To amend the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act to provide for improved coordination between the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency and the Secretary of Agriculture, and for other purposes.

Key Points

• This bill requires the Environmental Protection Agency to work closely with the Department of Agriculture when making new rules for pesticides. Currently, the EPA often sets these rules on its own, but this change would force them to talk to farming experts before deciding how chemicals can be used on crops.
• The EPA would have to study how much new pesticide rules cost farmers and state agencies. They must look at the price of changing labels and the financial impact on people who grow our food. This ensures that the government understands the money side of environmental rules before they are finalized.
• The bill makes the EPA use real-world data from the Department of Agriculture and the farming industry. This includes information on how pesticides are actually used in the field and whether there are affordable alternatives available for farmers to use instead.
• When the EPA makes a final decision, they must publicly explain how they used the information from the Department of Agriculture. If they choose to ignore the advice or data from farming experts, they have to write down exactly why they made that choice in the public record.
• The plan also involves other parts of the government that protect wildlife. It requires the EPA to coordinate with the Department of the Interior and the Department of Commerce to make sure pesticide rules protect endangered animals without placing unfair burdens on the people who use the chemicals.

Impact Analysis

Govbase has not yet run an impact analysis on this legislation.