US House votes to limit pesticide restrictions

The US House passed legislation on Wednesday to loosen federal regulations on pesticides in a 256-165 vote.
 

Rep. Bob Gibbs' (R-Ohio) bill would reverse a 2009 court decision that requires pesticides secure two separate Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approvals before hitting the market.
 

"This adds compliance costs, it adds permitting costs and it adds time and it hurts productivity and efficiency, and it does not add any new environmental protections," Gibbs said during floor debate on his bill on Wednesday. He called the court ruling a "bad decision."
 

Under the bill, a pesticide that the EPA has already approved under the Federal Insecticide Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) would no longer need a Clean Water Act permit before going public.
 

Twenty-five Democrats voted in favor of the bill. Most Democrats, though, opposed the bill on public health grounds, saying the legislation would fast track permitting decisions for potentially-dangerous pesticides, putting water quality at risk. House Republicans have approved bills similar to this one every session since the 2009 court decision.