Bill to lift pesticide application barriers to help combat Zika passed by House

The House of Representatives approved legislation on Tuesday that would ensure that state and local governments have access to tools to fight the spread of Zika virus.

U.S. Rep. Bob Gibbs (R-OH) introduced the Zika Vector Control Act, H.R. 897, and the measure was approved with support from U.S. Reps. Renee Ellmers (R-NC) and Steve Scalise (R-LA).

Under the bill, duplicative regulatory restrictions on the application of pesticides used to control mosquito populations would be suspended through fiscal year 2018.

The restrictions were imposed in 2009 through a Sixth Court of Appeals decision that required additional pesticide permitting under the Clean Water Act.

“Because of a court decision that ignores not just decades of precedent, but the intent of Congress in regulating pesticides, federal, state and local agencies are spending time and money on administration and compliance rather than protecting public health,” Gibbs, the chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment, said. “EPA has appropriate authority under (the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act) to protect human health and the environment. The requirements imposed by the court do nothing but increase costs.”

Ellmers said that the move would help local and state governments prepare for the summer months when mosquito season peaks and Americans are most at risk for Zika.

“Under current law, municipalities are spending too much time trying to comply with government permitting programs instead of utilizing mosquito control initiatives to prevent the spread of Zika,” Ellmers said. “This legislation, H.R. 897, will remove duplicative government regulations that are standing in the way and will allow local governments to intercede and prevent an outbreak before it’s too late. We’ve seen the health risks that the Zika virus poses, and as a healthcare professional, I’m proud to support legislation that will empower local governments while helping to prevent a public health crisis.”

Scalise added that the bill would ensure that the $1.2 billion appropriated to fight Zika by the House last week goes toward one of its intended purposes – mosquito eradication.

“Spraying for and killing mosquitoes remains the best possible solution for combating this deadly virus,” Scalise said. “Even though the pesticides used to spray mosquitoes are already federally and state approved, ridiculous EPA regulations make it harder for local governments to get the permits they need to kill mosquitoes near sources of water where they breed. Communities need to have all the tools necessary to fight the Zika virus, and this common-sense bill removes costly and unnecessary EPA red tape so these new Zika funds can be spent most effectively killing mosquitoes and finding a vaccine for this deadly virus.” 

Additionally, U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL) called for the immediate appointment of a conference committee to approve funding to combat Zika in a letter to congressional leaders on Tuesday.

“The politicians in Washington should listen to the experts who spend their entire lives fighting outbreaks like this,” Buchanan wrote in the letter. “Every second counts if we want to protect the public from the devastating impact of this disease.”