[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5015 Introduced in House (IH)]
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115th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 5015
To direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to
take certain actions related to pesticides that may affect pollinators,
and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 14, 2018
Mr. Blumenauer (for himself, Mr. McGovern, Mr. Huffman, Ms. Norton, Ms.
Velazquez, Ms. Speier, Mr. DeFazio, Ms. Wasserman Schultz, Mrs. Carolyn
B. Maloney of New York, Ms. McCollum, Ms. Tsongas, Ms. Schakowsky, Ms.
Clark of Massachusetts, Mr. Connolly, Mr. Pascrell, Mr. Polis, Mr.
Quigley, Mr. Nadler, Ms. Slaughter, Ms. Lofgren, Mr. Meeks, Ms.
Pingree, Ms. Lee, Mr. Ellison, Mrs. Watson Coleman, Mr. Grijalva, Mr.
Nolan, Mr. Larsen of Washington, Ms. Kuster of New Hampshire, Mr.
Cartwright, Mr. Cohen, Ms. DeLauro, Ms. Michelle Lujan Grisham of New
Mexico, Ms. Esty of Connecticut, and Ms. Kaptur) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to
take certain actions related to pesticides that may affect pollinators,
and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Saving America's Pollinators Act of
2018''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Pollination services are a vital part of agricultural
production, valued at over $125,000,000,000 globally. According
to a 2014 Presidential memorandum, pollinators provide for an
annual amount of $24,000,000,000 to the economy of the United
States and honeybees account for $15,000,000,000 of such
amount. Similarly, pollination services of native pollinators,
such as bumblebees, squash bees, and mason bees, contribute
over $3,000,000,000 to the United States agricultural economy
and are estimated to contribute between $937,000,000 and
$2,400,000,000 to the economy of California alone.
(2) One-third of food produced in North America--including
nearly 100 varieties of fruits and vegetables such as almonds,
avocados, cranberries, and apples--depends on pollination by
bees.
(3) Over the past several years, documented incidents of
colony collapse disorder and other forms of excess bee
mortality have been at a record high, with some beekeepers
repeatedly losing 100 percent of their operations. The national
honey crop reported in 2013 was the lowest in many decades.
(4) A recent national survey sponsored by the Federal
Government indicates that United States beekeepers experienced
a 45.2 percent annual mortality rate with their hives during
the period beginning in April 2012 and ending in March 2013.
During the winter of 2013-2014, two-thirds of beekeepers
experienced loss rates greater than the established acceptable
winter mortality rate.
(5) According to scientists at the Department of
Agriculture, current losses of honeybee colonies are too high
to confidently ensure the United States will be able to meet
the pollination demands for agricultural crops.
(6) Native pollinators, such as bumblebees, have also
suffered alarming population declines. There are currently more
than 40 pollinator species federally listed as threatened or
endangered, and most recently, the iconic monarch butterfly has
declined by 90 percent.
(7) Scientists have linked the use of a certain class of
systemic insecticides, known as neonicotinoids, to the rapid
decline of pollinators and to the deterioration of pollinator
health.
(8) Neonicotinoids cause sublethal effects, including
impaired foraging and feeding behavior, disorientation,
weakened immunity, delayed larval development, and increased
susceptibility to viruses, diseases, and parasites. Numerous
reports also document acute, lethal effects from the
application of neonicotinoids.
(9) Conclusions from a recent global review of the impacts
of systemic pesticides, primarily neonicotinoids, warn that
they are causing significant damage to a wide range of
beneficial invertebrate species, are a key factor in the
decline of bees, and pose a global threat to biodiversity and
ecosystem services. Another recent global review documented
high levels of freshwater contamination.
(10) Science has demonstrated that a single corn kernel
coated with a neonicotinoid is toxic enough to kill a songbird.
Peer-reviewed research from the Netherlands has shown that the
most severe bird population declines occurred in those areas
where neonicotinoid pollution was highest. Starlings, tree
sparrows, and swallows were among the most affected.
(11) In January 2013, the European Food Safety Authority
determined that the most widely used neonicotinoids pose
unacceptable hazards to bees, prompting the European Union to
suspend their use on agricultural crops.
(12) In June 2013, over 50,000 bumblebees were killed as a
direct result of exposure to a neonicotinoid applied to linden
trees for cosmetic purposes.
