I 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5015 

To direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to take 

certain actions related to pesticides that may affect pollinators, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 14, 2018 

Mr. BLUMENAUER (for himself, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. HUFFMAN, Ms. NORTON, Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ, Ms. SPEIER, Mr. DEFAZIO, Ms. WASSERMAN

SCHULTZ, Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York, Ms. MCCOLLUM, 

Ms. TSONGAS, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts, Mr. 

CONNOLLY, Mr. PASCRELL, Mr. POLIS, Mr. QUIGLEY, Mr. NADLER, Ms. 

SLAUGHTER, Ms. LOFGREN, Mr. MEEKS, Ms. PINGREE, Ms. LEE, Mr. 

ELLISON, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. NOLAN, Mr. LARSEN of Washington, Ms. KUSTER of New Hampshire, Mr. CARTWRIGHT, 

Mr. COHEN, Ms. DELAURO, Ms. MICHELLE LUJAN GRISHAM of New 

Mexico, Ms. ESTY of Connecticut, and Ms. KAPTUR) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture 

A BILL 

To direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection 

Agency to take certain actions related to pesticides that 

may affect pollinators, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Saving America’s Polli5 nators Act of 2018’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) Pollination services are a vital part of agri4 cultural production, valued at over 

5 $125,000,000,000 globally. According to a 2014 

6 Presidential memorandum, pollinators provide for an 

7 annual amount of $24,000,000,000 to the economy 

8 of the United States and honeybees account for 

9 $15,000,000,000 of such amount. Similarly, polli10 nation services of native pollinators, such as bumble11 bees, squash bees, and mason bees, contribute over 

12 $3,000,000,000 to the United States agricultural 

13 economy and are estimated to contribute between 

14 $937,000,000 and $2,400,000,000 to the economy 

15 of California alone. 

16 (2) One-third of food produced in North Amer17 ica—including nearly 100 varieties of fruits and 

18 vegetables such as almonds, avocados, cranberries, 

19 and apples—depends on pollination by bees. 

20 (3) Over the past several years, documented in21 cidents of colony collapse disorder and other forms 

22 of excess bee mortality have been at a record high, 

23 with some beekeepers repeatedly losing 100 percent 

24 of their operations. The national honey crop re25 ported in 2013 was the lowest in many decades. 


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1 (4) A recent national survey sponsored by the 

2 Federal Government indicates that United States 

3 beekeepers experienced a 45.2 percent annual mor4 tality rate with their hives during the period begin5 ning in April 2012 and ending in March 2013. Dur6 ing the winter of 2013–2014, two-thirds of bee7 keepers experienced loss rates greater than the es8 tablished acceptable winter mortality rate. 

9 (5) According to scientists at the Department 

10 of Agriculture, current losses of honeybee colonies 

11 are too high to confidently ensure the United States 

12 will be able to meet the pollination demands for agri13 cultural crops. 

14 (6) Native pollinators, such as bumblebees, have 

15 also suffered alarming population declines. There are 

16 currently more than 40 pollinator species federally 

17 listed as threatened or endangered, and most re18 cently, the iconic monarch butterfly has declined by 

19 90 percent. 

20 (7) Scientists have linked the use of a certain 

21 class of systemic insecticides, known as neonicoti22 noids, to the rapid decline of pollinators and to the 

23 deterioration of pollinator health. 

24 (8) Neonicotinoids cause sublethal effects, in25 cluding impaired foraging and feeding behavior, disVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:59 Feb 16, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5015.IH H5015

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1 orientation, weakened immunity, delayed larval de2 velopment, and increased susceptibility to viruses, 

3 diseases, and parasites. Numerous reports also docu4 ment acute, lethal effects from the application of 

5 neonicotinoids. 

6 (9) Conclusions from a recent global review of 

7 the impacts of systemic pesticides, primarily neonico8 tinoids, warn that they are causing significant dam9 age to a wide range of beneficial invertebrate spe10 cies, are a key factor in the decline of bees, and pose 

11 a global threat to biodiversity and ecosystem serv12 ices. Another recent global review documented high 

13 levels of freshwater contamination. 

14 (10) Science has demonstrated that a single 

15 corn kernel coated with a neonicotinoid is toxic 

16 enough to kill a songbird. Peer-reviewed research 

17 from the Netherlands has shown that the most se18 vere bird population declines occurred in those areas 

19 where neonicotinoid pollution was highest. Starlings, 

20 tree sparrows, and swallows were among the most 

21 affected. 

22 (11) In January 2013, the European Food 

23 Safety Authority determined that the most widely 

24 used neonicotinoids pose unacceptable hazards to 


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1 bees, prompting the European Union to suspend 

2 their use on agricultural crops. 

3 (12) In June 2013, over 50,000 bumblebees 

4 were killed as a direct result of exposure to a neonic5 otinoid applied to linden trees for cosmetic purposes. 

6 (13) In February 2014, Eugene, Oregon, voted 

7 to ban the use of neonicotinoid pesticides on city 

8 property. Similar bans and restrictions have been 

9 enacted in Thurston County, Spokane, and Seattle, 

10 Washington, and Skagway, Alaska. 

11 (14) In June 2014, a Presidential memo12 randum established a Pollinator Health Task Force 

13 after identifying pollinator decline as a threat to the 

14 sustainability of food production systems, the agri15 cultural economy, and the health of the environment 

16 in the United States. 

