Farm Bill Agreement To Become Law

The House of Representatives passed a new farm bill (H.R. 2642) last week that reauthorizes agricultural programs through 2018. Although the Senate had yet to vote on the bill when C&EN went to press, it was expected to quickly clear the bill and send it to the President’s desk for signing into law. The compromise bill supports new energy crops and includes loan guarantees and R&D opportunities for companies that produce renewable biobased chemicals in the U.S. The bill also includes two pesticide-related measures. One directs EPA to work with the Fish & Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service to assess the risks of pesticides to endangered species using a streamlined approach recommended by the National Academies last year. The second directs EPA to exclude nonpesticide sources of fluoride, such as toothpaste and drinking water, from exposure assessments used to set tolerances for residues of the fumigant sulfuryl fluoride on food. The provision reverses EPA’s 2011 proposal to phase out the use of the pesticide on food.