Dive Into Democracy: The Farm Bill Must Protect Our Water and Health From Toxic Pesticides!

March 26, 2026

Congress is considering the 2026 Farm Bill after it was recently approved by the House Agriculture Committee. Sadly, the bill includes provisions that would roll back critical protections for clean water and public health, including:

• Permanently removing dozens of hazardous pesticides used in industrial agriculture from important health and environmental safety reviews required under federal law.
• Weakening protections for children, farmworkers, and the public by giving USDA new power to second-guess or block EPA health and environmental safeguards.
• Delaying or weakening protections for endangered species by allowing an internal government workgroup to slow down efforts to address pesticide harm to wildlife.
• Delaying safety reviews of hundreds of pesticides until 2031, meaning potentially harmful chemicals could stay on the market for years without updated protections.
• Removing long-standing Clean Water Act protections that limit pesticide pollution in rivers, lakes, and streams. Its broad language could also weaken other major environmental laws.
• Weakening Clean Water Act protections against toxic fire retardant chemicals being sprayed into waterways, putting water quality, fish and wildlife, and public health at risk.

These measures protect chemical industry profits while leaving communities exposed. What’s worse is chemical companies could avoid legal accountability even when pesticides poison water or damage crops, and local governments could lose the power to impose stronger restrictions.

These policies don’t just fail to protect water and public health—they actively put millions at risk from harmful pesticides and other toxins, making us all less safe.

We need you to call on Congress to support federal action that reduces harmful toxic contamination rather than increasing its production, including safer alternatives and rigorous scientific review.

Everyone deserves reliable access to clean water and healthy, safe food. Families, children, farmers, and communities should not pay the price for policies that prioritize the interests of chemical companies over our health.

Contact your members of Congress today and demand they oppose these harmful provisions.