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Washington, D.C.— Today, Congressman Jim Baird (IN-04) along with Chairman Sanford Bishop (GA-02), and 54 of their colleagues sent bipartisan a letter to President Biden to protect farmers’ access to critical crop protection tools. 

“At a time when American farmers and ranchers are faced with record input costs and shortages of critical inputs, the U.S. Solicitor General’s amicus brief could threaten our producers’ ability to feed and fuel the world,” said Congressman Baird. “As our country continues to face the highest inflation rates in decades, it’s critical that our government provide certainty to the agriculture industry and the broader American food supply chain. My colleagues and I are deeply concerned that this flawed opinion will undermine growers’ long-term access to innovation and increase costs, which is why we sent a letter to President Biden asking for his immediate withdrawal of Solicitor General Prelogar’s brief.”

Background:

On May 10, 2022, the U.S. Solicitor General submitted an amicus brief weighing in on a class action lawsuit against Bayer, which would allow the state of California to require a cancer warning label for the widely utilized herbicide glyphosate, in a stunning departure from decades of scientific consensus from academia and regulatory bodies across the world that show that the herbicide is not a carcinogen. Not only does the Solicitor General’s brief reverse a long-held view on federal preemption, but it sets a dangerous precedent for the United States’ science- and risk-based regulatory system. This brief, if acted upon, would up-end the entire regulatory process for crop protection tools and all forms of agricultural innovation, creating uncertainty and undermining confidence in scientific integrity.

This letter calls attention to the impact of glyphosate and its importance to U.S. farmers, addresses food security concerns and the implications of taking important crop protection tools away from producers. This bipartisan letter is supported by dozens of agricultural industry stakeholders and producer groups, including the American Farm Bureau Federation, American Soybean Association, National Cotton Council, and many others. Read the letter HERE.