An amendment to the U.S. House version of the federal Farm Bill has upset a bipartisan group of California lawmakers. As Capital Public Radio’s Amy Quinton reports, they’ve written a letter to House leaders calling for its removal.
Thirty-five California lawmakers have signed a letter urging Congressional leaders to remove the “King Amendment” from the Farm Bill. They say it would nullify dozens of California laws dealing with the manufacturing of agricultural products. Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg says state laws regulating hens in the egg-laying industry and setting nutrition standards for milk would be in jeopardy.
Steinberg: "The federal government wants to take away the right of California to ensure that our food products are both safe and nutritious and we don’t think that’s right and it’s not often we get four legislative leaders from different parties and different houses on the same letter."
The amendment is part of the House version of the Farm Bill, not the Senate’s version. It’s named after its sponsor, Republican Representative Steve King of Iowa. Iowa is the largest egg producing state in the nation.
