We need you. Now.
We’ve been talking about it since September of last year—Rep. Mike Pompeo’s (R-Kan.) bill that would strip states of the right to pass GMO labeling laws.
It didn’t get very far last year. But H.R. 1599 is fast gaining traction, especially now that a district court judge has signaled that Vermont’s GMO labeling law is likely constitutional. Desperate to stop other states from passing GMO labeling laws, Pompeo is rounding up new co-sponsors for his bill every day.
And even more ominous, a Senate version of H.R. 1599 is in the works.
The first lawmakers to vote on H.R. 1599, which we call the DARK (Deny Americans the Right to Know) Act, are those members of the House who serve on the Agriculture and Energy and Commerce Committees. Our best hope to stop the bill, is to persuade members of the Energy and Commerce Committee to reject it.
That’s where you come in. We could ask you to sign another petition. But if we really want to stop this bill, we need people to organize meetings with key members of the Energy and Commerce Committee.
A couple of meetings have already taken place, including one in Chicago, yesterday. OCA and Illinois Right to Know scheduled a meeting with Rep. Jan Schakowsky. Hours before the meeting, Schakowsky announced that she will oppose H.R. 1599!
Some of you living in Tampa, Fla., have also completed a meeting. And folks are meeting with Rep. Joseph Kennedy in Newton, Mass., on June 9. (Info here if you want to participate).
OCA is organizing the following meetings. If you want to participate, contact us here:
New York, June 16: Rep. Eliot Engle (D-N.Y.), the Bronx; Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.), Brooklyn
New Jersey, June 17: Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.); Rep. Leonard Lance (R-N.J.)
Maryland, June 18: Rep. John Sarbanes (D-Md.), Annapolis
Virginia, June 19: Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-Va.), Christiansburg
West Virginia, June 23: Rep. David McKinley (R-W.Va.), Morgantown
Pennsylvania, June 29: Rep. Mike Doyle (D-Penn.), Pittsburgh; and Rep. Tim Murphy (R-Penn.), Pittsburgh
Pennsylvania, June 30: Rep. Joe Pitts (R-Penn.), Lancaster
We still need organizers in: California, Oregon, New Mexico, Texas, Indiana, Missouri, Michigan, Tennessee, Kentucky, and North Carolina.