A Message Delivered at the OCTOBER 18, 2025 NO KINGS Rally in Portland.
Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-ME), a longtime organic farmer and senior member of the House Agriculture Committee, announced today that she will be introducing an amendment to the Republican Farm Bill that fights back against chemical companies and protects the health of Americans. Republicans’ Farm Bill includes provisions that would shield chemical manufacturers like Bayer from lawsuits and would preempt state and local warning label laws or usage regulations. The Pingree Protect Our Health Amendment would remove this harmful language from the Farm Bill. In January, Pingree successfully got a similar provision taken out of the FY 2026 Interior and Environment Appropriations bill.
“Once again, the Trump Administration and Republicans in Congress are siding with chemical companies and choosing corporate profits over Americans’ health — while paying lip service to the “Make America Healthy Again” movement. This Farm Bill is a gift to Big Chemical, plain and simple. It delivers exactly what giants like Bayer have spent years lobbying for: blanket immunity from lawsuits and the power to gut the state warning laws that protect families, farmers and childen,” Pingree said. “This provision would handcuff states and local commuities when federal regulators drag their feet or bow to industry pressure, and it would slam the courthouse doors on people who’ve been poisoned and harmed. I have fought this industry-written language before and I won. I am ready to fight it again. Public health, local control and acountability are not bargaining chips and they should never be sacrificed to shield polluters from responsibiity.”
On Wednesday, President Trump signed an Executive Order to increase domstic production of glyphosae — a widely used weedkiller that has been linked to multiple health issues, including non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Outside of the upcoming Farm Bill fight, Pingree and Rep, Thomas Massie (R-KY) have joined forces to introduce the No Immunity for Glyphosate Act, which would undo Trumps recent Executive Order.
The US Supreme Court also recently agreed to take up an appeal by the manutacturer of Roundup, supported by the Trump administration, over lawsuits that allege it failed to warn consumers about the product’s dangers.
Pesticides in the United States are regulaed under a combination of federal, state and local laws. Debates over state and local authority to regulate presticide use have been litigated for decades, particularly in cases involving widely used chemicals such as Roundup and paraquat, which have been linked to serious health harms. Many states, cities and counties have adopted measures to restrict pesticide spraying near schools, homes and public spaces, citing the heightened vulnerability of children to toxic exposure and risks to brain development, reproduction and long-term health.
Seven states — Maine, Alaska, Hawaii, Maryland, Utah, Nevada and Vermont — do not preempt local governments from regulating pesticide use within their jurisdictions. In Maine alone, there are more than 30 state and local regulations related to pesticide use and warning requirements that would be undermined or preempted under this Republican pesticide provision in the Farm Bill.