[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 101 (Tuesday, July 16, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1066]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


      INTRODUCING THE ``SAVING AMERICA'S POLLINATORS ACT OF 2013''

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                         HON. JOHN CONYERS, JR.

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 16, 2013

  Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, today I rise with the support of my 
colleague and friend Mr. Blumenauer of Oregon to introduce the ``Saving 
America's Pollinators Act of 2013.'' This legislation requires the 
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to take swift 
action and prevent future mass die-offs of honey bees.
  One of every three bites of food we eat is from a crop pollinated by 
honey bees. These crops include: apples, avocados, cranberries, 
cherries, broccoli, peaches, carrots, grapes, soybeans, sugar beets and 
onions. Unfortunately, unless swift action is taken, these crops, and 
numerous others, will soon disappear due to the dramatic decline of 
honey bee populations throughout the country. For over a decade now, 
honey bees have been suffering rapid population losses as a result of a 
phenomenon known as `colony collapse disorder.' Another decade of these 
mass die-offs will severely threaten our agricultural economy and food 
supply system.
  Scientists have reported that common symptoms of this decline are 
attributed to the use of a class of insecticides known as 
neonicotinoids. The 'Saving America's Pollinators Act' will address the 
decline of honey bee populations by directing the Administrator of the 
Environmental Protection Agency to suspend the registration of certain 
neonicotinoids--known as imidacloprid, clothianidin, thiamethoxam, 
dinotafuran--and any other members of the nitro group of neonicotinoid 
insecticides until the Administrator has made a determination that such 
insecticides will not cause unreasonable adverse effects on pollinators 
based on an evaluation of peer-review scientific evidence and a 
completed field study. The bill will also require the Secretary of the 
Interior, in coordination with the Administrator of the Environmental 
Protection Agency, to regularly monitor the health and population 
status of native bees and identify the scope and likely causes of 
unusual native bee mortality.
  This legislation is extremely critical to examining the death of 
honey bees and will allow us the opportunity to adequately secure our 
future food supply. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation 
and protect America's pollinators.

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