Volume 160, No. 96 covering the 2nd Session of the 113th Congress (2013 - 2014) was published by the Congressional Record.
The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“NATIONAL POLLINATOR WEEK” mentioning the Environmental Protection Agency was published in the House of Representatives section on pages H5500-H5501 on June 19, 2014.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
NATIONAL POLLINATOR WEEK
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer) for 5 minutes.
Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, Members of Congress come to the floor to take the opportunity to urge that we deal with the great issues of the day--the failure of the House of Representatives to deal with climate challenge and global warming; to reduce senseless gun violence; and the crying need to rebuild and renew America and pay for the rebuilding--
but there are also a range of other issues that don't, on the surface, appear to be quite that important, but play a critical part in the bigger picture.
Today, I would like to address just one small part of the bigger picture because this is National Pollinator Week, where we recognize the importance of honeybees and over 250,000 other species that pollinate our food and which create $20 billion to $30 billion in agricultural production in the United States every year. Honeybees alone are responsible for pollinating one in every three bites of food we eat. Nearly 100 varieties of fruits depend on honeybee pollination.
While significant media attention has been devoted in recent years to the decline of honeybees, there is evidence of wild pollinator declines. Native bees are especially important to a number of iconic northwest agricultural products--such as cherries, apples, berries, as well as seed crops like alfalfa, canola, and vegetable seed.
I am proud that, in my community, we are home to the internationally-
renowned Xerces Society, a nonprofit in the forefront of pollinator protection and habitat conservation, which harnesses the knowledge of scientists and the enthusiasm of citizens to implement conservation programs worldwide.
We saw in our community that businesses were stepping up to educate citizens and give pollinators a home. Last year, the rooftops of two local New Seasons Market grocery stores became home to several honeybee colonies--over 50,000 small pollinators--as part of the store's Bee Part of the Solution campaign.
Last summer, the Overlook neighborhood in my district started a project to become Portland's first pesticide-free neighborhood. Hundreds of households have committed to landscaping without the use of toxic chemicals to protect the habitat for not just bees, but wildlife as well.
These efforts are very important because the pollinator species and the livelihoods they support are suffering catastrophic loss, reaching an alarming 42 percent loss in recent studies.
{time} 1015
American beekeepers have been consistently reporting severe colony losses of this magnitude for the last several years. The situation is serious and can have a devastating impact both on our food systems and the environment.
A certain class of insecticides, neonicotinoids, have been linked to damaging effects on honeybees and other pollinators, such as impairing their foraging and feeding behavior, disorientation, failure to find their way back to the beehives, weakened immunity, and interrupting the reproductive process.
A year ago, over 50,000 bumblebees died in Oregon as a direct result of an exposure to a neonicotinoid lawfully applied to trees for cosmetic purposes--the largest bumblebee kill on record.
Citing the mounting threats from these pesticides that honeybees and other pollinators now face and the importance and the value of the pollination process, last year Congressman Conyers and I introduced H.R. 2692, Saving America's Pollinators Act. The bill would direct the Environmental Protection Agency to immediately suspend the use of the most bee-toxic neonicotinoids and review the impact they have on pollinators and on the entire food chain and make a new determination about their proper application and safe use.
I hope that during Pollinator Week my colleagues will consider joining the 65 bipartisan cosponsors in this effort. While lots of major issues tie Congress into partisan knots, being able to protect the pollination process and its impact on the environment is a small step to protect the environment and is one that can actually bring us together in a low-cost, high-impact way.
I urge my colleagues to consider joining me in this effort.
____________________
Alerts Sign-up