RISE strives to keep OPP funded for PMPs

More than 100 days into the new Republican administration and Congress, we know it is not “business as usual” for our industry’s typical adjustments when politics go one way or the other. As a regulated industry, our attention at Responsible Industry for a Sound Environment (RISE) is on Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) actions that are resulting in the loss of staff and expertise at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

While we all can agree that finding efficiencies in processes and finances within government agencies is a worthy goal, we must also ensure our industry’s regulators within the EPA’s Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) have the funding needed to continue the work of scientifically assessing pesticides and granting a registration that allows product sale and use in the United States. When the OPP is adequately funded, new product innovation and availability for the professional pest management industry can continue to grow. Recent reduced funding, however, has slowed the pace of pesticide registration.

Educating lawmakers

With the goal of securing full funding for OPP at $166 million, our advocacy is focusing on educational outreach to members of Congress on the House and Senate Appropriations Committees. Our request to appropriators is to restore funding levels for OPP as required in federal law under the Pesticide Registration Improvement Act (PRIA).

As you might imagine, making such an ask in this Congress is challenging. To support a successful outcome, RISE continues to work with a coalition of other pesticide registrant associations, and we conducted research to hone our talking points about why OPP funding is necessary.

In this time of government reduction, we learned that providing comparative budget data about OPP’s pesticide program in the context of the EPA’s total budget helps tell the story. We have used this data along with benefits messages, including those about structural pest control products, to tell a compelling story.

Maintaining safety

A pesticide registration from the EPA is a license to sell the product. It means the product has undergone a scientifically rigorous assessment of the human health and environmental aspects of its use. OPP’s licensing function is funded through fees paid by pesticide companies and other funding required through Congressional appropriations — each in the right measure.

We are asking Congress to meet its statutory obligations so we can ensure OPP has the resources to meet its statutory obligations.

President Trump’s proposed budget was released last month. At press time, appropriations hearings are taking place in Congressional committees, with cabinet secretaries and agency administrators making the case for their budgets.

Our goal is to have our funding request make it across the finish line in this year’s federal appropriations. Success means the industry has a predictable regulatory path to bring new products and solutions to the marketplace so the professional pest management industry can continue to protect people and places from harmful pests.