[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 59 (Thursday, April 1, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E331-E332]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    FARMWORKER PESTICIDE SAFETY ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JOHN GARAMENDI

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 1, 2021

  Mr. GARAMENDI. Madam Speaker, today I introduce the Farmworker 
Pesticide Safety Act in commemoration of Cesar Chavez Day. This 
legislation is endorsed by the Association of American Pesticide 
Control Officials (AAPCO).
  The Farmworker Pesticide Safety Act would support the correct 
application of pesticides in agriculture and provide farmworkers 
additional resources for the safe handling of pesticides and proper 
decontamination protocols following their workday. This new federal 
funding would come at no cost to taxpayers, complementing the 
substantial investments California's Department of Pesticide Regulation 
is already making to ensure that farmworkers and their young children 
are not exposed to dangerous pesticide levels in my State.
  Specifically, my bill would effectively triple funding for the U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency's (USEPA) worker protection, public-
private partnership, and pesticide safety education grant programs. I 
am honored to represent the University of California, Davis Extension, 
which is the single largest recipient of this federal grant money in 
the entire country.
  According to the USEPA, the agency collected between $2.3 million to 
$9.25 million

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annually for pesticide regulatory violations over the past 5 years. 
Under current federal law, these fines and penalties collected from 
lawbreakers in the pesticide industry revert to the U.S. Treasury.
  My Farmworker Pesticide Safety Act would instead direct these fines 
toward the USEPA's three major pesticide safety grant programs, at no 
additional cost to taxpayers, growers, or the pesticide industry. This 
means my bill would provide an average of $4.15 million per year in 
additional USEPA grant funding.
  In 2019, Congress passed the Pesticide Registration Improvement 
Extension Act of 2018 (Public Law 116-8) reauthorizing the fee schedule 
for pesticide registrations with the USPEA through the end of fiscal 
year 2023. I look forward to working with Chairman Scott and all 
members of the Committee on Agriculture to include the Farmworker 
Pesticide Safety Act in the next PRIA reauthorization.

                          ____________________