For two years FMI has been been asking Congress to pass legislation preventing FDA from expanding menu labeling regulations to grocery store operations. And while bipartisan legislation has been introduced (H.R. 1249/S. 1756/Common Sense Nutrition Disclosure Act), and support continues to grow, Congress has not yet made it a priority. With FDA expected to publish their rule…
By RON NIXON |The New York Times House and Senate negotiators on Monday agreed on a new five-year farm bill that will eliminate or consolidate dozens of agriculture subsidy programs, expand government-subsidized crop insurance and cut about $8 billion from the food stamp program over the next decade. The bipartisan agreement, two years after lawmakers…
Congress gave its final stamp of approval on Tuesday to a five-year reauthorization of the US Farm Bill, ending a three-year back and forth struggle to pass the legislation. The United States Senate voted on Tuesday to approve the five-year, $956.4 billion farm bill, after the US House voted last week to approve the measure.…
The Associate Press reports that large food companies are pushing a plan to allow voluntary labeling of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in manufactured foods “amid fears that they might face mandatory laws in the future” and to head off state-by-state efforts. The groups are shopping legislation that directs the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to…
The U.S. Treasury Department released the final rule implementing the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) requirements for “large” employers (50+ full-time equivalent employees) under Internal Revenue Code §4980H for most large employers to be in compliance in 2015. The final rule follows Proposed Rulemaking over a year ago establishing several safe-harbors including allowing up to a…
2014 Farm Bill After more than two years of work, Congress recently passed and President Obama has signed a comprehensive Farm Bill. The newly-enacted legislation contains several provisions that impose additional obligations on retailers that redeem Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. This document summarizes these provisions, and provides guidance to current and prospective SNAP…
On Friday, President Obama signed into law the Farm Bill contains several provisions of concern to convenience retailers that redeem Supplemental Nutrition Assistance (SNAP) benefits. As reported last week in NACS Daily, the Senate cleared a final bill for Obama to sign. NACS supported the final bill because it contains language much more favorable for…
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued orders on Friday to stop the further sale and distribution of four tobacco products currently on the market. According to a press release, the action marks the first time the FDA has used its authority under the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act to order a manufacturer…
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has overturned a lower court’s 2013 decision that would have rewritten the Federal Reserve’s rule for implementing the Durbin Amendment. A federal appeals court reinstated a 2011 Federal Reserve rule on the fees banks can charge merchants when customers use their debit cards, a setback for…
The National Grocers Association (NGA) applauded the U.S. House of Representatives for the passage of H.R. 2575, the Save American Workers Act by a bipartisan vote of 248 to 179. H.R. 2575, introduced by Congressman Todd Young (R-IN) and also championed by Congressman Dan Lipinski (D-IL), would change the new definition of a full-time employee…