Bernie Sanders speaks to supporters in Manhattan on June 23 in New York City. | Getty Sanders steps up battle against GMO bill

Bernie Sanders took his crusade against a new food labeling bill to new heights late Wednesday night, when he triggered brief parliamentary chaos on the Senate floor in an attempt to block the GMO measure.

The problem raised by the Vermont senator was that the “shell” bill being used to move the measure requiring labeling of genetically modified food — the product of a deal struck by Sens. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) and Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) — did, once upon a time, strip funding from Planned Parenthood.


As Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) tried to make procedural steps to move on the GMO measure, Sanders suddenly interrupted and demanded to know whether defunding Planned Parenthood was included in the bill.

“Is it possible that as part of the legislation that [McConnell] has introduced, that there is a title in there called the … Defund Planned Parenthood Act of 2015?” asked Sanders, who is vehemently opposed to the GMO labeling bill. “Is that title in the legislation we’re voting on?”

McConnell, at times looking annoyed by the sudden parliamentary maneuver, tried to clear up what was happening, even as Sanders, who remains a Democratic candidate for president, was insistent on getting the answer to whether Planned Parenthood was targeted in the measure.

“If I may, I think we explained this to everybody over and over again,” McConnell responded. “Let me try again. The Roberts amendment that I will offer is a complete substitute for the underlying language that concerns some of our colleagues on the other side.”

That still didn’t appease Democrats — including fellow Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy and Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), who began piling on. The Vermont senators oppose the GMO bill because it would preempt their state’s own GMO labeling law, which is set to go into effect Friday and is tougher than the federal legislation.

In particular, Boxer stressed that there was a “lot of angst and discomfort” among Democrats that Planned Parenthood may be targeted in the legislation after Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) read through the language.

“I just say to my friends, I don’t know why the majority leader chose to bring up this shell,” Boxer said. “He could have brought up any other shell. We should vote ‘no’ on this.”

To try to clear up the confusion once again, McConnell asked the Senate clerk to read the title of the bill that he was attempting to clear out to fill it with the GMO labeling measure.

The clerk noted that it was a bill to “reauthorize and amend the National Sea Grant College Program Act” — so on its face, nothing to do with Planned Parenthood. That triggered a hearty laughter throughout the Senate chamber.

“We have many disputes around here over major issues, but I’m perplexed by where we are,” McConnell said. “I don’t think there is a single person in America that think any of our [Democratic] colleagues would vote over here to defund Planned Parenthood. We’re not trying to trick anybody.”

Eventually, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) swooped in to try to clarify that no, senators will not secretly defund Planned Parenthood in the legislation as they try to pass a GMO bill.

“So once the majority leader strikes everything but the title about whatever it was, there will – the words ‘Planned Parenthood’ will not appear in the bill before us at all,” Schumer said. “Is that correct?”

McConnell responded: “Yeah, my understanding is it will not be in there at all.”

The vote to advance the GMO labeling bill will occur next week. The legislation would still need to be approved by the House, which passed a voluntary labeling bill last year.

Jenny Hopkinson contributed to this report.