 11, 2016. Hon. Bob Goodlatte, Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary, Washington, DC.
Dear Chairman Goodlatte: Thank you for your letter regarding H.R. 2017, the ``Common Sense Nutrition Disclosure Act of 2015.''
I appreciate your willingness to forgo seeking a sequential referral of the bill, and I agree that your decision will in no way diminish or alter the jurisdiction of the Committee on the Judiciary with respect to the appointment of conferees or to any future jurisdictional claim over the subject matters contained in the bill or similar legislation.
I will include a copy of your letter and this response in the Congressional Record during consideration of H.R. 2017 on the House floor. Sincerely, Fred Upton, Chairman.
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Mr. GUTHRIE. Mr. Chairman, first, when we looked at the nice menu labeling board that was just presented, it shows why H.R. 2017 is necessary.
Because, if you look at just that board, it was simple, but it fails to specify the calories listed for each topping or the calories added to a single slice.
Under FDA regulations and guidance, the menu must specify that the sausage, mushroom, pepperoni, and onion calories are added to the basic preparation of slices of pizza with the word ``add'' or ``added'' spelled out.
You can't use the plus symbol, which the FDA has specifically said is not permitted. It fails to declare calories per slice and per topping for each size of pizza slice.
The FDA regulations require that calories be declared for each size of pizza slice and for each topping as applied to each size. So it shows why we need to move forward. It also doesn't say that 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice, but calorie needs vary.
Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Upton), my good friend and the chairman of the full committee.
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Mr. GUTHRIE. Mr. Chairman, I yield the gentleman from Michigan an additional 30 seconds.
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Mr. GUTHRIE. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Bilirakis), my good friend.
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Mr. GUTHRIE. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Loretta Sanchez), my good friend.
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Mr. GUTHRIE. I yield the gentlewoman from California an additional 30 seconds.
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Mr. GUTHRIE. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to my good friend, the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Blum).
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Mr. GUTHRIE. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Walberg).
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Mr. GUTHRIE. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Again, let me state what this bill is not. It is not doing away with the calorie count or the ability for people to understand what calorie content, or caloric content, is available in each product. I am one who looks at that. I don't know of anything that has a calorie count on anything that I have eaten recently that I haven't looked at. I have checked out the serving sizes so that I know how many chicken wings I want to order. If I can get the calories per chicken wing, I can make that determination.
We looked at the menu board that was offered earlier, and it looked simple, but this is the issue: Even if you put ranges, how do you get the information in people's hands? I was just at a restaurant, when I was traveling in my district the other day, that had calories for different orders. One was from 400 to 800 on one. So what we want to do is to make it available in a way that is efficient, as most people now get their information not necessarily on a board where you have to have big ranges, but specific. For instance, at one pizza restaurant alone, we had the pizza slice plus a few toppings; but what if you have five styles of crust, six different cheeses, five sauces, four sizes, and 20 different toppings? If you put all of that together, it comes to about 34 million different combinations, and deviations from the standard that the FDA has put forward could lead to fines and to criminal penalties.
What we are looking at, as my friend from California said, are these rules that are incredibly complex, burdensome, and inflexible. What this bill does not do is create exemptions or diminish the amount of information that must be provided by restaurants or retailers. All it does is allow for some flexibility, and it clarifies the unworkable and overly complex regulations the FDA finalized in November 2014. A lot of things that happen here are overly cumbersome and unworkable. We go to delay, to delay, and we delayed an omnibus, as they said. These are going to be unworkable 6 months from now and a year from now.
So let's fix it so that our businesses know what to provide without their having the threat of penalty, because they will know what to provide, and so that consumers can make choices. I am one, as I said, who wants that information because I want to be able to make that choice for myself and for my family.
Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.
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