This article provides a brief primer on the criticisms of Section 735 of the bill -- a provision that opponents have dubbed the "Monsanto Protection Act" -- followed by a breakdown of how each member of
the U.S. Senate and
House of Representatives voted on it.
"This provision is simply an industry ploy to continue to sell genetically engineered seeds even when a court of law has found they were approved by USDA illegally," the petition stated. "It is unnecessary and an unprecedented attack on U.S. judicial review. Congress should not be meddling with the judicial review process based solely on the special interest of a handful of companies. Many food safety advocates maintain that there have not been enough studies into the potential health risks of GMO and GE seeds and crops, and the judicial power to stop companies from selling or planting them was one key recourse they were relying on to stop them from being sold if health risks come to light."
The petition was signed by more than 200,000 people during a drive aimed at getting
Obama to veto the bill that Congress sent to his desk. But their effort was not able to sway Obama, and the provision is now in force for the six months during which the continuing provision will remain the law of the land.
Now protesters, food advocates, organic farmers and others are coming together in a push either for Section 735 to somehow be repealed, or at least for it to be struck from any permanent legislation that will likely arise as the period of the continuing resolution draws to a close later this year.
Below is a breakdown of the congressional voting record on HR 933, which provides insight into just how the bill, Section 735 included, made it from the Capitol to the White House:
Here is the 73-26-1 Senate roll call vote breakdown on HR 933,
as compiled by the Senate's clerk office:
Alexander (R-TN), Yea Ayotte (R-NH), Nay Baldwin (D-WI), Yea
Barrasso (R-WY), Yea Baucus (D-MT), Yea Begich (D-AK), Yea
Bennet (D-CO), Yea Blumenthal (D-CT), Yea Blunt (R-MO), Yea
Boozman (R-AR), Yea Boxer (D-CA), Yea Brown (D-OH), Yea
Burr (R-NC), Nay Cantwell (D-WA), Yea Cardin (D-MD), Yea
Carper (D-DE), Yea Casey (D-PA), Yea Chambliss (R-GA), Yea
Coats (R-IN), Yea Coburn (R-OK), Nay Cochran (R-MS), Yea
Collins (R-ME), Yea Coons (D-DE), Yea Corker (R-TN), Yea
Cornyn (R-TX), Yea Cowan (D-MA), Yea Crapo (R-ID), Nay
Cruz (R-TX), Nay Donnelly (D-IN), Yea Durbin (D-IL), Yea
Enzi (R-WY), Nay Feinstein (D-CA), Yea Fischer (R-NE), Nay
Flake (R-AZ), Nay Franken (D-MN), Yea Gillibrand (D-NY), Yea
Graham (R-SC), Nay Grassley (R-IA), Nay Hagan (D-NC), Yea
Harkin (D-IA), Yea Hatch (R-UT), Yea Heinrich (D-NM), Yea
Heitkamp (D-ND), Yea Heller (R-NV), Nay Hirono (D-HI), Yea
Hoeven (R-ND), Yea Inhofe (R-OK), Nay Isakson (R-GA), Yea
Johanns (R-NE), Yea Johnson (D-SD), Yea Johnson (R-WI), Nay
Kaine (D-VA), Yea King (I-ME), Yea Kirk (R-IL), Nay
Klobuchar (D-MN), Yea Landrieu (D-LA), Yea Lautenberg (D-NJ), Not Voting
Leahy (D-VT), Yea Lee (R-UT), Nay Levin (D-MI), Yea
Manchin (D-WV), Yea McCain (R-AZ), Nay McCaskill (D-MO), Yea
McConnell (R-KY), Yea Menendez (D-NJ), Yea Merkley (D-OR), Yea
Mikulski (D-MD), Yea Moran (R-KS), Nay Murkowski (R-AK), Yea
Murphy (D-CT), Yea Murray (D-WA), Yea Nelson (D-FL), Yea
Paul (R-KY), Nay Portman (R-OH), Nay Pryor (D-AR), Yea
Reed (D-RI), Yea Reid (D-NV), Yea Risch (R-ID), Nay
Roberts (R-KS), Nay Rockefeller (D-WV), Yea Rubio (R-FL), Nay
Sanders (I-VT), Yea Schatz (D-HI), Yea Schumer (D-NY), Yea
Scott (R-SC), Nay Sessions (R-AL), Yea Shaheen (D-NH), Yea
Shelby (R-AL), Yea Stabenow (D-MI), Yea Tester (D-MT), Nay
Thune (R-SD), Yea Toomey (R-PA), Nay Udall (D-CO), Yea
Udall (D-NM), Yea Vitter (R-LA), Nay Warner (D-VA), Yea
Warren (D-MA), Yea Whitehouse (D-RI), Yea Wicker (R-MS), Yea
Wyden (D-OR), Yea
Here is the 318-109-4 House of Representatives roll call vote breakdown on the final version of HR 933,
as compiled by the House's clerk office:
