Source:  Dani Friedland, MEATINGPLACE.COM, 1/4/11

President Barack Obama is expected to sign the food safety bill into law today, but some congressional Republicans may try to block funding for the measure.

The bill would likely cost $1.4 billion over the course of five years, the Congressional Budget Office estimated.

Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.), who is running for chairman of the House Appropriations Committee that funds the FDA, doesn’t think the cost is justified by the current number of foodborne illness cases, according to The Washington Post.

In a White House media call Monday, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sibelius and other proponents of the legislation discussed its benefits. “Some of the key elements of this bill need to be adopted no matter what,” FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg said on the call, according to The Washington Post.

The law would give the FDA expanded regulatory powers, including the ability to recall food and additional access to internal records from food producers. The signing does not appear in the official White House schedule and a formal signing ceremony is not anticipated. 

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