Rick Allen: “I thank the gentleman from Ohio for his work on this important legislation. Today, I rise in support of H.R. 953, the…”

“I thank the gentleman from Ohio for his work on this important legislation. Today, I rise in support of H.R. 953, the Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act. This legislation will bring much-needed relief to our American farmers. They put in a great deal of time and money to deal with duplicative regulations like the one we are addressing here today. This bill will take away needless provisions regarding pesticide regulations under the Clean Water Act. Pesticide applications are already federally regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act. This permitting was unnecessary and duplicative, punishing American farmers due to a misguided court decision. In my district in Georgia, farmers have to deal with a variety of environmental difficulties, like the devastating freeze just this last March. The Federal Government should not be adding redundant mandates to already overburdened farmers. The Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act has been passed out of the House Agriculture Committee five times. It is time for Congress to correct this mistake and give farmers and pesticide applicators much-needed relief once and for all. Mr. Chairman, as a proud cosponsor of this bill, I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation.”