WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Chairman Pat Roberts, R-Kan., and Ranking Member Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., along with Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M., Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies, today reintroduced the Pesticide Registration Improvement Act (PRIA).
“This bipartisan legislation supports EPA in providing timely approvals of crop protection tools to prevent, manage, and eradicate devastating pests and plant diseases that threaten our food supply, as well as a variety of consumer products,” said the Senators. “The bill also includes protections for farmworkers, including resources to train farmworkers in the safe and responsible application of pesticides. We urge swift passage of this legislation.”
PRIA established a framework for EPA when registering pesticides. The original intent has been to create a more predictable and effective evaluation process for affected pesticide decisions by coupling the collection of fees with specific decision review periods. This legislation includes technical changes and extends authority for EPA to collect updated pesticide registration and maintenance fees through FY 2023.
Today’s action marks the first step to reauthorize PRIA during the 116th Congress. The bipartisan PRIA legislation introduced today is identical to what passed the Senate unanimously by voice vote in June 2018. In December 2018, a variety of agriculture interests urged Congress to pass PRIA.
In June 2017, the Senate Agriculture Committee favorably reported H.R. 1029, the Pesticide Registration Improvement Extension Act of 2017.
In May 2017, the Committee held a hearing in preparation for legislative action to gather input on pesticide registrations. A variety of agriculture, non-agriculture, environmental and labor interests support enactment of PRIA.
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