,i #aaith ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #gbia ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,january #cj1 #bjbf,mr4 ,lawler introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,energy and ,commerce ,a ,,bill ,to direct the ,secretary of ,health and ,human ,services1 acting through the ,commissioner of ,food and ,drugs1 to establish a board to review certain designations that a substance used in food is generally recognized as safe1 with respect to the intended use of such substance1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,,gras ,oversight and ,transparency ,act4 #b4 ,,gras review board2 revocation of certain ,,gras designations 7a7 ,establishment ,the ,secretary of ,health and ,human ,services1 acting through the ,commissioner of ,food and ,drugs 7in this section referred to as the ,secretary71 shall establish a board 7in this section referred to as the ,board7 to review the validity of covered ,,gras designations4 7b7 ,membership 7#a7 ,in general 7,a7 ,voting members ,the ,board shall be composed of the following voting members3 7i7 ,the ,secretary of ,health and ,human ,services4 7ii7 ,the ,secretary of ,agriculture4 7iii7 ,two representatives of the ,human ,foods ,program of the ,food and ,drug ,administration1 to be appointed by the ,secretary4 7iv7 ,one representative of each of the following organizations1 to be appointed by the ,secretary3 7,i7 ,the ,office of the ,chief ,counsel of the ,food and ,drug ,administration4 7,,ii7 ,the ,office of the ,chief ,scientist of the ,department of ,agriculture4 7,,iii7 ,the ,office of the ,general ,counsel of the ,department of ,agriculture4 7,,iv7 ,the ,food ,safety and ,inspection ,service of the ,department of ,agriculture4 7,v7 ,the ,center for ,nutrition ,policy and ,promotion of the ,department of ,agriculture4 7,,vi7 ,the ,agricultural ,research ,service of the ,department of ,agriculture4 7,,vii7 ,the ,public ,health and ,integrated ,toxicology ,division of the ,environmental ,protection ,agency4 7,b7 ,non-voting members ,the ,board shall be composed of the following non-voting members1 to be appointed by the ,secretary3 7i7 ,an academic expert in food toxicology4 7ii7 ,a representative from the food manufacturing industry4 7#b7 ,chairperson ,the ,secretary shall designate a chairperson of the ,board from among the voting members described in paragraph 7#a74 7#c7 ,terms ,each voting and non-voting member of the ,board appointed by the ,secretary shall be appointed for a term of five years4 7#d7 ,compensation ,each member of the ,board shall serve without compensation4 7c7 ,duties 7#a7 ,in general ,the ,board shall carry out a review of each covered ,,gras designation in accordance with the requirements of this subsection4 7#b7 ,stages of review ,in carrying out the review1 the ,board shall-- 7,a7 identify the scope of covered ,,gras designations by soliciting the participation of food manufacturers under subsection 7d72 7,b7 categorize each covered ,,gras designation so identified into a tier #a1 tier #b1 or tier #c review category1 with tier #a indicating the highest priority for review2 7,c7 carry out a review of the covered ,,gras designations in each review category to determine the validity of each such designation2 and 7,d7 report the results of each such review in accordance with subsection 7f74 7#c7 ,notification recommending revocation of ,,gras designation ,not later than #ij days after the date on which the ,board completes the review of a covered ,,gras designation under paragraph 7#b77;,c71 the ,board shall notify the ,secretary and ,congress of-- 7,a7 a determination that the substance that is the subject of such designation has not been shown to be safe2 and 7,b7 a recommendation that the ,secretary revoke such designation under subsection 7e74 7d7 ,participation of food manufacturers 7#a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary shall require a food manufacturer to provide to the ,board1 not later than #ij days after the date of enactment of this ,act1 a notice that-- 7,a7 identifies each covered ,,gras designation attributable to such manufacturer2 and 7,b7 contains any other such information the ,board determines to be appropriate4 7#b7 ,failure to comply ,if a food manufacturer does not comply with paragraph 7#a71 the ,secretary may take actions to require such compliance1 including-- 7,a7 imposing a civil penalty on such manufacturer in accordance with the amounts described in section #cjg7;a7 of the ,federal ,food1 ,drug1 and ,cosmetic ,act 7#ba ,u4,s4,c4 #cce;b7a772 or 7,b7 with respect to a substance subject to a covered ,,gras designation attributable to such manufacturer-- 7i7 treating such substance as an unapproved food additive under section #dji of the ,federal ,food1 ,drug1 and ,cosmetic ,act 7#ba ,u4,s4,c4 #cdh72 and 7ii7 deeming such substance to be unsafe under such section as appropriate4 7e7 ,revocation of certain ,,gras designations 7#a7 ,in general ,upon receiving a notification under subsection 7c77#c71 the ,secretary may1 using evidence before the ,secretary1 revoke a covered ,,gras designation in accordance with the requirements under paragraph 7#b74 7#b7 ,requirements for revocation ,if the ,secretary decides to revoke a covered ,,gras designation under paragraph 7#a71 the ,secretary shall-- 7,a7 notify the food manufacturer that provided a notice identifying such designation under subsection 7d7 of such decision1 including a description of the evidence used in making such decision2 7,b7 provide #ahj days for such manufacturer to provide sufficient scientific evidence that the substance subject to such designation is shown to be safe2 7,c7 review such decision using any such evidence2 and 7,d7 notify such manufacturer of the outcome of such review1 including a description of how the ,secretary carried out such review4 7#c7 ,compliance with revocation ,the ,secretary shall establish procedures to ensure a manufacturer complies with a revocation of a covered ,,gras designation under this subsection1 including an appropriate timeline for ceasing distribution of any substance subject to such designation and recalling such substance4 7f7 ,reports 7#a7 ,in general ,the ,board shall submit to the ,secretary and ,congress1 and make publicly available on the website of the ,food and ,drug ,administration1 a report containing-- 7,a7 information related to the review carried out under subsection 7c72 and 7,b7 any recommendation related to such review1 including whether the ,board made a notification under subsection 7c77#c74 7#b7 ,timing of reports ,a report shall be submitted under paragraph 7#a7-- 7,a7 with respect to a covered ,,gras designation the ,board categorizes into tier #a1 not later than #b years after the date of enactment of this ,act2 7,b7 with respect to a covered ,,gras designation the ,board categorizes into tier #b1 not later than #d years after the date of enactment of this ,act2 and 7,c7 with respect to a covered ,,gras designation the ,board categorizes into tier #c1 not later than #aj years after the date of enactment of this ,act4 7g7 ,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7 ,covered ,,gras designation ,the term covered ,,gras designation means a designation made by a manufacturer prior to #bjjj that a substance used in food is generally recognized as safe1 as described in section #bja7s7 of the ,federal ,food1 ,drug1 and ,cosmetic ,act 7#ba ,u4,s4,c4 #cba7s771 including any such designation made in which such manufacturer has not filed a petition under section #dji of the ,federal ,food1 ,drug1 and ,cosmetic ,act 7#ba ,u4,s4,c4 #cdh7 or otherwise notified the ,secretary of such designation4 7#b7 ,food ,the term food has the meaning given such term in section #bja7;f7 of the ,federal ,food1 ,drug1 and ,cosmetic ,act 7#ba ,u4,s4,c4 #cba7;f774 7h7 ,termination of ,board ,the ,board shall terminate1 and this ,act shall cease to be effective1 #aj years after the date of enactment of this ,act4