{"id":41365,"date":"2026-04-13T00:01:14","date_gmt":"2026-04-13T04:01:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/?p=41365"},"modified":"2026-04-11T23:04:41","modified_gmt":"2026-04-12T03:04:41","slug":"advocates-call-on-congress-to-reject-house-agriculture-committee-farm-bill-and-extend-current-law","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2026\/04\/advocates-call-on-congress-to-reject-house-agriculture-committee-farm-bill-and-extend-current-law\/","title":{"rendered":"Advocates Call on Congress To Reject House Agriculture Committee Farm Bill and Extend Current Law"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

(Beyond Pesticides<\/em>, April 13, 2026) There are numerous provisions\u2014a package of provisions\u2014in the U.S. House of Representatives Agriculture Committee Farm Bill, voted out on March 5, that seriously undermine protections of health and the environment from pesticides, according to public health and environmental advocates. In response, Beyond Pesticides and allies are calling on U.S. Representatives and Senators to reject the Farm Bill as passed out of the House Agriculture Committee and, instead, pass a one-year extension of current law to protect health and the environment.<\/a><\/p>\r\n

The Committee Farm Bill contains provisions that advocates and members of Congress call \u201cpoison pills\u201d because any one of them is so far-reaching that they make the entire measure unacceptable. The package of amendments covers critical areas of protection that have been established over decades of Congressional action.<\/p>\r\n

While groups have called for major reforms, Beyond Pesticides, in an action recently released,\u00a0 says, \u201cExisting pesticide law forms the foundation on which improvements should be made, not backsliding to give the chemical industry\u00a0free rein.\u201d At stake, according to the group, are core safeguards that are seen as critical to the health of farmers, consumers and the environment\u2014judicial review of chemical manufacturers’ failure to warn about pesticide hazards, the democratic right of local governments in coordination with states to protect residents from pesticide use, and national and local site-specific regulatory action to ensure the safety of air, water, land, and food from pesticides. Overall, critics say, the Committee bill increases dependency on petrochemical fertilizers (which contribute to escalating toxic pesticide use), ignores hunger (despite a historically large $187 billion cut to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program\/SNAP), dismisses the notion of a fair, responsible, and accessible family farm safety net, and rolls back successful conservation investments.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

The\u00a0GOP Farm Bill<\/a>\u00a0(Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026<\/em>, H.R. 7567) that\u00a0slashes protections from pesticides<\/a>\u00a0now faces a vote in the full House and then moves to the U.S. Senate, where advocates are urging that the bill with its current provisions be rejected, including Section X, Subtitle C, Part 1 on \u201cRegulatory Reform.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

At a time when documented adverse health<\/a> and ecological<\/a> effects from pesticide use are skyrocketing, and sustainable practices have become widely available, the bill is being characterized as a “wish list” for the chemical industry. The science connecting pesticide exposure to neurotoxicity continues to mount. A study in\u00a0Discover Toxicology<\/a><\/em>\u00a0highlights neurotoxic pollutants as significant environmental threats, showcasing the adverse impacts on vertebrates’ neurological health from pesticides, including\u00a0organophosphates<\/a>,\u00a0carbamates<\/a>, and\u00a0organochlorines<\/a>. In the\u00a0International Journal of Molecular Sciences<\/em><\/a>, a study of gestational (during pregnancy) exposure to the neonicotinoid insecticide thiacloprid<\/a> shows epigenetic<\/a> effects (alterations in genes without altering underlying DNA) within prostate tissues. A literature review published in\u00a0Chemico-Biological Interactions<\/a><\/em>\u00a0links pyrethroid insecticide exposure to cardiac dysfunction.<\/p>\r\n

Besides\u00a0leukemia<\/a>\u00a0and other cancers, childhood or in utero exposure to pesticides leads to a greater risk of\u00a0asthma<\/a>,\u00a0ADHD<\/a>, reproductive hormone production in\u00a0girls<\/a>, cardiometabolic disorders in\u00a0boys<\/a>, and\u00a0suppression of the immune system<\/a>, among\u00a0other problems<\/a>. These outcomes are unnecessary, since organic agriculture can produce any product produced by chemical-intensive agriculture. With future agriculture policy now under consideration, it is important that the Farm Bill not be used to prop up the chemical industry, but instead support organic agriculture that will not threaten vulnerable populations. \u00a0<\/p>\r\n

The\u00a0GOP Farm Bill<\/a>\u00a0is a sweeping set of exemptions, waivers, and revocations undermining 50 years of laws adopted by Congress to protect farmers, consumers, and the environment. \u00a0<\/p>\r\n

There is opposition to the bill in Congress. Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN), condemned the GOP 2026 Farm Bill, saying it would be “‘very difficult, if not impossible’\u00a0for her to back a GOP-led farm bill because it contains ‘poison pills’ and doesn’t do enough to aid struggling farmers,”\u00a0according to\u00a0Politico.<\/em><\/a>\u00a0Make America Healthy Again advocates are also incensed over the provision that grants chemical companies immunity from lawsuits for injury when they fail to provide complete safety warnings. Representative Chellie Pingree (D-ME) has indicated that she will seek to strike provisions of the bill.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

Specifically, Subtitle C of Title X, entitled Regulatory Reform, contains the following provisions that threaten human health, the ability of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to keep foods free of dangerous chemicals, and that expose the environment to even greater toxic pesticides:\u00a0<\/p>\r\n