Senator Boxer Introduces Bill to Promote Bee Research

July 02 , 2007

I am pleased to let you know that I have introduced the Pollinator Protection Act, a bill to increase funding for research on honey bees and native pollinators, whose numbers have been in troubling decline in recent decades. To compound matters, this past winter honey bee colonies have been devastated by a phenomenon termed Colony Collapse Disorder.

Managed honey bee colonies have collapsed at alarming rates, 25% nationwide, and scientists still have not fully discovered why. But the latest declines are part of a larger trend, with honey bee colonies down 50% in the past 50 years. A study released by the National Academy of Sciences, “Status of Pollinators in North America” found similar losses in native pollinator populations and called for increased study to determine the extent of this distressing problem. Because native and honey bees pollinate so many crops, this decline, if not stopped, could impact many crops dependent on animal pollination and cause both increased prices and shortages of many food crops including almonds, avocados, cranberries, apples, and soybeans.

The Pollinator Protection Act provides for:
–  $28.75 million for the Agriculture Research Service over five years for research, personnel, and facility improvements relating to work on Colony Collapse Disorder, honey and native bee toxicology, pathology and physiology.
– $50 million for the Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service over five years to fund research grants to investigate honey and native bee immunology, biology, ecology, and other factors of pollination biology.
– $11 million for the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) over five years to conduct a nationwide honey bee pest and pathogen surveillance program.

The bill also requires an annual report to Congress on the status and progress of bee research projects.

I am also a cosponsor of Senator Baucus’s Pollinator Habitat Protection Act, which encourages conservation efforts to improve the health of our nation’s bees.  My bill aims to apply direct research funding to address Colony Collapse Disorder and pollinator declines in North America.  Taken together, our two bills aim to protect America’s bee population and the vitally important services that bees and native pollinators  provide to our nation’s agriculture.

Sincerely,

Barbara Boxer
United States Senator

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