[Legislative Day] 25 Years of Legislative Day

NPMA’s Jim Fredericks spoke as part of a panel discussion on the new pyrethroid labels. Also pictured are EPA’s Rick Keigwin and NPMA’s Bob Rosenberg. Not pictured is Clark Pest Control’s Darren Van Steenwyck.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The National Pest Management Association celebrated 25 years of Legislative Day in February, and while the issues have changed throughout years, the need to raise Capitol Hill awareness of issues impacting the pest control industry is as strong as ever.

Bob Rosenberg, senior vice president, NPMA, said he likens today’s political climate in Washington to that of 1996 when a flurry of legislation made its way through Congress. The Congress of 1996 had developed a reputation as a “do-nothing Congress” with little to show for itself. Many of these congressional members (about 470) were facing re-election and did not want to return to their constituents with that type of reputation. So, in the course of two weeks that Congress passed the Health Care Affordability Act; a Medicare bill; the Safe Drinking Water Act; and the Food Quality Protection Act.

“We’re in precisely the kind of climate where things can happen and they can happen fast,” said Rosenberg.

Attendees of the 2012 edition of NPMA Legislative Day headed to Capitol Hill in February to make their collective voices heard on the following issues.
 

Past winners of the FMC Legislative Day Award were recognized at this year’s event, including those in attendance (from left to right): Judy Dold, Norm Goldenberg, Lonnie Alonso, Chris Gorecki, Bob Kunst, Russ Ives, Rick Bell, Joe Wilson and Donnie Blake. Recognizing the past recipients is FMC’s Amy O’Shea (far right).

 
Clean Water Act. Legislative Day attendees asked their representatives to support H.R. 872, the Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act. This legislation was necessitated by a misguided 2009 federal court ruling that requires costly and burdensome Clean Water Act (CWA) National Pollutant Discharge and Elimination System (NPDES) permits for millions of pesticide applications. The permit will interfere with and add cost to longstanding activities such as mosquito control and aquatic weed work — work performed by some pest management professionals. Legislation exempting lawful pesticide applications from CWA permitting requirements passed the U.S. House with overwhelming bipartisan support last year. Despite widespread support, H.R. 872 has not been given an up or down vote in the U.S. Senate.
 

SEPA. Congressman Rush Holt (D-N.J.) is expected to introduce the School Environment Protection Act (SEPA), a prescriptive, one-size-fits-all bill that would require schools in Georgia to manage pests just as schools in Alaska, regardless of pest pressure or other geographical factors. Almost 40 states have laws or regulations in place specific to the management of pests in schools — some of which are more than 20 years old — and SEPA would only serve to undermine those laws and confuse the many stakeholders that have helped craft and are impacted by such policies.

Dick Morris, one of the most prominent and outspoken political consultants in the country, gave his thoughts on this year’s presidential election. His presentation was sponsored by Dow AgroSciences.

Legislative Day attendees encouraged their representatives to consider the industry’s position on SEPA: that any effort to move SEPA — either as a stand-alone bill or as an amendment to another measure — should be rejected, as states are effectively regulating the management of pests at schools and don’t need federal legislation interfering with and undermining their efforts in this area.

Sulfuryl Fluoride Uses. In 2004, EPA registered sulfuryl fluoride for control of insect pests in harvested and processed foods such as cereal grains, dried fruits, tree nuts, cocoa beans, coffee beans, and also in food handling and processing facilities. The fumigant is considered an alternative to methyl bromide, which is being phased out. However, the product has come under attack from the activist group FAN (Fluoride Action Network), which has a waged a lengthy campaign to remove sulfuryl fluoride usage in food-processing facilities. FAN claims the use of sulfuryl fluoride will introduce unacceptable levels of fluoride to consumers and can cause medical risks, mainly dental fluorosis, a condition where overexposure to fluoride can damage the enamel on teeth.

