[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1496 Introduced in House (IH)]

113th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1496

To require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to 
withdraw the proposed order published in the January 19, 2011, Federal 
   Register (76 Fed. Reg. 3422) pertaining to the pesticide sulfuryl 
                               fluoride.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 11, 2013

 Mr. Graves of Georgia (for himself, Mr. Schrader, Mr. Duncan of South 
 Carolina, Mr. Bishop of Georgia, Mr. Poe of Texas, Mr. Westmoreland, 
Mr. LaMalfa, Mr. Crawford, Mr. Latta, Mr. Austin Scott of Georgia, Mr. 
  Southerland, Mr. Stutzman, Mr. Yoho, Mr. Valadao, and Mr. Broun of 
   Georgia) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                    Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to 
withdraw the proposed order published in the January 19, 2011, Federal 
   Register (76 Fed. Reg. 3422) pertaining to the pesticide sulfuryl 
                               fluoride.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    The Act may be cited as the ``Pest Free Food Supply Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) The food and fiber supply in the United States is the 
        safest and most abundant and affordable bounty in the world due 
        to efficient application of science-based technologies through 
        the Nation's enduring heritage of farming and ranching.
            (2) The Environmental Protection Agency (``EPA'') supported 
        the transition from methyl bromide as a fumigant for pest 
        eradication in 2005 under the Montreal Protocol.
            (3) Sulfuryl fluoride was tested and found to be a safe and 
        viable broad-spectrum post-harvest alternative to methyl 
        bromide.
            (4) In 2002, EPA presented the maker of sulfuryl fluoride 
        with a Stratospheric Ozone Protection Award.
            (5) Sulfuryl fluoride has evolved into the industry 
        standard and is critical to elimination of pest contamination 
        on foods and further processed food products derived from 
        peanuts, cotton seed, cocoa beans, wheat, rice, corn, oats, 
        oilseeds, nuts, dried fruits, and many agricultural 
        commodities.
            (6) Sulfuryl fluoride is also an important fumigant to 
        control pests in various food and agricultural processing 
        facilities.
            (7) On January 19, 2011, EPA published in the Federal 
        Register a proposed order to revoke the previously approved 
        food uses for the fumigant sulfuryl fluoride.
            (8) EPA issued the proposed order not because it would have 
        any meaningful effect on public health, but because of the 
        presence of excessively high levels of naturally occurring 
        fluoride in certain drinking water systems.
            (9) Sulfuryl fluoride is the smallest contributor to total 
        fluoride exposure, and even EPA admits that ``the elimination 
        of sulfuryl fluoride does not solve, or even significantly 
        decrease, the fluoride . . . exposure problems''.
            (10) The EPA has stated that, if sulfuryl fluoride is 
        ``phased-out from use, industry will be left with few viable 
        sanitation alternatives''.

SEC. 3. DIRECT WITHDRAWAL OF JANUARY 19, 2011, FEDERAL REGISTER NOTICE 
              PERTAINING TO SULFURYL FLUORIDE.

    The Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency shall 
withdraw the proposed order published in the January 19, 2011, Federal 
Register (76 Fed. Reg. 3422) pertaining to the pesticide sulfuryl 
fluoride.
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