Sending Office: Honorable Tulsi Gabbard
Sent By:
Dave.Chun@mail.house.gov
Dear Colleague:
The areawide integrated pest management (AIPM) and biological control team –
Tulsi Gabbard, Bruce Westerman, Ted Yoho, Darren Soto, John Garamendi, Frank Pallone, Jr., Jerry McNerney, Mark DeSaulnier,
Colleen Hanabusa, and Jennifer Gonzalez-Colon – crafted a letter to House Agriculture Appropriations
Chairman Aderholt and Ranking Member Bishop to request the inclusion of four report languages. Simply, the language supports AIPM and biological control programs in the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, and Animal Plant
Health Inspection Service. To add your name, please contact Dave Chun at
Dave.Chun@mail.house.gov.
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Dear Chairman Aderholt and Ranking Member Bishop:
As you consider the Fiscal Year 2019 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill, we respectfully request that you support
Areawide Integrated Pest Management (AIPM) and Biological Control programs in the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), the Agricultural Research Service (ARS), and Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). We request the following language
be included in the House Agriculture Appropriations Committee report.
USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture Areawide Integrated Pest Management
FY2019 report language: “The Committee supports the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) in the development and implementation of areawide integrated pest management (AIPM)
projects. We are impressed with the development of the Crop Protection and Pest Management (CP/PM) program. The Committee directs the Agency to establish within the CP/PM program an organizational framework and funding plan to implement AIPM projects that
are to be planned in coordination with the Agricultural Research Service, Animal Plant Health and Inspection Service, and other federal agencies and implemented by cross-institutional teams (including farmers, ranchers, land managers, etc.) at the local level.”
USDA Agricultural Research Services Areawide Integrated Pest Management
FY2019 report language: “The Committee supports the highly effective efforts of the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) work on areawide integrated pest management (AIPM) and commends
the Agency for its continued commitment to AIPM. The Committee directs the Agency to budget $5 million for ARS’s National Program 304 Crop Protection and Quarantine so that existing programs can be adequately funded and new efforts can be designed and implemented
across the country. The Committee further directs the Agency to increase the budget for AIPM by $5 million annually from FY2019 through FY2023, and sustain the program at $25 million.
USDA Agricultural Research Services Biological Control Program
FY2019 report language: “The Committee directs the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) to increase the budget for ARS scientists doing biocontrol projects by adding $10 million annually
from FY2019 through FY2023, and sustain the program at $50 million.
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Biological Control Programs
FY2019 report language: “The Committee directs the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service to increase the budget for the Biological Control Program “Plant Methods” by $8 million
annually from FY2019 through FY2023, and sustain the program at $32 million.”
The Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA) of 1996 directs federal agencies to use integrated pest management (IPM) techniques in carrying out pest management activities and promote IPM
through procurement and regulatory policies, and other activities. AIPM techniques consistently show an increase return on investments for farmers, ranchers, dairymen, and land managers. AIPM techniques provide them with multiple pest management options using
tactics that are developed specifically to control pests on appropriate geographic areas typically larger than a single field or farm.
Biological controls, a component of AIPM strategies suppress pest populations by disrupting their ecological status through natural predators, parasitoids, and pathogens. Examples
of biological control include the use of ladybugs to control aphids and scale insects, chalcid wasps to control the citrophlus mealybug, the Bacillus popilliae to control the Japanese beetle, the Bacillus thuringiensis, a soil-dwelling bacterium to control
various vegetable eating larvae, and Beauveria bassiana, a fungus to suppress the coffee berry borer.
NIFA, ARS, and APHIS have long histories of managing large research grants that adhere to a consortium approach involving multiple institutions such as federal agencies, state governments,
educational and research institutions, and extension efforts in combination with local communities, farmers, ranchers, land managers, and other stakeholders. We fully endorse funding for AIPM and biological controls within NIFA, ARS, and APHIS ask for your
favorable consideration of our request.
Again, thank you for your consideration.
Respectfully,
Tulsi Gabbard, Bruce Westerman, Ted Yoho, Darren Soto, John Garamendi, Frank Pallone, Jr., Jerry McNerney, Mark DeSaulnier,
Colleen Hanabusa, and Jennifer Gonzalez-Colon.
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