Political Quotes

“Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of my amendment to H.R. 953, the Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act of 2017. The underlying bill is overly broad, and not only risks public health, but also endangers our agricultural lands by needlessly contaminating our water. Let me be clear: I support eliminating unnecessary regulatory burdens. In fact, if you ask every Representative whether they support getting rid of duplicative or unnecessary regulations, you would probably get 435 yeas. However, the regulations here are far from unwarranted. There is a compelling reason why the Environmental Protection Agency stepped in to protect the American public and our water from unnecessary harms from pesticides. Under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, FIFRA, the EPA is charged with registering all pesticides that are made and sold in the United States. But FIFRA does not take into account when, where, and how pesticides are applied. Applying a pesticide to crop land has a dramatically different consequence to the environment than when it is sprayed directly into or over or on bodies of water. So that is why, under the Clean Water Act, pesticide general permits are now required for pesticide applications in, over, or on water. Folks are only required to apply for a pesticide general permit when they want to release biological or chemical pesticides into, over, or on waters of the United States.…”