Letter
Dear Chairman Merkley and Ranking Member Murkowski:
The undersigned organizations represent agriculture, food, fiber, public health, pest management, landscape, environmental, and related industries, including small businesses and state departments of agriculture, who support sound science and the risk-based regulation of pesticides. Earlier this year, we requested Members of the Senate Appropriations Committee support appropriations of $163 million for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for FY 2023 pesticide registration activities, which would be allocated at $144 million for Environmental Programs and Management; $6.153 million for Science and Technology; and $14.027 million for State and Tribal Assistance Grants.
In June, the House Appropriations Committee approved the Interior, Environment and Related Agencies bill, which provides $158.675 million for these business-critical functions. We are pleased with the House’s leadership on this funding, as these regulatory actions support product innovation, promote predictability in agency actions and timelines, and ensure the timely delivery of products necessary to protect the public and our environment while maintaining America’s important food, fiber, and biofuel production and protecting its public health and infrastructure. At current funding levels, EPA does not have the necessary resources to keep pace with the growing number of pesticide registration actions.
Increasing OPP appropriations in FY 2023 is critical to EPA’s ability to fulfill its mandate to maintain the availability of critical pesticide products while protecting applicators, consumers, and the environment. The Pesticide Registration Improvement Act (PRIA) creates resources through user fees which help streamline the registration process, while providing important education and training initiatives for agricultural and healthcare workers. The undersigned organizations support PRIA’s reauthorization, and this increase in funding for PRIA-related activities at the Agency.
However, the House Interior Appropriations Draft Report also included language singling out a chemistry, chlorpyrifos, due to a decision from the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Members of the PPC oppose the inclusion of this language in the appropriations report as EPA’s own scientific record on chlorpyrifos shows there are many safe, high-benefit uses of the chemistry that do not pose a dietary or environmental risk. Pesticide registration decisions should be based on sound science.
Pesticide manufacturers, pesticide users, and the public all have an interest in ensuring that the pesticide regulatory process imposes regulatory controls on pesticide use based on the principles of sound science, transparency, and broad stakeholder engagement. We respectfully request that you consider our request as you align spending priorities for the Senate’s forthcoming appropriations for EPA.
Sincerely,
CC: Members of the Subcommittee
American Mosquito Control Association
Agricultural Retailers Association
American Farm Bureau Federation
American Seed Trade Association
American Sugarbeet Growers Association
California Farm Bureau
California Specialty Crops Council
Council of Producers and Distributors of Agrotechnology
CropLife America
Delta Council
Far West Agribusiness Association
Florida Fertilizer & Agrichemical Association
Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association
Georgia Agribusiness Association
Golf Course Superintendents Association of America
Illinois Fertilizer and Chemical Association
Michigan Agri-Business Association
Minnesota Agri-Growth Council
Minnesota Crop Production Retailers
National Alliance of Independent Crop Consultants
National Association of Landscape Professionals
National Association of State Departments of Agriculture
National Association of Wheat Growers
National Barley Growers Association
National Corn Growers Association
National Cotton Council
National Onion Association
National Pest Management Association
National Potato Council
North Dakota Grain Growers Association
Ohio Agribusiness Association
Oregonians for Food and Shelter
RISE (Responsible Industry for a Sound Environment)
Rocky Mountain Agribusiness Association
Rocky Mountain Golf Course Superintendents Association
South Dakota Agri-Business Association
Southern Crop Production Association
Texas Ag Industries Association
Texas Vegetation Management Association
U.S. Canola Association
USA Rice
Western Growers
Wisconsin Agri-Business Association
Wyoming Ag Business Association
