OVERNIGHT REGULATION: Lawmakers confront FDA over calorie counts

Welcome to OVERNIGHT REGULATION, your daily rundown of news from Capitol Hill and beyond. It’s Monday evening here in Washington, and we’re digging this heat.

Here’s what’s happening:

 

THE BIG STORY

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is facing major blowback on Capitol Hill over a controversial ObamaCare rule that requires restaurants to list the number of calories in the foods they sell.

The menu labeling requirements, set to take effect in December, are being scrutinized by dozens of lawmakers from both sides of the aisle, setting up a showdown between Congress and the Obama administration. 

A group of 32 senators is demanding that acting FDA Commissioner Stephen Ostroff delay the rules until after the 2016 presidential election, which could give a Republican president the opportunity to block the rules altogether.

{mosads}The top two senators on the health committee, Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.), are leading the effort to get the FDA to delay the rules by one year.

The senators say food establishments “will need appropriate time to budget and plan accordingly to meet the rule’s requirements to provide nutrition information to consumers that is understandable and clear,” in a letter sent Friday to Ostroff.

“While we recognize the benefit of improved access to nutritional information for consumers, we are concerned that the lack of clear and consistent guidance from the agency will make it difficult, confusing, and burdensome for businesses, particularly smaller businesses,” the senators write.

Their letter comes after Reps. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) and Loretta Sanchez (D-Calif.) introduced legislation last month in the House that would chip away at the menu labeling requirements.

The Common Sense Nutrition Disclosure Act would exempt most food establishments other than restaurants by making sure the menu labeling requirements only apply to companies that make more than 50 percent of their revenue from selling prepared foods. The legislation has 15 co-sponsors, most of whom are Republicans.

“Think about it this way: For companies like Domino’s Pizza, every potential toppings combination — well over 5 million options would have to be calculated and publicized,” Rodgers said last month while introducing the bill. “This requirement simply is not workable.”

The menu labeling requirements would be a dramatic shift for not only the restaurant industry, but also grocery stores, convenience stores, gas stations, entertainment venues, movie theaters, amusement parks, bowling alleys, miniature golf courses, and other businesses that sell “restaurant-like” food.

You can read the rest of the story online and in tomorrow’s print edition of The Hill.

 

ON TAP FOR TUESDAY

The Senate Environment and Public Works’ Fisheries, Water and Wildlife Subcommittee will hold a hearing to discuss the Federal Water Quality Protection Act, which would require the secretary of the Army and the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to propose a regulation revising the definition of the term “waters of the United States.” http://1.usa.gov/1ELP5uF

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee will hold a hearing on the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s enforcement and litigation programs. http://1.usa.gov/1Abgx9V

The Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee will hold a hearing to examine proposed impacts of environmental regulations on America’s small businesses. http://1.usa.gov/1B8sXdn

The House Education and the Workforce Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education Subcommittee will hold a hearing on “Addressing Waste, Fraud and Abuse in Federal Child Nutrition Programs.” http://1.usa.gov/1FkwKbE

The House Energy and Commerce’s Manufacturing, and Trade Subcommittee will hold a hearing to discuss oversight of the Consumer Product Safety Commission. http://1.usa.gov/1IwGHqg

 

TOMORROW’S REGS TODAY

The Obama administration will publish 167 new rules, proposed rules, notices and other administrative actions in Tuesday’s edition of the Federal Register.

Here’s what to watch for:

–The Department of Defense (DOD) will issue new rules cracking down on sexual assaults and other crimes within the Army.

The Army’s new law enforcement reporting requirements target sexual offenders and domestic abusers in the military.

The rules will “ensure the safety of our soldiers, family members, and civilians that live and work on Army installation[s] through identifying, monitoring and tracking sex offenders on Army installations,” the government noted.

The interim rules go into effect May 22. http://bit.ly/1EfJxrP

–The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will delay new electronic reporting and recordkeeping requirements for pollution rules or so-called new source performance standards.

The EPA proposed the reporting requirements in March, but is now extending the comment period through June 18. http://bit.ly/1Kgk6ie

–The Department of Labor (DOL) will issue new regulations for proceedings before the agency’s administrative law judges.

The rules establish new practices and procedures for administrative law judge hearings to better account for corporate whistleblower cases, as well as occupational disease and injury claims.

This is the first time the rules are being updated in more than three decades.

The rules go into effect in 30 days. http://bit.ly/1JtMdcq

–The Department of the Navy will issue new exemptions from international regulations intended to prevent collisions at sea.

The Navy will exempt a certain military ship from the rules, because “due to its special construction and purpose, (it) cannot fully comply with certain provisions” of the rules.

The changes go into effect immediately. http://bit.ly/1dfXOzQ

–The Coast Guard will consider implementing temporary security measures during the Major League Baseball All-Star Game in July.

The Coast Guard is proposing to cut down on boat traffic in Cincinnati where the All-Star Game will be held. 

“This special local regulation is necessary to protect persons and property from potential damage and safety hazards during the 86th Major League Baseball (MLB) All-Star Game, an event which will likely involve a high density of boater traffic in the river miles specified,” the Coast Guard writes.

The public has until June 1 to comment. http://bit.ly/1JUrOv3

 

NEWS RIGHT NOW

Franchise industry: The Service Employees International Union is calling on the Federal Trade Commission to investigate franchisors’ “abusive and predatory practices” against franchisees. http://bit.ly/1HnTb06

Menu labels: Dozens of senators are calling for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to delay controversial menu labeling rules for restaurants and grocery stores. http://bit.ly/1cLCdya

Meat labels: The World Trade Organization (WTO) has ruled against the U.S. appeal to keep its country-of-origin labeling (COOL) rule for imported cuts of beef and pork. http://bit.ly/1dfT4dr

Taxes: The Supreme Court ruled Monday that Maryland essentially doubled taxes for some of its residents, potentially putting the state on the hook for millions of dollars in refunds. http://bit.ly/1Gk3BPV

Guns: Gun safety advocates say a shootout between rival biker gangs in Texas that killed nine on Sunday should be a “wake up call” for lawmakers. http://bit.ly/1L1WRW2

Working conditions: Worker-rights groups are blasting Qatar for its working conditions and urging FIFA, soccer’s global governing body, to take responsibility before the 2022 World Cup, NPR reports. http://n.pr/1S2dOVN

Same-sex marriage: While presiding over a same-sex marriage on Sunday, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg stressed the word “constitution,” The New York Times reports. http://nyti.ms/1JUlrIg

 

BY THE NUMBERS

32: The number of senators calling for the FDA to delay controversial menu labeling requirements until after the 2016 presidential election.

$274 million: The budget of the National Labor Relations Board, which one Republican lawmaker is looking to defund.

9: The number of people killed during a Texas biker gang shootout.

 

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“We’re trying to get FTC to write new rules for a system that the big guys have rigged,” Scott Courtney, the Service Employees International Union’s assistant to the president, told reporters Monday. The group filed a petition with the Federal Trade Commission calling for a federal probe into “abusive and predatory” treatment of individual franchise owners.

 

We’ll work to stay on top of these and other stories throughout the week, so check The Hill’s Regulation page (http://digital-staging.thehill.com/regulation) early and often for the latest. And send any comments, complaints or regulatory news tips our way, tdevaney@digital-staging.thehill.com or lwheeler@digital-staging.thehill.com. And follow us at @timdevaney and@wheelerlydia.

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