©2025 League of Conservation Voters
2012 Scorecard Vote
46
50
3
Issues
Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) offered an amendment to S. 3187, the Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act, which would ensure that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has a definitive decision-making role in the process for approving genetically engineered marine and anadromous fish, including genetically engineered farmed salmon. As a food safety agency, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) simply does not have the requisite experience or staff expertise to fully evaluate the potential environmental and economic risks that could result from the approval of genetically engineered fish. NOAA, the federal agency charged with protecting the nation’s oceans and its vital fisheries, is better suited to properly assess these issues, and giving NOAA a clear role in the approval process is sound and commonsense policy. On May 24, the Senate rejected the Murkowski amendment by a vote of 46-50 (Senate roll call vote 106). YES IS THE PRO-ENVIRONMENT VOTE. On July 9, President Obama signed S. 3187 into law, which unfortunately did not include the Murkowski amendment.
©2025 League of Conservation Voters