Here is the 318-109-4 House of Representatives roll call vote breakdown on the final version of HR 933,
as compiled by the House's clerk office:
Yeas:
Aderholt Alexander Andrews Bachus Barber Barletta
Barr Barrow (GA) Barton Beatty Benishek Bentivolio
Bera (CA) Bilirakis Bishop (GA) Bishop (UT) Black
Blackburn Blumenauer Bonamici Bonner Boustany
Brady (PA) Brady (TX) Brooks (AL) Brooks (IN) Brown (FL)
Brownley (CA) Buchanan Bucshon Burgess Bustos
Butterfield Calvert Campm Campbell Cantor Capito
Capps Carney Carson (IN) Carter Cassidy Castro (TX)
Chabot Chaffetz Clay Cleaver Clyburn Coble
Coffman Cole Collins (GA) Collins (NY) Conaway
Cook Cooper Costa Cotton Courtney Cramer
Crenshawm Cuellar Culberson Cummings
Daines Davis (CA) Davis, Rodney DeFazio
Delaney DelBene Denham Dent Diaz-Balart
Dingell Duckworth Duffy Duncan (SC)
Edwards Ellmers Enyart Eshoo Esty
Farenthold Fattah Fincher Fitzpatrick
Fleischmann Flores Forbes Fortenberry
Foster Foxx Frankel (FL) Franks (AZ)
Frelinghuysen Gabbard Gallego Garcia
Gardner Garrett Gerlach Gibbs Gibson
Goodlatte Gosar Gowdy Granger
Graves (GA) Graves (MO) Green, Al Green, Gene
Griffin (AR) Griffith (VA) Grimm Guthrie
Gutierrez Hanna Harper Harris Hartzler
Heck (NV) Heck (WA) Hensarling Herrera Beutler
Himes Hinojosa Holding Horsford Hoyer
Hudson Huffman Huizenga (MI) Hunter
Hurt Israel Issa Jenkins Johnson (GA)
Johnson (OH) Johnson, E. B. Johnson, Sam
Jordan Joyce Kaptur Keating Kelly
Kilmer Kind King (IA) King (NY)
Kinzinger (IL) Kirkpatrick Kline Kuster
Labrador LaMalfa Lamborn Lance
Langevin Lankford Larsen (WA) Latham
Latta Levin Lipinski LoBiondo
Loebsack Long Lowenthal Lowey
Lucas Luetkemeyer Lujan Grisham (NM)
Maffei Maloney, Carolyn Maloney, Sean
Marchant Marino Matheson McCarthy (CA)
McCarthy (NY) McCaul McHenry McIntyre
McKeon McKinley McMorris Rodgers
McNerney Meadows Meehan Meng
Messer Mica Michaud Miller (FL)
Miller (MI) Miller, Gary Moore Moran
Mullin Mulvaney Murphy (FL) Murphy (PA)
Negrete McLeod Neugebauer Noem Nugent
Nunes Nunnelee O'Rourke Olson Owens
Palazzo Pastor (AZ) Paulsen Payne Pearce
Pelosi Perry Peters (CA) Peterson Petri
Pittenger Pitts Poe (TX) Polis Pompeo
Price (GA) Price (NC) Quigley Radel
Rahall Reed Reichert Renacci Ribble
Rice (SC) Rigell Roby Roe (TN)
Rogers (AL) Rogers (KY) Rogers (MI)
Rohrabacher Rokita Rooney Ros-Lehtinen
Roskam Ross Rothfus Royce Ruiz
Runyan Ruppersberger Ryan (WI) Sanchez, Loretta
Scalise Schiff Schneider Schock Schwartz
Schweikert Scott (VA) Scott, Austin Scott, David
Sensenbrenner Sessions Sewell (AL) Shea-Porter
Sherman Shimkus Shuster Sinema Sires
Smith (NE) Smith (NJ) Smith (WA) Southerland
Stewart Stivers Takano Terry Thompson (CA)
Thompson (MS) Thompson (PA) Thornberry
Tiberi Tipton Titus Turner Upton Valadao
Van Hollen Veasey Vela Visclosky Wagner
Walberg Walden Walorski Walz Waxman
Weber (TX) Webster (FL) Wenstrup Whitfield
Williams Wilson (SC) Wittman Wolf
Womack Woodall Yoder Yoho
Young (AK) Young (FL) Young (IN)
Nays:
Amash
Bachmann
Bass
Becerra
Bishop (NY)
Braley (IA)
Bridenstine
Broun (GA)
Capuano
Cárdenas
Cartwright
Castor (FL)
Chu
Cicilline
Clarke
Cohen
Connolly
Conyers
Crawford
Crowley
Davis, Danny
DeGette
DeLauro
DeSantis
DesJarlais
Deutch
Doggett
Doyle
Duncan (TN)
Ellison
Farr
Fleming
Fudge
Garamendi
Gingrey (GA)
Gohmert
Grayson
Grijalva
Hahn
Hall
Hanabusa
Hastings (FL)
Hastings (WA)
Higgins
Holt
Honda
Huelskamp
Hultgren
Jackson Lee
Jeffries
Jones
Kennedy
Kildee
Kingston
Larson (CT)
Lee (CA)
Lewis
Lofgren
Luján, Ben Ray (NM)
Lummis
Lynch
Markey
Massie
Matsui
McClintock
McCollum
McDermott
McGovern
Meeks
Nadler
Napolitano
Neal
Nolan
Pallone
Pascrell
Perlmutter
Peters (MI)
Pingree (ME)
Pocan
Posey
Rangel
Richmond
Roybal-Allard
Rush
Ryan (OH)
Salmon
Sánchez, Linda T.
Sarbanes
Schakowsky
Schrader
Serrano
Simpson
Slaughter
Smith (TX)
Speier
Stockman
Stutzman
Swalwell (CA)
Tierney
Tonko
Tsongas
Vargas
Velázquez
Waters
Watt
Welch
Westmoreland
Wilson (FL)
Yarmuth
Not Voting:
Amodei
Engel
Miller, George
Wasserman Schultz