Seventy nine (79) members of the U.S. House of Representatives addressed
some issues in the regulation of GM crops through a letter submitted to the
heads of Department of Agriculture, Food and Drug Administration, and
Environmental Protection Agency.

One of the concerns they brought up is the proposed changes in the
regulation of gene editing techniques. "While we appreciate the thoughtful,
science based direction USDA offers on products of biotechnology and gene
editing that APHIS has ample experience regulating, we are concerned that
these drafts offer deeply conflicting regulatory approaches. Moreover, we do
not believe they provide the consistent, appropriate system needed to
promote the development of these innovative tools," the lawmakers explained
in their letter.

They also added that the contradictory changes proposed are sending
inconsistent signals to the country's trade partners, who are currently
studying the accurate approaches to these technologies. "We are concerned
that if the administration does not quickly develop a uniform position on
biotechnology in agriculture, including gene editing, we will see an
unworkable patchwork of international regulations emerge that will
effectively further suppress American innovation and the solutions that come
with it," they stressed.

Congressmen Neal P. Dunn, K. Michael Conaway, and Jimmy Panetta are three of
the 79 lawmakers who submitted the letter.

[dunn.house.gov]-
Panetta%20Biotech%20Letter_0.pdf