Press Release

WASHINGTON, DC — The following is a statement from American Association for Justice CEO Linda Lipsen in response to today’s release of House Republicans’ draft Farm Bill which, if passed, would wipe out state and local public health protections and immunize corporations from responsibility if juries find that Roundup and other pesticides are killing and making Americans sick:

“Billion-dollar Bayer and other chemical conglomerates must be popping champagne since House Republicans just announced a plan to give them a free pass if their products make Americans sick. In the face of hundreds of thousands of claims that ordinary Americans have brought against the manufacturers of Roundup and other pesticides, it's appalling that Congress would choose to protect the profit margins of corporate giants over the lives of farmers, maintenance workers, and others who come into contact with these potentially deadly chemicals. By overriding state and local law, the Farm Bill released today would wipe out the ability of communities to decide for themselves what safeguards they need and grant legal immunity to corporations whose products harm and kill people. ”

Today's announcement comes on the heels of three states' bipartisan refusal to shield Bayer from accountability for its actions. This year, Republican and Democrat legislators in Idaho, Iowa, and Missouri stood with farmers and other workers against toxic chem-conglomerates, defeating bills in their statehouses that would have allowed pesticide manufacturers to avoid being held responsible if their products make people sick.