Durbin's attempt on supplements foiled again

The U.S. Senate voted 77 to 20 to table an amendment (S.2127), which was sponsored by Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL) to amend the pending FDA Safety and Innovation Act (S.3187). By tabling the amendment, it was removed from consideration in the overall bill, which will be debated in the U.S. House of Representatives.
 
Durbin unexpectedly introduced the amendment. His proposal, which was derived from legislation he introduced last year, would have set new requirements for dietary supplement manufacturers to register all products and ingredients with FDA within 30 days of introduction, reformulation or discontinuation.

The amendment was based on the misguided presumption that the current regulatory framework for dietary supplements is flawed and that the FDA lacks authority to regulate these products. The Durbin Amendment served to punish responsible companies with duplicative and overreaching mandates.


Steve: Senator Durbin has been an ardent critic of dietary supplements for years. We suppose if he had his drothers, he would propose something similar to the EU's draconian model that went into effect this year, basically eliminating consumer choice, as well as severely reducing the supplement dosages available. The EU was motivated by backroom deals with Big Pharma, who wants to corner the market on supplements.