Congress “is falling short when it comes to food policy, showing little progress” this year, says Food Policy Action, established in 2012 as the food movement’s voice in Washington. In releasing its annual scorecard of members of the House and Senate, the group said the average score was 49 percent, down from the 57 percent average of the two-year 114th Congress, which ended in 2016.
“Neither the House nor the Senate spent much time on food issues this year, leaving little to score and more extreme scores than in years with more available votes,” said Food Policy Action. Some 80 representatives and 50 senators scored zero while 140 representatives and 40 senators received a perfect score of 100.
Ken Cook, chairman of Food Policy Action, said scores clustered at each end of the scale due to “a turbulent political environment with a frustrating lack of bipartisanship on food policy.” Senators were graded on one vote — confirmation of Scott Pruitt as EPA administrator — and 10 bills. The House was graded on five votes and 11 bills.