Pesticide industry 'immunity shield' stripped from US appropriations bill

Source: The Guardian

Tue 6 Jan 2026 12.50 EST
Last modified on Tue 6 Jan 2026 13.31 EST


In a setback for the pesticide industry, Democrats have succeeded in removing a rider from a congressional appropriations bill that would have helped protect pesticide makers from being sued and could have hindered state efforts to warn about pesticide risks.

Chellie Pingree, a Democratic representative from Maine and ranking member of the House appropriations interior, environment, and related agencies subcommittee, said Monday that the controversial measure pushed by the agrochemical giant Bayer and industry allies has been stripped from the 2026 funding bill.

The move is final, as Senate Republican leaders have agreed not to revisit the issue, Pingree said. “I just drew a line in the sand and said this cannot stay in the bill,” Pingree told the Guardian. “There has been intensive lobbying by Bayer. This has been quite a hard fight.”

The now-deleted language was part of a larger legislative effort that critics say is aimed at limiting litigation against pesticide industry leader Bayer, which sells the widely used Roundup herbicides.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jan/06/pesticide-industry-protection-bill-removed