02 Nov KARA signs coalition letter to congressional leaders on FIFRA reaffirmation
Kansas Agribusiness Retailers Association (KARA) joined its national affiliate organizations and sent a letter to congressional leaders Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York), House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California), Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-California) encouraging congressional action affirming EPA as the the primary, federal authority for making pesticide findings and decisions, and that states may build upon the agency’s findings should they choose.
The letter points to states who have recently begun taking steps to risk limiting access to essential crop protection tools, contradicting EPA’s scientific findings on pesticide safety. Federal law places in EPA the authority to make foundational, science-based decisions on how pesticides can be labeled and used, which states can then build upon.
State-by-state regulations threaten to jeopardize public confidence in EPA’s authority and science-based regulation, as well as the continued availability of individual tools on which there are contradictory claims.