orientation, weakened immunity, delayed larval de-
velopment, and increased susceptibility to viruses, 
diseases, and parasites. Numerous reports also docu-
ment acute, lethal effects from the application of 
neonicotinoids. 
(9) Conclusions from a recent global review of 
the impacts of systemic pesticides, primarily neonico-
tinoids, warn that they are causing significant dam-
age to a wide range of beneficial invertebrate spe-
cies, are a key factor in the decline of bees, and pose 
a global threat to biodiversity and ecosystem serv-
ices. Another recent global review documented high 
levels of freshwater contamination. 
(10) Science has demonstrated that a single 
corn kernel coated with a neonicotinoid is toxic 
enough to kill a songbird. Peer-reviewed research 
from the Netherlands has shown that the most se-
vere bird population declines occurred in those areas 
where neonicotinoid pollution was highest. Starlings, 
tree sparrows, and swallows were among the most 
affected. 
(11) In January 2013, the European Food 
Safety Authority determined that the most widely 
used neonicotinoids pose unacceptable hazards to 
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bees, prompting the European Union to suspend 
their use on agricultural crops. 
(12) In June 2013, over 50,000 bumblebees 
were killed as a direct result of exposure to a neonic-
otinoid applied to linden trees for cosmetic purposes. 
(13) In February 2014, Eugene, Oregon, voted 
to ban the use of neonicotinoid pesticides on city 
property. Similar bans and restrictions have been 
enacted in Thurston County, Spokane, and Seattle, 
Washington, and Skagway, Alaska. 
(14) In June 2014, a Presidential memo-
randum established a Pollinator Health Task Force 
after identifying pollinator decline as a threat to the 
sustainability of food production systems, the agri-
cultural economy, and the health of the environment 
in the United States. 
(15) In July 2014, the United States Fish and 
Wildlife Service announced plans to phase out 
neonicotinoid pesticides in all national wildlife ref-
uges across the United States by January 2016. The 
United States Fish and Wildlife Service recognized 
that the prophylactic use of neonicotinoids for agri-
cultural purposes harms a wide range of nontarget 
species and is therefore inconsistent with the man-
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agement policy of the United States Fish and Wild-
life Service. 
(16) In October 2014, an assessment by the 
Environmental Protection Agency found that neonic-
otinoid seed coatings provide little benefit to overall 
soybean crop yield. Additional studies determined 
that in approximately 80 to 90 percent of row crop 
uses, neonicotinoid coatings are unnecessary. The 
prophylactic overuse of neonicotinoids violates the 
fundamental principles of integrated pest manage-
ment. 
(17) In November 2014, the Province of On-
tario, Canada, announced the province will move to 
restrict the use of neonicotinoid-coated corn and soy-
bean seeds because of the broad harms from their 
overuse, with a goal of 80 percent reduction by 
2017. 
(18) In September 2015, the Circuit Court of 
the United States for the Ninth Circuit ruled to re-
voke the Environmental Protection Agency’s ap-
proval for sufloxaflor—a neonicotinoid pesticide. 
(19) In November 2016, Health Canada, the 
Department of the Government of Canada with re-
sponsibility for national public health, proposed a 
ban on almost all uses of the neonicotinoid imidaclo-
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prid, saying it is seeping into Canadian waterways 
at levels that can harm insects and the ecosystem. 
(20) The President’s budget for fiscal year 
2018 cuts funding for pesticide review programs of 
the Environmental Protection Agency by 20 percent 
delaying reviews of new, potentially safer pesticides 
as well as reviews of older, more dangerous pes-
ticides such as neonicotinoids. 
SEC. 3. URGENT REGULATORY RESPONSE FOR HONEYBEE 
AND POLLINATOR PROTECTION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator of 
the Environmental Protection Agency shall suspend the 
registration of imidacloprid, clothianidin, thiamethoxam, 
dinotafuran, and any other members of the nitro group 
of neonicotinoid insecticides to the extent such insecticide 
is registered, conditionally or otherwise, under the Federal 
Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (7 U.S.C. 136 
et seq.) for use in seed treatment, soil application, or foliar 
treatment on bee-attractive plants, trees, and cereals until 
the Administrator has made a determination that such in-
secticide will not cause unreasonable adverse effects on 
pollinators based on— 
(1) an evaluation of the published and peer-re-
viewed scientific evidence on whether the use or uses 
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of such neonicotinoids cause unreasonable adverse 
effects on pollinators, including native bees, honey-
bees, birds, bats, and other species of beneficial in-
sects; and 
(2) a completed field study that meets the cri-
teria required by the Administrator and evaluates 
residues, including residue buildup after repeated 
annual application, chronic low-dose exposure, cumu-
lative effects of multiple chemical exposures, and any 
other protocol determined to be necessary by the Ad-
ministrator to protect managed and native polli-
nators. 
(b) CONDITIONS
ON CERTAIN PESTICIDES REG-
ISTRATIONS.—Notwithstanding section 3 of the Federal 
Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (7 U.S.C. 
136a), for purposes of the protection of honeybees, other 
pollinators, and beneficial insects, the Administrator of 
the Environmental Protection Agency shall not issue any 
new registrations, conditional or otherwise, for any seed 
treatment, soil application, and foliar treatment on bee- 
attractive plants, trees, and cereals under such Act until 
the Administrator has made the determination described 
in subsection (a), based on an evaluation described in sub-
section (a)(1) and a completed field study described in 
subsection (a)(2), with respect to such insecticide. 
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