Advocacy Alert

URGENT: Buried in the House spending bill is a provision that would let pesticide companies continue to hide behind outdated EPA pesticide assessments, poisoning our kids with no consequences.

What Section 453 does: Blocks the government from taking any action if it differs in any way from the agency’s most recent health or cancer assessment. Unless they do a new assessment—which takes "no less than four years, and sometimes over 12" according to EPA—agencies would not be allowed to update safety warnings, food safety tolerances, or guidance even if new science shows harm, even if companies ask for updates, even if the original assessment was based on fraud.

The trap: Pesticide companies need EPA approval to update label warnings. EPA can only act after they perform new health assessments, but the EPA does not do their own scientific tests. Their health assessments rely primarily on unpublished studies paid for by the pesticide company. Pesticide companies have been known to hide evidence, manipulate science, and deny, deny, deny that their products are causing harm. And if they don't like the outcome of a new EPA health assessment, they will sue to delay it even longer.

Meanwhile: People keep getting cancer. Kids keep getting poisoned. Companies say you "can't blame us – our product is safe -- EPA hasn't told us to warn anyone!"

Here's the worst part: Courts will be forced to agree with pesticide companies. Section 453 means EPA can't approve updated warnings, allowing companies to argue it is impossible to comply with FIFRA's labeling obligations and their duty to warn consumers about risks posed by their products under state product liability law. 

Because federal law overrides state law when it is impossible to comply with both, people who are seriously injured by pesticide companies wouldn't be able to hold the company accountable for covering up the risks. 

Real example: Monsanto buried evidence that Roundup causes cancer. Their EPA health assessment hasn't been (successfully) updated since 1993 - 30+ years ago. They're asking SCOTUS to throw out cancer cases using this exact defense, right now.

What's at stake:

• Delayed updates on 57,000+ active products if they have outdated and inadequate warning labels

• Families at risk of losing their right to hold companies accountable when their loved ones get sick

• Our kids pay the price while chemical giants get richer

If this passes: Pesticide companies can hide behind EPA’s outdated and inadequate labels – even when they know their pesticides cause cancer, brain damage, and birth and developmental defects.

Tell Congress: Don't give pesticide companies a free pass to continue poisoning American kids. Remove Section 453.

Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-AL-4)	(202) 225-4876
Rep. Mark Alford (R-MO-4)	(202) 225-2876
Rep. Mark Amodei (R-NV-2)	(202) 225-6155
Rep. Stephanie Bice (R-OK-5)	(202) 225-2132
Rep. Ken Calvert (R-CA-41)	(202) 225-1986
Rep. John Carter (R-TX-31)	(202) 225-3864
Rep. Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ-6)	(202) 225-2542
Rep. Ben Cline (R-VA-6)	(202) 225-5431
Rep. Michael Cloud (R-TX-27)	(202) 225-7742
Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-GA-9)	(202) 225-9893
Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK-4)	(202) 225-6165
Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL-26)	(202) 225-4211
Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-NC-11)	(202) 225-6401
Rep. Jake Ellzey (R-TX-6)	(202) 225-2002
Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-TN-3)	(202) 225-3271
Rep. Scott Franklin (R-FL-18)	(202) 225-1252
Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX-23)	(202) 225-4511
Rep. Michael Guest (R-MS-3)	(202) 225-5031
Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD-1)	(202) 225-5311
Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA-2)	(202) 225-2911
Rep. Dave Joyce (R-OH-14)	(202) 225-5731
Rep. Nick LaLota (R-NY-1)	(202) 225-3826
Rep. Julia Letlow (R-LA-5)	(202) 225-8490
Rep. Celeste Maloy (R-UT-2)	(202) 225-9730
Rep. John Moolenaar (R-MI-2)	(202) 225-3561
Rep. Riley Moore (R-WV-2)	(202) 225-2711
Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA-4)	(202) 225-5816
Rep. Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA-14)	(202) 225-2065
Rep. Hal Rogers (R-KY-5)	(202) 225-4601
Rep. John Rutherford (R-FL-5)	(202) 225-2501
Rep. Mike Simpson (R-ID-2)	(202) 225-5531
Rep. Dale Strong (R-AL-5)	(202) 225-4801
Rep. David Valadao (R-CA-22)	(202) 225-4695
Rep. Steve Womack (R-AR-3)	(202) 225-4301
Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-MT-1)	(202) 225-5628