ISSAlert February 27, 2019
ISSA is pleased to report that after more than a year of disagreement, the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate have reached an agreement to reauthorize the Pesticide Registration Improvement Act (PRIA 4) through 2023. A final procedural Senate vote is expected shortly and then the bill will head to President Donald Trump for his approval.
The bill also increases maintenance fees and makes some changes to registration fee categories and timeframes. Portions of the maintenance fees are to be used to develop efficacy test guidelines for public health pests and for the processing of “fast-track” actions, which are not subject to PRIA fees and timeframes. The bill also preserves some fee waivers for small businesses, and ensures that supplemental registrations will continue to be exempt from registration fees.
ISSA has been proactively pushing for passage of PRIA reauthorization on behalf of its members and the entire cleaning industry. The PRIA Coalition of which ISSA is a founding member, environmental organizations, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) began negotiating PRIA 4 in 2016 and have been lobbying for its passage for more than two years. During the past two weeks alone, ISSA and the PRIA Coalition have met with nearly 20 Congressional offices to advocate for the passage of PRIA 4. Many of these meetings were with newly elected members of the House Agriculture Committee.
In response to its passage ISSA Director of Government Affairs John Nothdurft said, “On behalf of our more than 9,300 members representing the entire cleaning industry, we are glad that PRIA will likely soon become law, re-establishing predictable timeframes in the pesticide registration process and providing EPA with the resources to meet registration decision timeframes.”
In addition to traditional pesticides, PRIA covers commercial and institutional antimicrobial products, such as disinfectants and sanitizers, that protect public health against the spread of harmful germs, bacteria, viruses, and fungi.
Nothdurft said, “PRIA reauthorization will enable manufacturers to innovate new products to combat infectious diseases and protect public health. Our manufacturers of disinfectants and sanitizers need the predictability that PRIA 4 provides to be able to innovate and bring new cleaning and sanitizing products to market.”
Due to a parliamentary procedural issue, the Senate needs to vote on the bill on more time, but it passed the legislation unanimously two weeks ago. We expect final approval shortly. You can see a summary of the previous and new PRIA provisions here.
As a benefit to our members, ISSA continues to educate and engage policymakers on issues critical for the industry. For additional information, or questions regarding PRIA, other issues, or ISSA’s advocacy efforts please contact ISSA Director of Government Affairs John Nothdurft.