(13) In February 2014, Eugene, Oregon, voted to ban the use
of neonicotinoid pesticides on city property. Similar bans and
restrictions have been enacted in Thurston County, Spokane, and
Seattle, Washington, and Skagway, Alaska.
(14) In June 2014, a Presidential memorandum established a
Pollinator Health Task Force after identifying pollinator
decline as a threat to the sustainability of food production
systems, the agricultural economy, and the health of the
environment in the United States.
(15) In July 2014, the United States Fish and Wildlife
Service announced plans to phase out neonicotinoid pesticides
in all national wildlife refuges across the United States by
January 2016. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service
recognized that the prophylactic use of neonicotinoids for
agricultural purposes harms a wide range of nontarget species
and is therefore inconsistent with the management policy of the
United States Fish and Wildlife Service.
(16) In October 2014, an assessment by the Environmental
Protection Agency found that neonicotinoid seed coatings
provide little benefit to overall soybean crop yield.
Additional studies determined that in approximately 80 to 90
percent of row crop uses, neonicotinoid coatings are
unnecessary. The prophylactic overuse of neonicotinoids
violates the fundamental principles of integrated pest
management.
(17) In November 2014, the Province of Ontario, Canada,
announced the province will move to restrict the use of
neonicotinoid-coated corn and soybean seeds because of the
broad harms from their overuse, with a goal of 80 percent
reduction by 2017.
(18) In September 2015, the Circuit Court of the United
States for the Ninth Circuit ruled to revoke the Environmental
Protection Agency's approval for sufloxaflor--a neonicotinoid
pesticide.
(19) In November 2016, Health Canada, the Department of the
Government of Canada with responsibility for national public
health, proposed a ban on almost all uses of the neonicotinoid
imidacloprid, saying it is seeping into Canadian waterways at
levels that can harm insects and the ecosystem.
(20) The President's budget for fiscal year 2018 cuts
funding for pesticide review programs of the Environmental
Protection Agency by 20 percent delaying reviews of new,
potentially safer pesticides as well as reviews of older, more
dangerous pesticides such as neonicotinoids.
SEC. 3. URGENT REGULATORY RESPONSE FOR HONEYBEE AND POLLINATOR
PROTECTION.
(a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Environmental
Protection Agency shall suspend the registration of imidacloprid,
clothianidin, thiamethoxam, dinotafuran, and any other members of the
nitro group of neonicotinoid insecticides to the extent such
insecticide is registered, conditionally or otherwise, under the
Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (7 U.S.C. 136 et
seq.) for use in seed treatment, soil application, or foliar treatment
on bee-attractive plants, trees, and cereals until the Administrator
has made a determination that such insecticide will not cause
unreasonable adverse effects on pollinators based on--
(1) an evaluation of the published and peer-reviewed
scientific evidence on whether the use or uses of such
neonicotinoids cause unreasonable adverse effects on
pollinators, including native bees, honeybees, birds, bats, and
other species of beneficial insects; and
(2) a completed field study that meets the criteria
required by the Administrator and evaluates residues, including
residue buildup after repeated annual application, chronic low-
dose exposure, cumulative effects of multiple chemical
exposures, and any other protocol determined to be necessary by
the Administrator to protect managed and native pollinators.
(b) Conditions on Certain Pesticides Registrations.--
Notwithstanding section 3 of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and
Rodenticide Act (7 U.S.C. 136a), for purposes of the protection of
honeybees, other pollinators, and beneficial insects, the Administrator
of the Environmental Protection Agency shall not issue any new
registrations, conditional or otherwise, for any seed treatment, soil
application, and foliar treatment on bee-attractive plants, trees, and
cereals under such Act until the Administrator has made the
determination described in subsection (a), based on an evaluation
described in subsection (a)(1) and a completed field study described in
subsection (a)(2), with respect to such insecticide.
(c) Monitoring of Native Bees.--The Secretary of the Interior, in
coordination with the Administrator of the Environmental Protection
Agency, shall, for purposes of protecting and ensuring the long-term
viability of native bees and other pollinators of agricultural crops,
horticultural plants, wild plants, and other plants--
(1) regularly monitor the health and population status of
native bees, including the status of native bees in
agricultural and nonagricultural habitats and areas of
ornamental plants, residential areas, and landscaped areas;
(2) identify the scope and likely causes of unusual native
bee mortality; and
(3) beginning not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act and each year thereafter, submit to
Congress, and make available to the public, a report on such
health and population status.
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