The Senate Agriculture Committee voted 14 to 6 for a bill that would preempt state laws requiring labels on food made with genetically modified organisms.
Committee Chairman Pat Roberts, who spearheaded the bill, said the move would prevent a "patchwork" of state label laws across the country.
"It is important, as with any federal legislation on this topic, for Congress to consider scientific fact and unintended consequences," Roberts said at the meeting.
Roberts negotiated to get support from both sides of the aisle. Democratic senators Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, Joe Donnelly of Indiana and Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota were the only members of their party to support the bill.
SR-332 would block a law passed in Vermont that takes effect in July. On Monday night before the meeting, Roberts told Politico that the federal law had to be pushed through quickly to prevent Vermont's label law, which he called a "wrecking ball," from going into effect.
Opponents urge lawmakers to vote against the bill to protect state laws and maintain transparency for consumers.
Scott Faber, senior vice president of government affairs for the Environmental Working Group, said the bill would "rob Americans of their right to know what's in their food."
"We remain hopeful that the Senate will craft a national, mandatory GMO-labeling system that provides consumers with basic factual information about their food," Faber said in a press release.
The bill now moves to the full Senate, where it could be amended before the chamber votes.