S. 1694 – Reading Mode

110th CONGRESS

1st Session

S. 1694

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

June 26, 2007

Mrs. Boxer (for herself, Mr. Thune, Mr. Casey, Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Nelson of Florida, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Brown, and Mr. Kerry) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

A BILL

To authorize resources for sustained research and analysis to address colony collapse disorder and the decline of North American pollinators.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Pollinator Protection Act of 2007.

Findings

Congress finds that—

(1)

many of the crops that humans and livestock consume rely on pollinators for healthy growth;

(2)

pollination by honey and native bees adds more than $18,000,000,000 annually to the value of United States crops;

(3)

1/3 of the food supply of the United States depends on bee pollination, which makes the management and protection of pollinators an issue of paramount importance to the security of the United States food supply system;

(4)

colony collapse disorder is the name that has been given to the latest die-off of honey bee colonies, exacerbating the continual decline of pollinators in North America;

(5)

honey bee colonies in more than 23 states have been affected by colony collapse disorder;

(6)

if the current rate of decline continues, the United States will be forced to rely more heavily on imported foods, which will destabilize the food security of the United States through adverse affects on the availability, price, and quality of the many fruits, vegetables, and other products that depend on animal pollination; and

(7)

enhanced funding for research on honey bees, native bees, parasites, pathogens, toxins, and other environmental factors affecting bees and pollination of cultivated and wild plants will result in methods of response to colony collapse disorder and other factors causing the decline of pollinators in North America.

Authorizations of appropriations

(a)

Agricultural Research Service

There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Agricultural Research Service—

(1)

$3,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 through 2012, to be used for new personnel, facilities improvement, and additional research at Department of Agriculture Bee Research Laboratories;

(2)

$2,500,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 and 2009, to be used for research on honey and native bee physiology, insect pathology, insect chemical ecology, and honey and native bee toxicology at other Department of Agriculture facilities in New York, Florida, California, Utah, and Texas; and

(3)

$1,750,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 through 2010, to be used for an area-wide research program to identify causes and solutions for colony collapse disorder in affected States, of which—

(A)

$875,000 for each fiscal year shall be used to carry out the program at the bee laboratory of the Agricultural Research Service located in Beltsville, Maryland; and

(B)

$875,000 for each fiscal year shall be used to carry out the program at the bee laboratory of the Agricultural Research Service located in Tucson, Arizona.

(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 fiscal years 2008 through 2012 to be used to fund Department of Agriculture extension and research grants to investigate—

(1)

honey bee biology, immunology, and ecology;

(2)

honey bee genomics;

(3)

honey bee bioinformatics;

(4)

native bee crop pollination and habitat conservation;

(5)

native bee taxonomy and ecology;

(6)

pollination biology;

(7)

sublethal effects of insecticides, herbicides, and fungicides on honey bees, native pollinators, and other beneficial insects;

(8)

the effects of genetically-modified crops, including the interaction of genetically-modified crops with honey bees and other native pollinators; and

(9)

honey, bumble, and other native bee parasites and pathogens and effects on other native pollinators.

(c)

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, $2,250,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 through 2012 to conduct a nationwide honey bee pest and pathogen surveillance program.

Annual reports

The Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Agricultural Research Service and the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service, shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate a report on the status and progress of bee research projects that are carried out by the Secretary.