Pollinator Protection Act-con

Lovell/Mills Speak Out North Texas Pollinator Protection Act-CON

Pollinator Protection Act-CON INHERENCY....................................................................................................................2 1. Already in the Status Quo...........................................................................................2 A. The Pollinator Protection Act was incorporated into another bill..........................2 B. That bill was passed................................................................................................2 C. The texts of the bills are almost identical................................................................3 a. The text of the original Pollinator Protection Act................................................3 b. The text of the Farm Bill (in regards to bees…it’s a pretty long bill).................4

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Lovell/Mills Speak Out North Texas Pollinator Protection Act-CON INHERENCY 1. Already in the Status Quo A. The Pollinator Protection Act was incorporated into another bill Lale M. Mamaux (Chief of Staff at the Office of Congressman Alcee L. Hastings), July 2009, "Hastings Amendments Bee-come Part of Ag Appropriations Bill - Provisions Increase Funds for Pollinator Protection," accessed via LexisNexis In the 110th Congress, Hastings introduced the first legislation to investigate the cause of Colony Collapse Disorder, H.R. 1709, the Pollinator Protection Act. This legislation was supported by a bipartisan coalition of 52 co-sponsors and sought to bolster funding for the initiatives addressed in Hastings' recent amendments. The Pollinator Protection Act was later incorporated into HR 2419, the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008, often referred to as the Farm Bill (Public Law No: 110-234). B. That bill was passed Govtrack.us, retrieved December 2009, “H.R. 2419: Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008. 110th Congress, 2007-2008” http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h110-2419 May 22, 2007 Introduced View Committee Assignments Referred to Committee Jul 19, 2007 Reported by Committee View Amendments Amendments (352 proposed) Jul 27, 2007 Passed House Dec 14, 2007 Passed Senate May 14, 2008 Differences Resolved May 21, 2008 Vetoed by President Veto Override Succeeded in House May 21, 2008 Veto Override Succeeded in Senate May 22, 2008

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Lovell/Mills Speak Out North Texas Pollinator Protection Act-CON C. The texts of the bills are almost identical a. The text of the original Pollinator Protection Act Govtrack.us, retrieved December 2009, “Text of H.R. 1709 [110th]: Pollinator Protection Act” http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h110-1709 (a) Agricultural Research Service- There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Agricultural Research Service, the following: (1) $3,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2008 through 2012 for new personnel, facilities improvement, and additional research at Department of Agriculture Apicultural Research Laboratories. (2) $2,500,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 and 2009 for research on honey bee physiology, insect pathology, insect chemical ecology, and honey bee toxicology at other Department of Agriculture facilities in New York, Florida, California, and Texas. (3) $1,750,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 through 2010 for an area-wide research program to identify causes and solutions for Colony Collapse Disorder in affected States. (b) Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service- There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service, $10,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2008 through 2012 to fund Department of Agriculture research grants to investigate-(1) honey bee immunology; (2) honey bee biology and ecology; (3) pollination biology; (4) honey bee genomics; (5) honey bee bioinformatics; (6) sublethal effects of insecticides, herbicides and fungicides on honey bees and other beneficial insects; and (7) effects of genetically modified crops and their interaction with honey bees and other pollinators.

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Lovell/Mills Speak Out North Texas Pollinator Protection Act-CON b. The text of the Farm Bill (in regards to bees…it’s a pretty long bill) Govtrack.us, retrieved December 2009, “Text of H.R. 6124 [110th]: Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008” http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h110-6124 ‘‘(h) POLLINATOR PROTECTION.— ‘‘(1) RESEARCH AND EXTENSION.— ‘‘(A) GRANTS.—Research and extension grants may be made under this section— ‘‘(i) to survey and collect data on bee colony production and health; ‘‘(ii) to investigate pollinator biology, immunology, ecology, genomics, and bioinformatics; ‘‘(iii) to conduct research on various factors that may be contributing to or associated with colony collapse disorder, and other serious threats to the health of honey bees and other pollinators, including— ‘‘(I) parasites and pathogens of pollinators; and ‘‘(II) the sublethal effects of insecticides, herbicides, and fungicides on honey bees and native and managed pollinators; ‘‘(iv) to develop mitigative and preventative measures to improve native and managed pollinator health; and ‘‘(v) to promote the health of honey bees and native pollinators through habitat conservation and best management practices. ‘‘(B) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this paragraph $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 through 2012. ‘‘(2) DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE CAPACITY AND INFRASTRUCTURE.— ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall, to the maximum extent practicable, increase the capacity and infrastructure of the Department— ‘‘(i) to address colony collapse disorder and other long-term threats to pollinator health, including the hiring of additional personnel; and ‘‘(ii) to conduct research on colony collapse disorder and other pollinator issues at the facilities of the Department. ‘‘(B) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this paragraph $7,250,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 through 2012. ‘‘(3) HONEY BEE PEST AND PATHOGEN SURVEILLANCE.—There is authorized to be appropriated to conduct a nationwide honey H. R. 2419—315 bee pest and pathogen surveillance program $2,750,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 through 2012. ‘‘(4) ANNUAL REPORT ON RESPONSE TO HONEY BEE COLONY COLLAPSE DISORDER.—The Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate an annual report describing the progress made by the Department of Agriculture in— ‘‘(A) investigating the cause or causes of honey bee colony collapse; and ‘‘(B) finding appropriate strategies to reduce colony loss.

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