Defend FIFRA!

Two members of Congress introduced, H.R. 7940 and S. 4406, the “Protect America’s Children from Toxic Pesticides Act of 2020”. These bills would undermine the science-based standards contained within our nation's pesticide laws and the work of the EPA’s career scientists in the evaluation of pesticide safety and oversight of pesticide registration and use. This legislation would jeopardize the continued availability and innovation of pesticide products by imposing an unscientific and unbalanced process that would unnecessarily remove pest control options from those who need them to safely grow crops, protect homes and infrastructure, and control pathogens and disease vectors.

We need your support to defend FIFRA (Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act), the statute which provides for federal regulation of pesticide distribution, sale, and use and establishes stringent safety standards and oversight. FIFRA upholds science-based safety standards that are established to support agriculture, protect public health and infrastructure, farmers, workers and the public.

Pesticide manufacturers, pesticide users, and the public all have an interest in ensuring that the pesticide regulatory process imposes stringent regulatory controls on pesticide use based on the principles of sound science, transparency, and broad stakeholder engagement. Through our opposition to this legislation, we seek to uphold the commitment to protecting human health and the environment while maintaining America’s important food, fiber, and biofuel production and protecting its public health and infrastructure.

Please take a moment to send a letter to your Senators and Member of Congress asking them to support FIFRA and to oppose bills that would undermine the pesticide regulatory process. If you need help finding contact information for your congressional representatives, CLICK HERE.

Sample letter:

I am writing to express my support of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and to request your opposition of the “Protect America's Children from Toxic Pesticides Act of 2020” (H.R. 7940/S. 4406) which misrepresents the science-based safety standards that are used to protect farmers, workers and the public.

FIFRA provides for federal regulation of pesticide distribution, sale, and use and establishes stringent safety standards and oversight. FIFRA has been amended by Congress several times to strengthen the regulatory standard for safety – most recently by the Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA) that added specific protections for infants and children. Under the provisions of the current law, pesticides that are approved for use are subject to continuous review whenever new scientific data becomes available. Officially, federal regulators must review each pesticide approved for use in the U.S. every 15 years, but the reality is that the pace of scientific development means regulators are making formal assessments much more frequently as more data becomes available.

All pesticides in the United States must be registered and reregistered at least every 15 years by the EPA. The EPA is required to review current scientific data on health and environmental impacts for all pesticide products, and impose requirements to minimize any risks before they are made available for sale and use.

This legislation would undo decades of federal regulation and scientific progress, undermine the work of EPA's career scientists in the evaluation of pesticides, and jeopardize the continued availability and innovation of pesticide products important to agriculture, public health and the control of harmful disease vectors.

Sincerely,

Posted October 12, 2020 by McGregor Admin