Critics warned that the measure would unfairly shield chemical companies from liability.
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A controversial provision that critics said shielded big chemical companies from liability and regulatory scrutiny has been removed from an annual funding bill that lawmakers hope will prevent a repeat of the government shutdown later this month.
The removal of the measure came after a chorus of outrage from activists, including those aligned with the Trump administration’s “Make America Healthy Again” agenda, and members of the president’s own party.
It was the latest example of a controversial proposal in Congress making its way into a spending bill that must be passed at the eleventh hour. Other measures related to aviation safety and the ability of lawmakers to sue the Justice Department have also threatened the success of such legislation in recent months.
Experts argued that the pesticide proposal, known as Section 453, would not allow for timely updates of warnings and would tie regulators’ hands to the Environmental Protection Agency.
“They’re giving MAHA the middle finger,” conservative commentator Brett Cooper recently said on Fox News of the lawmakers who introduced the provision.
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), a frequent critic of President Trump, has pledged to sponsor an amendment to remove language from the law. The amendment must pass Congress by January 30 to avoid expiring some federal funding. Other House Republicans were also preparing to take action, including Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida.
“This is completely untrue, some of these pesticides are linked to cancer and infertility,” he wrote on social media on January 5. “Why on earth would you want to protect a company?”
Pesticide industry lobbying groups argued that the measure would not directly impact current or future litigation and would simply reaffirm existing federal law.
Zachary Schermele is a Congressional reporter for USA TODAY. You can email us at zschermele@usatoday.com. Follow him on X at @ZachSchermele and on Bluesky at @zachschermele.bsky.social..
