Legislative Riders Poison House Farm Bill

Rep. Mike Conaway (R- TX) introduced legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives today reauthorizing the farm bill. In addition to addressing traditional agricultural and food policy, the farm bill has major implications for wildlife and our environment. The House legislation contains toxic riders, including a particularly egregious one that would exempt pesticides from key Endangered Species Act protections and others that would weaken species protections and severely weaken safeguards on national forestlands.

Former Defenders of Wildlife President and CEO, Jamie Rappaport Clark, issued the following statement:

“The House legislation hijacks the farm bill. Important legislation has been turned into a vehicle for attacking bedrock environmental laws and damaging our wildlife and national forests. The severe overrides of the Endangered Species Act and the Clean Water Act would allow the killing of endangered wildlife and the dumping of pesticides in waterways, with virtually no legal consequences.

“A real ‘poison pill’ rider added to the bill should raise anew Rachel Carson’s warning in ‘Silent Spring’ issued so many years ago. The rider eviscerates Endangered Species Act requirements for the Environmental Protection Agency to work with the expert fish and wildlife agencies when approving pesticide use, while shielding the pesticide industry from liability for harming endangered wildlife. This reckless provision gives the pesticide industry a free pass to poison pollinators and hundreds of endangered and threatened species with potentially dangerous chemicals.

“In addition, the forestry title is a massive attack on environmental safeguards for clean drinking water, endangered species, forest restoration and science-based decision making on our forests. It exempts 6,000-acre-logging projects from even basic review and oversight under the National Environmental Policy Act—doubling the size of the largest existing exemptions—and adds a long list of new exemptions; directs the forest service to ignore impacts to endangered species and wilderness areas, when approving the use of these exemptions. What’s more, it exempts the Forest Service from important consultations with wildlife experts under the Endangered Species Act.

“Members of Congress interested in passing a farm bill should oppose these and other riders that will only serve to stop the legislative process in its tracks. Congress should craft a balanced bill that serves the needs of the agricultural community while protecting the fish, wildlife, and plants that depend on private lands and forests nationwide.”