Pesticide Legislation wins Congressional approval.
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Press Release Summary:
The Consumer Specialty Products Association (CSPA), along with CropLife America and Natural Resources Defense Council, called Congressional passage of the Pesticide Registration Improvement Renewal Act (PRIA) a victory for cooperative public policy development. The act was originally passed in 2003 and provided $200 million to fund EPA Office of Pesticide Programs. The renewal legislation will extend the assessment of those fees in industry through 2012.
Original Press Release:
Pesticide Legislation Wins Congressional Approval After Industry and Environmentalists Work Together in Unique Effort
Washington, D.C. (September 24, 2007) --The Consumer Specialty Products Association (CSPA), CropLife America and Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) all called today's Congressional passage of the Pesticide Registration Improvement Renewal Act (S 1983) a victory for cooperative public policy development.
The bill was included on House of Representatives' Suspension calendar and approved by unanimous consent today. It passed the Senate unanimously on August 2nd and will now go to President Bush for his signature.
"This is a win-win-win proposition," said Phil Klein, CSPA's senior vice president of legislative and public affairs. "The EPA Office of Pesticide Programs gets long-term stable funding. The environmental and farm worker communities get increased funding for worker protection, shorter timelines for reduced risk pesticides, a comprehensive review of pesticides every 15 years, and additional grant money for farm worker certification. And industry benefits from predictable timelines for bringing newer and more innovative products to market."
"Renewal of PRIA is a huge win for both public health and the environment," said Heather Taylor, deputy legislative director, NRDC. "The law has kept harmful pesticides in check since 2003 and will continue to safeguard the public in immeasurable ways for years to come. It's clear that the more environment and industry work together, the more we all win."
"The reauthorization of PRIA by the 110th Congress represents a significant legislative victory in a most challenging time and demonstrates the benefits of collaboration among all stakeholders in the process," said Beau Greenwood, executive vice president government relations and public affairs.
The Pesticide Registration Improvement Act (PRIA) originally was passed in 2003 through the work of a unique coalition consisting of the registrant community (including both agricultural and non-agricultural uses, antimicrobial companies, large and small companies, biotech companies, and biopesticide) and environmental and labor organizations.
That same coalition strongly supported the renewal of the Act that was set to expire in 2008. The original act provided approximately $200 million dollars in fees to increase and stabilize funding for EPA Office of Pesticide Programs. The renewal legislation will extend the assessment of those fees in industry through 2012, adding significant funding stability to EPA OPP.
The coalition supporting PRIA reauthorization included: American Chemistry Council Biocides Panel, Biotechnology Industry Organization, Biopesticide Industry Alliance, Chemical Producers & Distributors Association, Consumer Specialty Products Association, CropLife America, International Sanitary Supply Association, Natural Resources Defense Council, Protected Harvest, Responsible Industry for a Sound Environment.
CSPA represents the manufacturers of consumer household pest management and antimicrobial (disinfecting) products and CropLife represents the producers of agricultural pesticides. NRDC is a leading national environmental organization.
