Kevin Roberts: “I thank my colleague, the ranking member of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee, for engaging in…”

“I thank my colleague, the ranking member of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee, for engaging in this important discussion. I am proud to stand before my colleagues in the U.S. Senate to discuss some of the bipartisan work that we have accomplished through regular order at the Agriculture Committee specifically with regard to H.R. 1029, the Pesticide Registration Improvement Extension Act of 2017, or PRIA 4. PRIA, while technical in nature, is critically important with assisting both EPA in carrying out administrative functions and industry that relies upon timely, science-based pesticide registration decisions to get products on the market and in the hands of farmers, ranchers, and other consumers. PRIA, historically, has received widespread support from a diverse coalition of stakeholders, including members of the pesticide registrant community--both agricultural and nonagricultural uses, labor, and environmental advocates, which has contributed to Congress's ability to pass reauthorizations swiftly and by unanimous consent. With the Widespread support of the PRIA coalition, as illustrated by a coalition letter addressed to our committee on June 29, 2017, which expresses support of the amendment to H.R. 1029 and urges swift action, this effort should be no different. Our committee held a hearing earlier this year to review this issue in an open and transparent manner.…”