[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 81 (Tuesday, May 16, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6743-S6744]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                  MINOR CROP PROTECTION ASSISTANCE ACT

  Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, today I rise to join my colleagues as a 
cosponsor of the Minor Crop Protection Assistance Act. This legislation 
will provide much needed relief to the food and horticultural 
industries so important to the economy of my State and the Nation.
  This purpose of this legislation is simple: It is all about 
economics. This legislation seeks to provide some relief to producers 
of minor crops who face the imminent threat of losing access to vital, 
and safe crop protection tools due to market forces. Currently, 
registration of pesticides under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and 
Rodenticide Act [FIFRA] with EPA is an intensive process, involving as 
many as 120 data requirements. Chemical manufacturers are forced to 
make the decision to cancel, or not reregister, crop protection tools 
for use on minor crops because the resulting 
[[Page S6744]] sales revenues will not support the high costs of 
reregistration. The result is that many safe minor crop protection 
chemicals have been dropped from production, despite the essential role 
they play for our minor crop growers.
  The production of the minor commodities, as they are called, is in 
fact of major importance to Washington State. In Washington, 90 percent 
of our agricultural industry is in minor crops. Most notable are hops, 
apples, small fruits, vegetables, and hay. Washington alone produces 77 
percent of all commercially consumed hops in the United States. Hops 
growers have five pesticides available to them, and four of these are 
in danger of being lost due to the high cost of reregistration. If only 
one pesticide is available, pests will quickly develop their resistance 
and this compound will become obsolete as a tool for crop protection. 
Another example comes from the hay producers in Washington. The hay we 
grow makes up one-third of the world's hay market. We export 75 percent 
of our product. One particular pesticide which is essential to the 
growth cycle is in danger of not being reregistered. If it goes, with 
it will go our global market share.
  This purpose of this bill is not an issue of public health or public 
safety, this is an issue of economics. It is designed to preserve safe 
minor use pesticides and to encourage the development of 
environmentally sound pest management tools. We need to provide the 
economic incentive for pesticide manufacturers to pursue the costly 
reregistration of products with limited market potential.
  The Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of 
Agriculture recognize this situation. They have worked with a coalition 
of minor crop producers and my colleagues, Senator Lugar and Senator 
Inouye, on this legislation. Accordingly, this bill streamlines the 
registration and reregistration process, and provides new incentives to 
the pesticide industry to pursue minor crop registrations. Most 
importantly, this bill reinforces EPA's authority to deny 
reregistration of minor use pesticides out of concern for public 
safety. In the Administrator's judgment, if a pesticide puts the public 
at too great a risk, the incentives for development, registration, or 
reregistration can be revoked.
  A safe food supply is very important to me. Minor crops, which in 
large part are fruits and vegetables, are staples in the diets of 
infants and children, and they also receive large applications of 
pesticides. In its 1993 report, ``Pesticides in the Diets of Infants 
and Children,'' the National Academy of Sciences found that current 
pesticide standards may be inadequate to protect infants and children 
from pesticide exposure and recommends policies to increase protection.
  While this legislation addresses a market issue, it leaves us with 
the responsibility of addressing the complex issue of food safety and 
the adequacy of the current pesticide regulatory system. In no way are 
we relieved of dealing with pesticide issues in a comprehensive manner.
  I am very interested in promoting the development of newer, safer 
pesticides, and encouraging farmers to decrease their use of dangerous 
pesticides. Our efforts in this bill should go hand in hand with 
incentive-based approaches that encourage integrated pest management, 
and even organic production practices. I look forward to working with 
my colleagues to address the shortcomings of our current pesticide 
regulatory system, and to encourage innovative approaches for the 
future.


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