[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 127 (Friday, August 3, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Page S10894]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             PESTICIDE REGISTRATION IMPROVEMENT RENEWAL ACT

  Mr. CHAMBLISS. Mr. President, I rise to express my support for the 
Pesticide Registration Improvement Renewal Act. It reauthorizes the 
highly successful Pesticide Registration Improvement Act, PRIA, which 
was modeled on the Prescription Drug User Fee Act and enacted as part 
of the 2004 omnibus appropriations bill.
  PRIA authorized the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, to 
collect service fees in order to help cover the cost of registering new 
pesticides. It also authorized EPA to continue to collect fees to 
review older pesticides. PRIA established a fee schedule for pesticide 
registration requests and set specific time periods for EPA to make 
regulatory decisions on pesticide registration and tolerance requests. 
The goal of PRIA was to create a more predictable and effective 
evaluation process for pesticide registration decisions and link the 
collection of individual fees with specific decision review periods.
  PRIA was developed through the work of a unique coalition of 
environmental associations and the registrant community, which included 
agricultural and non-agricultural, antimicrobial, large, small, 
biotech, and biopesticide companies. This same coalition came together 
to develop this legislative proposal to reauthorize PRIA.
  This is true consensus legislation. It clarifies the intent of the 
original law and continues the fee-for-service program, with some 
technical adjustments. Specifically, it increases and clarifies 
categories covered, uses maintenance fees for registration review, 
protects funds for grant programs, increases funding, and prevents 
free-riding.
  I am pleased to cosponsor and support this legislation. I urge my 
colleagues to approve its reauthorization and continue the positive 
changes PRIA brought to the pesticide registration process.

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