Congress Urges Federal Coordination on Plant Breeding Innovation Policy

On October 17, a bi-partisan group of 79 members of the U.S. House of Representatives sent a letter to USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue, EPA Administration Scott Pruitt, and FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, urging their three agencies to coordinate policy approaches to breeding advancements such as gene editing.

The letter highlighted the new Interagency Task Force on Agriculture and Rural Prosperity, chaired by Agriculture Secretary Perdue, as a vehicle to foster innovation in agriculture through regulatory improvements. In addition, members of Congress urged the agencies to engage with trading partners and to utilize funds that have been appropriated by Congress for educating the public.