AmericanHort cosigned a letter to Debbie Stabenow, Chairwoman, U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, & Forestry; Glenn “GT” Thompson Chairman, House Committee on Agriculture; John Boozman, Ranking Member, U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition & Forestry; and David Scott, Ranking Member, House Committee on Agriculture, to express strong support for including in the 2023 Farm Bill reauthorization language under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) that codifies regulatory oversight of pesticides at the state level.
Under FIFRA, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) enters into cooperative agreements with individual states to effectively co-regulate pesticide products. Ensuring that policy decisions concerning pesticide use remains at the state level is of paramount importance to protect our nation’s food supply, public health, pets, property, and the environment. Scientific experts at the state level conduct extensive evaluation of pesticides after initial approval by the EPA. States also administer and regulate robust certification and training programs to which all professional pesticide applicators must adhere. Forty-six states have adopted by statute some form of state preemption, reserving for themselves the robust oversight of federal and state pesticide laws.