WASHINGTON, DC—Today, the Farm Bill Conference Committee held a public meeting to remedy the differences between the House and Senate versions of the Farm Bill. Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva was named to the conference committee and highlighted the negative aspects of the House bill on our nation’s environmental laws. After the meeting, Rep. Grijalva issued the following statement:

“The House-passed Farm Bill is a partisan disaster from start-to-finish, and will cause irreparable harm to our nation’s bedrock environmental laws, nutrition and anti-poverty programs, and the ability of farm workers to protect themselves and their children from dangerous pesticides.

“We must not end up with a product that is nothing more than a hand-out to agricultural corporations and the extremist factions of the Republican Party. Weakening environmental laws by gutting the National Environmental Policy Act and Endangered Species Act  and making it easier for industry to increase their use of dangerous pesticides only serves to imperil endangered species, our communities, and the hardworking farm workers who pick the food that sustains us. In addition, ideological work requirements for nutrition and anti-poverty programs equate to more bureaucracy and food insecurity in communities across the country—including as many as 280,000 Arizona residents.

“It’s time for this Congress to put the interests and well-being of their constituents over wealthy donors and corporations. Instead of caving to radical right-wing Republicans, I urge my colleagues in both chambers and both sides of the aisle to produce a bipartisan conference report that safeguards our environment, empowers anti-poverty programs, and does not jeopardize the safety of farm workers, who already experience the highest rates of chemical exposure among U.S. workers.”

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