The pesticide liability shield can be stopped at the full Appropriations Committee meeting this Tuesday, July 22. An amendment to remove the rider (Section 453) will be offered and we need a majority

NEED YOUR HELP!!! Below are 12 bullet points as to what is happening. We need a majority to vote to remove. Members will not want constituents to know they voted for Big Chemical

FACT SHEET ON THE PESTICIDE LIABILITY SHIELD

1. Bayer purchased Monsanto in 2018 and took on its liability for glyphosate, the best-selling herbicide in the world. In court, glyphosate has been found to cause non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and legal victories for “failure to warn” have cost Bayer $10 billion.

2. Since Bayer bought Monsanto, its stock price has dropped 70%, to $8.08 today.

3. As a result, Bayer has used a 6-pronged strategy to get out from under glyphosate’s legal liabilities.

4. Its boldest move is to attempt to get Congress to pass legislation shielding it from all legal liability for “failure to warn” of potential injuries–not just for glyphosate, but for all pesticides, herbicides, fungicides and insecticides, now and in future.

5. The only consumer product to have such a liability shield is vaccines, and we know where that has led: to poorly tested and manufactured COVID vaccines with no manufacturer liability for their shoddy products.

6. The proposed liability legislation could even prevent agencies like CDC or NIH from issuing recommendations about the health consequences of pesticide use.

7. Passing such a law is a LOSE-LOSE for American citizens, and the sole beneficiary is the chemical industry. Not only would injured Americans be blocked from seeking damages for injuries from these products’ failure to warn of known risks, but a legal liability shield is an invitation to the industry to forego safety testing since it can only hurt them, and to manufacture their products as cheaply as possible.

8. Obviously, a bill like this cannot pass in the light of day. Instead, it must be sneaked through Congress in darkness, before Americans find out what is happening.

9. And so that is exactly what is happening. A rider to provide a liability shield via restrictions to pesticide labeling was slipped into an Appropriations bill 3 days ago with only 24 hours’ notice, and the bill language was approved by the Interior Subcommittee the next day, in a strict party line vote, 8 R votes to approve and 5 D votes against the bill.

10. But before the liability shield makes it to the floor of Congress, the bill it was placed in must get through mark-up by the full Appropriations Committee, which will meet on Tuesday, July 22 to vote on the bill, including the pesticide rider.

11. There are 63 members of the full Appropriations Committee. They will not want it known that they voted in favor of giving chemical companies a liability shield. Some of their offices are even denying the bill rider will do that. Shining a bright light on them is what is critical. We need lots of calls!

12. Our job is to tell the Members that the rider (Section 453) must be defeated or removed. They must vote:

a) in favor of an amendment to remove it, which we expect will be offered or

b) they must vote against the Appropriations bill if the liability shield is included.

Here are the names and numbers of the Republican members of the committee. We expect the Democrats will vote against the Appropriations bill, but perhaps some will be induced to vote with the Republicans. We need the members to know the country is watching this! I will add the Democrat members’ phone numbers as soon as I receive them.

At the link below is the full list of members, and below are the R members’ phone numbers:

https://appropriations.house.gov/about/membership

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

Now for the Dems, who we expect will vote against the rider and against the appropriations bill:

Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-CA-33)(202) 225-3201

Rep. Sanford Bishop (D-GA-02)(202) 225-3631

Rep. Ed Case (D-HI-01)(202) 225-2726

Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC-06)(202) 225-3315

Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX-28)(202) 225-1640

Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-PA-04)(202) 225-4731

Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03)(202) 225-3661

Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-TX-16)(202) 225-4831

Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-NY-13)(202) 225-4365

Rep. Lois Frankel (D-FL-22)(202) 225-9890

Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-WA-03)(202) 225-3536

Rep. Josh Harder (D-CA-09)(202) 225-4540

Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD-05)(202) 225-4131

Rep. Glen Ivey (D-MD-04)(202) 225-8699

Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH-09)(202) 225-4146

Rep. Susie Lee (D-NV-03)(202) 225-3252

Rep. Mike Levin (D-CA-49)(202) 225-3906

Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN-04)(202) 225-6631

Rep. Grace Meng (D-NY-06)(202) 225-2601

Rep. Joseph Morelle (D-NY-25)(202) 225-3615

Rep. Frank Mrvan (D-IN-01)(202) 225-2461

Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-ME-01)(202) 225-6116

Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI-02)(202) 225-2906

Rep. Mike Quigley (D-IL-05)(202) 225-4061

Rep. Norma Torres (D-CA-35)(202) 225-6161

Rep. Lauren Underwood (D-IL-14)(202) 225-2976

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL-25)(202) 225-7931

Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ-12)(202) 225-5801