[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 104 (Thursday, June 20, 2019)]
[House]
[Page H4997]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
RECOGNIZING NATIONAL POLLINATOR WEEK
(Ms. KAPTUR asked and was given permission to address the House for 1
minute.)
Ms. KAPTUR. Madam Speaker, I rise today in recognition of National
Pollinator Week. I am honored to be the Representative of three cities
each named a Monarch City U.S.A.: Oak Harbor, Port Clinton, and
Sandusky, Ohio. They are bestowed this title for their citizenries'
efforts to support the monarch butterfly, a noble and substantial
pollinator, by planting milkweed and nectar plants.
With beekeepers having lost 40 percent of their bee colonies last
year, it is imperative that Congress follow my constituents' lead to
protect and support pollinator populations. The 2018 farm bill and the
fiscal year 2020 Agriculture appropriations bill prioritized a
commitment to the welfare of pollinators for the sake of human life.
The farm bill authorized the Honey Bee and Pollinator Research
Coordinator, and the Appropriations Committee funded the position to
strengthen our research and protect pollinators from extinction.
In the spirit of National Pollinator Week and as an honored cosponsor
of the Saving America's Pollinators Act of 2019, please join me in
celebrating the beauty and utility and essential presence in our
environment of one of nature's finest constructs: pollinators.
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