However, even U.S. EPA acknowledges that sulfuryl fluoride contributes no more that 2-3% of the public’s exposure to fluoride, noting that “Use of sulfuryl fluoride is responsible for a tiny fraction of aggregate fluoride exposure” and “Elimination of sulfuryl fluoride does not solve, or even significantly decrease, the fluoride aggregate exposure problems...”

Furthermore, over the last several years, U.S. EPA has aggressively encouraged the professional pest management industry and the food sector to move from methyl bromide — a fumigant identified as an ozone depleting substance and slated for phase-out — to sulfuryl fluoride, and both the pest management industry and food sector have been moving in good faith to sulfuryl fluoride.

TOP: NPMA’s Bob Rosenberg (left) recognizes Dave Morris of Dow AgroSciences for Dow’s support of Legislative Day. BOTTOM: NPMA’s Rob Lederer presents an award to FMC’s Amy O’Shea in recognition of FMC’s support of Legislative Day.

Some groups in the food sector are now completely reliant on sulfuryl fluoride and the loss of the product would have devastating economic consequences. The industry’s position is that the U.S. EPA should withdraw its misguided proposed order cancelling the food uses for sulfuryl fluoride and Congress should closely oversee the Agency to see that it does so.

Bed Bugs. H.R. 967, the “Bed Bug Management, Prevention and Research Act of 2011,” was introduced by Rep. Jean Schmidt (R-OH). It initiated and directed a common-sense strategic federal response to the bed bug pandemic. Specifically, the bill authorizes, as part of an existing program, federal bed bug research funding to resume, on a broad scale, work that has been neglected for 50 years and requires efficacy testing for minimum risk pesticides — pesticides that are exempt from U.S. EPA’s registration process — to protect consumers from products that don’t effectively manage bed bug infestations. H.R. 967 has been referred to the House Subcommittee on Nutrition and Horticulture, but NPMA believes there might be opportunities to insert provisions or language from H.R. 967 into the 2012 Farm Bill.
 

Speakers & Sessions. Other highlights of Legislative Day included presentations from noted political figures Haley Barbour and Dick Morris. Barbour (R-MS), former governor of Mississippi and former chairman of the Republican Governors Association, gave his thoughts on a variety of political topics, including the Republican presidential primary. He said this primary is unique in that no candidate pulled ahead in the early going, and he doesn’t expect either former Sen. Rick Santorum or former Gov. Mitt Romney to do so until late in the process. Barbour’s presentation was sponsored by FMC Professional Solutions.

Morris, one of the most prominent political consultants in the country, gave his thoughts on this year’s presidential election. Morris said that President Barack Obama is in real danger of losing because of a demographic shift. He said when Obama was elected in 2008 that 5 more percent of people classified themselves as Democrats than Republicans; now three more percent of people classify themselves as Republicans rather than Democrats. His presentation was sponsored by Dow AgroSciences.
 

Legislative Day also included several educational sessions covering a variety of issues important to the pest control industry, including a panel discussion about how changes to pyrethroid labels will impact the pest control industry (see page 70).

The author is Internet editor and managing editor of PCT magazine and can be contacted at bharbison@giemedia.com.
 

Interactive
PCT’s online coverage of Legislative Day includes articles, video interviews and a slideshow of photos.

LEFT: Haley Barbour, former governor of Mississippi and former chairman of the Republican Governors Association, gave his thoughts on the Republican presidential primary. Barbour’s presentation was sponsored by FMC Professional Solutions. RIGHT: Attendees (from left to right) Kim Kelly-Tunis, Cleveland Dixon and Ron Harrison listen to a Legislative Day speaker.

LEFT: Legislative Day attendees from Georgia share a laugh. Prior to heading to Capitol Hill, attendees met in their state caucuses to discuss strategy and review regulatory issues they would be discussing with their Congressional representatives. RIGHT: NPMA’s Gene Harrington reviewed issues that Legislative Day attendees would be discussing with their representatives.

A Legislative Day highlight is the annual kid’s program in which “the next generation of pest management professionals” enjoy the sights and sounds of Washington, D.C.