17 (15) In July 2014, the United States Fish and 

18 Wildlife Service announced plans to phase out 

19 neonicotinoid pesticides in all national wildlife ref20 uges across the United States by January 2016. The 

21 United States Fish and Wildlife Service recognized 

22 that the prophylactic use of neonicotinoids for agri23 cultural purposes harms a wide range of nontarget 

24 species and is therefore inconsistent with the manVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:59 Feb 16, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5015.IH H5015

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1 agement policy of the United States Fish and Wild2 life Service. 

3 (16) In October 2014, an assessment by the 

4 Environmental Protection Agency found that neonic5 otinoid seed coatings provide little benefit to overall 

6 soybean crop yield. Additional studies determined 

7 that in approximately 80 to 90 percent of row crop 

8 uses, neonicotinoid coatings are unnecessary. The 

9 prophylactic overuse of neonicotinoids violates the 

10 fundamental principles of integrated pest manage11 ment. 

12 (17) In November 2014, the Province of On13 tario, Canada, announced the province will move to 

14 restrict the use of neonicotinoid-coated corn and soy15 bean seeds because of the broad harms from their 

16 overuse, with a goal of 80 percent reduction by 

17 2017. 

18 (18) In September 2015, the Circuit Court of 

19 the United States for the Ninth Circuit ruled to re20 voke the Environmental Protection Agency’s ap21 proval for sufloxaflor—a neonicotinoid pesticide. 

22 (19) In November 2016, Health Canada, the 

23 Department of the Government of Canada with re24 sponsibility for national public health, proposed a 

25 ban on almost all uses of the neonicotinoid imidacloVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:59 Feb 16, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5015.IH H5015

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1 prid, saying it is seeping into Canadian waterways 

2 at levels that can harm insects and the ecosystem. 

3 (20) The President’s budget for fiscal year 

4 2018 cuts funding for pesticide review programs of 

5 the Environmental Protection Agency by 20 percent 

6 delaying reviews of new, potentially safer pesticides 

7 as well as reviews of older, more dangerous pes8 ticides such as neonicotinoids. 

9 SEC. 3. URGENT REGULATORY RESPONSE FOR HONEYBEE 

10 AND POLLINATOR PROTECTION. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

12 date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator of 

13 the Environmental Protection Agency shall suspend the 

14 registration of imidacloprid, clothianidin, thiamethoxam, 

15 dinotafuran, and any other members of the nitro group 

16 of neonicotinoid insecticides to the extent such insecticide 

17 is registered, conditionally or otherwise, under the Federal 

18 Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (7 U.S.C. 136 

19 et seq.) for use in seed treatment, soil application, or foliar 

20 treatment on bee-attractive plants, trees, and cereals until 

21 the Administrator has made a determination that such in22 secticide will not cause unreasonable adverse effects on 

23 pollinators based on— 

24 (1) an evaluation of the published and peer-re25 viewed scientific evidence on whether the use or uses 


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1 of such neonicotinoids cause unreasonable adverse 

2 effects on pollinators, including native bees, honey3 bees, birds, bats, and other species of beneficial in4 sects; and 

5 (2) a completed field study that meets the cri6 teria required by the Administrator and evaluates 

7 residues, including residue buildup after repeated 

8 annual application, chronic low-dose exposure, cumu9 lative effects of multiple chemical exposures, and any 

10 other protocol determined to be necessary by the Ad11 ministrator to protect managed and native polli12 nators. 

13 (b) CONDITIONS ON CERTAIN PESTICIDES REG14 ISTRATIONS.—Notwithstanding section 3 of the Federal 

15 Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (7 U.S.C. 

16 136a), for purposes of the protection of honeybees, other 

17 pollinators, and beneficial insects, the Administrator of 

18 the Environmental Protection Agency shall not issue any 

19 new registrations, conditional or otherwise, for any seed 

20 treatment, soil application, and foliar treatment on bee21 attractive plants, trees, and cereals under such Act until 

22 the Administrator has made the determination described 

23 in subsection (a), based on an evaluation described in sub24 section (a)(1) and a completed field study described in 

25 subsection (a)(2), with respect to such insecticide. 


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1 (c) MONITORING OF NATIVE BEES.—The Secretary 

2 of the Interior, in coordination with the Administrator of 

3 the Environmental Protection Agency, shall, for purposes 

4 of protecting and ensuring the long-term viability of native 

5 bees and other pollinators of agricultural crops, horti6 cultural plants, wild plants, and other plants— 

7 (1) regularly monitor the health and population 

8 status of native bees, including the status of native 

9 bees in agricultural and nonagricultural habitats and 

10 areas of ornamental plants, residential areas, and 

11 landscaped areas; 

12 (2) identify the scope and likely causes of un13 usual native bee mortality; and 

14 (3) beginning not later than 180 days after the 

15 date of the enactment of this Act and each year 

16 thereafter, submit to Congress, and make available 

17 to the public, a report on such health and population 

18 status. 

Æ 


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