On March 23, 2018, the President signed into law the omnibus spending bill that provides funding for government operations through the remainder of the 2018 federal fiscal year ending September 30^th.  CPDA is pleased to report that included in the omnibus spending measure is an extension of current PRIA (PRIA 3) through September 30^th of this year.  The legislation funds EPA’s pesticide program at current levels and includes an additional $6.96 million increase for product review activities associated with PRIA.

As reported previously, PRIA has been extended in a series of stop-gap funding measures or Continuing Resolutions (CR) since September 30^th of last year. While the measure enacted as part of the omnibus spending bill extends PRIA 3 through September 30, 2018, reauthorizing legislation still needs to be enacted to ensure the continuation of the statute beyond that date.  Importantly, PRIA 4 as a legislative proposal could still be considered by Congress and passed into law. The main issues CPDA is concerned with regarding the current status of PRIA are as follows:

Funding:  The industry would like to see the modification of funding mechanisms that allow fees to be “sequestered” when they do not equal federal appropriations.  CPDA’s position, in line with other stakeholders and EPA leadership, is that this system should be changed so that when fees are collected they can be used to process applications. This should help in addressing any delays or backlogs. This change is included in PRIA 4.

Reauthorization period: While the House version of PRIA 4 extends the program for 7 years, the Senate changed the reauthorization to 3 years. CPDA’s position, in line with other stakeholders and EPA leadership, is that it would be better to have the extended reauthorization period but not at the cost of the legislation failing to pass. CPDA will continue to work with stakeholders and the Agency in developing an acceptable resolution of this issue.

During the weeks leading up to passage and enactment of the omnibus spending measure, CPDA made a series of House and Senate office visits in seeking Congressional support for inclusion of PRIA as part of the funding package.  CPDA also asked its member companies to supplement these lobbying activities by writing to their Senators and Representatives urging support for PRIA as part of the next budget bill.  To all those CPDA member companies who participated in this grass roots effort, we would like to convey our thanks.  The calls and letters of our member companies to their senators and representatives helped CPDA’s advocacy efforts on PRIA.

Nevertheless, much work remains to be done.  In the months ahead, CPDA will dedicate its efforts in securing the enactment of legislation to reauthorize PRIA beyond September 30^th.  To this end, CPDA continues to work closely with other members of the PRIA Coalition in building consensus and Congressional support for this critical legislation.

CPDA will keep its members informed of further developments as they occur.  In the interim, should you have any questions, please contact CPDA Director of Legislative Affairs Don Davis.