By Aliya Sternstein, CQ Staff

Despite a salmonella outbreak that has caused McDonald’s and Wal-Mart to stop selling tomatoes, prospects for passing significant food safety legislation this year are dimming.

“The window for Congress to take up comprehensive legislation to overhaul the food safety system continues to narrow,” said Rosa DeLauro , the Connecticut Democrat who has led the food-safety fight in the House. “Regardless of what happens this year, the real opportunity will be next year, with a new Congress, and importantly, a new administration.”

Outbreaks of e-Coli in spinach, tainted imports from China, the biggest beef recall in U.S. history and the recent warning linking salmonella to some tomato varieties have spurred a push in Congress to overhaul food-safety laws.

But with the congressional calendar dwindling and floor time in short supply, a draft House Food and Drug Administration overhaul bill has not advanced out of committee and Senate proposals have yet to be released.

Food-safety advocates say they may look for opportunities to address some of their concerns in must-pass appropriations bills. DeLauro, the agriculture appropriations subcommittee chairwoman, said she may try to insert some food-safety provisions in her spending bill that would build a “foundation” for broader legislation next year.

In the Senate, Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Herb Kohl , D-Wis., has yet to introduce legislation designed to address slaughterhouse operations. Kohl, who has repeatedly called for a strict ban on allowing “downer” cattle — animals that cannot walk — to be slaughtered for food may look to add the language to the farm spending bill, an aide said.

The Bush administration this week boosted its fiscal 2009 Food and Drug Administration budget request by $275 million, including $125 million for food safety.

DeLauro commended the administration for recognizing the problems, but she criticized the president’s proposals to offset the additional spending with cuts in other programs, such as a social services grant program.

Legislation Progresses Slowly

Senate Majority Whip Richard J. Durbin , D-Ill., said he remains confident that meaningful food safety legislation will come to the floor this year. But Durbin, who has joined DeLauro in pressing for a single food-safety regulatory agency, has yet to offer legislative language.

Meanwhile, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee had just begun hearings on comprehensive food and drug safety overhauls when Chairman Edward M. Kennedy , D-Mass., was diagnosed with brain cancer.

“We’re optimistic” that Congress will enact “effective food and medical product safety legislation this year,” said Kennedy spokeswoman Melissa Wagoner.

But some lawmakers are less confident.