Please send an email to your Representative and Senators today, asking them to support $158 million in PRIA funding. 

The EPA needs adequate funding to do its job.  Shortfalls in funding have led to staff cuts that are delaying the registration of new pesticide products.  Recently, falling just below our initial request for $163 million in PRIA funding, the House-passed H.R. 8294 which included $158 million in funding under the Pesticide Registration Improvement Act. This is a 22% increase over the current fiscal year. The Interior Appropriations bill introduced in the Senate only includes $140 million for these activities. While we are encouraged with increases in both chambers, we need your outreach to Capitol Hill to support the House-passed $158 million to ensure EPA can get new, innovative pesticide technologies to market.  

Although we may not agree with every decision that comes out of the EPA, we do agree that the better funded the agency is, the more likely it is to provide consumers, farmers and public health officials the tools they need to keep our families safe, grow our food, and protect our communities. That is why we need your voice to support Fiscal Year 2023 appropriations funding for EPA’s Office of Pesticide Programs, the office responsible for registering and reviewing pesticide products.  

This lack of funding is not a new issue. In fact, more than twenty years ago, this short fall resulted in our industry stepping up to secure passage of the Pesticide Registration Improvement Act (PRIA). PRIA created a fee for service program that today provides EPA with more than $50 million in user fees annually to support the staff needed for the pesticide review process. The program is an example of a public-private partnership that works, but more help is needed. 

For more information, check out this article by CropLife America CEO, Chris Novak: https://www.agri-pulse.com/articles/17795-opinion-why-its-time-to-fund-epa