Sen. Pat Roberts' GMO labeling bill passes ag ctte: 'What we're facing is not a safety or health issue, it's a market issue' A bill that would pre-empt state laws that mandate GMO labeling and set up a federal voluntary labeling system instead, has passed in the Senate Agriculture Committee 14:6, but faces an uphill battle when it goes to the Senate floor for a vote. The bill - proposed by Senate Agriculture Committee chairman Pat Roberts - would require USDA to establish a national voluntary standard for defining and labeling bioengineered foods within two years, and directs the agriculture secretary to engage in a 'science-based' consumer education initiative about the benefits of agricultural biotechnology.