NEW YORK – Provisions that would benefit companies that produce pesticides have delayed progress in the Farm Bill discussion o Agriculture Law before the House Rules Committee federal government that is also evaluating an amendment to the transition to SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) in Puerto Rico.
Although the Republican leaders seek to approve the omnibus bill this week which adds multiple agricultural and food programs, The House may not get the votes to pass the legislation.
Controversial provision would prevent states and courts from sanctioning pesticide makers that do not include warnings about health effects on the labels of these products in accordance with the guidelines of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), The Hill reported.
The opposition not only includes Democrats, but also Republicans linked to the “Fetch The US Wholesome Again” movement.
Union of Concerned Scientists is one of the entities that has also spoken out against the language for understanding that it privileges corporations, instead of combating climate change and protecting farmers.
“A visionary and transformative farm bill is needed more than ever as farmers struggle with the impacts of Trump’s unnecessary wars and chaotic tariffs. Instead, Trump and his collaborators aim to take advantage of the current farm crisis to pass a law that puts more money in the pockets of big agribusinesswhile ignoring the real needs of farmers and families,” shared Abbey Vogel, outreach coordinator for the organization.
The leader argued that the passage of the Food, Agriculture and Homeland Security Act of 2026 (FFNSA) would consolidate corporate control and stifle practices aimed at regeneration and resilience in the food system.
“By cutting funding to vital U.S. Department of Agriculture conservation programs—programs that are already overtaxed and underfunded,” FFNSA would worsen agricultural pollution, including excessive use of fertilizers. Precisely as farmers struggle with high fertilizer prices, the House farm bill would decimate science-based programs that could help them. “If this bill is passed, we can expect contamination of drinking water and the destruction of vulnerable wetlands that act as a barrier against droughts and floods,” he added in a newsletter.
The group also questioned that HR 7567 does not allocate sufficient funds for critical agricultural research. and consolidate “disastrous” cuts to food assistance programs, like SNAP.
The resident commissioner of Puerto Rico in Washington DC, Pablo José Hernández, presented an amendment to insert the transition from the PAN (Nutrition Assistance Program) to the SNAP in the reauthorization project. However, it is very unlikely that this legislative effort will advance in view of the resistance, mainly, on the part of Republicans to the change of programs on the island.
In a newsletter on April 23, the House Agriculture Committee, chaired by Pennsylvania Republican Glenn “GT” Thompsonit was indicated that the momentum to identify on the Agriculture Law continues to grow. “The Rules Committee will consider the farm bill next week (this). Once passed, debate can begin on the House floor,” the notice reads.
The entry argues that Rules Committee works to determine what legislation comes up for a floor voteaccording to the rules. “These rules regulate the time of debate, the possibility of amendments and what amendments can be considered. In summary, the new agricultural bill must go through the Rules Committee before it can be put to a vote in the plenary session of Congress,” they explained.
Last March 5, Thompson affirmed that the draft that the Agriculture Committee approved of the Farm Bill was a bipartisan one who defended the interests of the agricultural sector.
“After a review and amendment process that lasted more than 20 hours, the legislation reflects the will of the committee and is packed with bipartisan provisions that will make a significant difference for farmers, ranchers and rural residents across the country,” he said in a statement.
“Throughout this review process, it has become clearer than ever that our country needs a new Farm Bill; and we don’t need it next year, or in the next Congress. We need it now. I look forward to working in good faith with my colleagues on both sides of the political spectrum as we move toward a final vote on the House floor,” he said.
For their part, the United Farm Workers Union (UFW) and the UFW Foundation supported the amendment presented by Representative Zoe Lofgren that would create a path to US citizenship for migrant agricultural workers who have no criminal record and a proven history of working in the sector.
The amendment, identical in its text to the normal Agricultural Workforce Modernization Act, is based on an agreement between groups of agricultural workers and employers, the organizations explained in a joint statement. They stressed that, if approved, the statute would protect undocumented farm workers from deportation.
The groups hope that the introduction of the amendment will address the urgent need to stabilize the agricultural workforce.
Teresa Romero, president of the UFW, described it as a most essential and common sense step to include the proposal in the Farm Bill.
“Across the country, migrant farmworkers go to work every day to feed America. Yet these same workers too often fear deportation, simply for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. No one should have to go to work afraid of not being able to return home to their family. The workers who feed America have earned the right to remain in this country, as Americans. Including this common sense solution in the farm bill is a most essential step forward,” declared Romero.
Keep reading:
- (VIDEO) Kirsten Gillibrand: “Puerto Rico is prepared” for the transition to SNAP
- Organizations will fight for SNAP for Puerto Rico in the Senate after introduction of the bill
- Puerto Rico: NY Senator Kirsten Gillibrand presents project for transition from PAN to SNAP
- Resident Commissioner Pablo José Hernández confirms that SNAP for Puerto Rico was not included in the “Farm Bill” extension
- Federal House Committee attributes Puerto Rico’s exclusion from SNAP in new “Farm Bill” to “budgetary limitations”