June 27, 1995
Action Alert
Proposed Legislation to Weaken Food Safety Standards
The U.S. Senate and House of Representatives continue debate
this week on bills that would repeal the Delaney Clause of
the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), which
currently mandates a zero-risk standard for the presence of
carcinogenic pesticide residues in processed food. In the
Senate, Bob Dole (R-KS) and Bennet Johnston (D-LA) are
negotiating on a compromise bill that will substitute for
previously competing bills, S. 343 and S. 291--at present,
they have a "discussion draft." In the House of
Representatives, Thomas Bliley (R-VA) and Pat Roberts (R-KS)
introduced H.R. 1627, which has been marked up in the House
Agriculture Committee and is slated for additional hearings
in the House Commerce Committee on Thursday, June 29.
The Bliley-Roberts bill, also called the "Food Quality
Protection Act of 1995", would direct the US EPA to determine
"acceptable" residue levels based on risk-benefit analyses,
and to regulate accordingly. In testimony before the House
Commerce Committee, major pesticide reform organizations,
including the National Campaign for Pesticide Policy Reform
(NCPPR) and the National Coalition Against the Misuse of
Pesticides (NCAMP), criticized the Bliley-Roberts bill,
charging that, among other problems, it:
--replaces the Delaney clause with the "weak, ineffective,
and entirely subjective risk benefit standard currently
contained in FIFRA" (Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and
Rodenticide Act);
--ignores the findings of the 1993 National Academy of
Sciences (NAS) report "Pesticides in the Diets of Infants and
Children" and requires no specific protection for children;
--does nothing to promote pesticide use reduction or the
development of alternatives to pesticides.
In the Senate, the Johnston-Dole compromise bill is expected
to go to the floor Wednesday, June 28, and then be tabled
until after the July 4th break, when it will be debated. This
new bill contains more than 100 amendments to S. 343,
according to Senator Johnston, who is hoping the changes will
win over dissatisfied Democrats and moderate Republicans.
Senator Dole's deregulatory agenda is encountering resistance
from public health experts, environmentalists and others
concerned that it would:
--weaken health and environmental protections, including
repealing the Delaney Clause and using cost/benefit analysis
to determine pesticide residue tolerances;
--institute suspect methodologies for justifying the use of
cancer-causing pesticides in agriculture, rather than seeking
alternatives to and phasing out hazardous chemicals.
Taking a more constructive approach, Henry Waxman (D-CA) has
introduced an alternative bill in the House of
Representatives--H.R. 1771. This bill, the "Pesticide Food
Safety and Right to Know Act of 1995", would amend FFDCA to
require placement of pesticide-warning labels on foods
produced with the use of known or probable human carcinogens.
In addition, it would require that the Administrator of the
US EPA implement the recommendations of the NAS report
regarding children, and not issue residue tolerances for any
pesticides that may be "reasonably anticipated to cause
breast cancer or reproductive disorder in any person."
Suggested action:
Make your voice heard today! Members of the Senate and House
of Representatives will be discussing these bills this week,
so it is imperative to act soon. Join NCAMP, NCPPR, Beyond
Pesticides and many other pesticide reform organizations to
defeat the Bliley-Roberts and Dole-Johnston bills. Support
the Waxman bill in the House of Representatives and advocate
Senate legislation that protects human health and the
environment! Call your Senators and Representatives,
President Clinton, Vice President Gore, EPA Administrator
Browner, and meet face to face with your Representatives and
Senators when they are home over the July 4th break
.
Contact:
U.S. Senate U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20510 Washington, DC 20510
Switchboard: Switchboard:
202-224-3121 202-225-3121
President Bill Clinton Vice President Al Gore, Jr.
The White House The White House
Washington, DC 20500 Washington, DC 20500
202-456-1414 202-456-2326
EPA Administrator Carol Browner
401 M Street, SW
Washington, DC 20460
202-260-2090
Sources: Environmental and Energy Study Institute Weekly
Bulletin, June 26, 1995; National Coalition Against the
Misuse of Pesticides Press Release, June 22, 1995; National
Campaign for Pesticide Policy Reform Campaign Update, June
1995.
For more information, contact: NCAMP, 701 E Street, SE,
Washington, DC 20003; phone (202) 543-5450; fax (202) 543-4791;
email ncamp@igc.apc.org; NCPPR, 666 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE,
Washington, DC 20003; phone (202) 547-9009; fax (202) 543-0688.
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