U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-N.J.) reintroduced legislation February 2 to increase protections against exposure to toxic pesticides. The Protect America's Children from Toxic Pesticides Act of 2023 (PACTPA), S.269, addresses many of the problems with the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), which governs the registration and use of pesticides in the U.S. This major reform legislation tackles some of the documented deficiencies in the regulation of pesticides and removes a number of loopholes in the law. The legislation, introduced with Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Bernie Sanders (D-VT), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Brian Schatz (D-HI), also includes a ban on all organophosphate and neonicotinoid insecticides, as well as the weed killer paraquat, which is known to cause Parkinson's disease and lung fibrosis.
Despite these reform provisions, the legislation does not touch the core of FIFRA's pesticide registration process and chart a path for the systemic, transformative change that Beyond Pesticides says is essential to meet the existential challenges of current times—devastating health threats, biodiversity collapse, and the climate crisis.
>>Urge your Senators to co-sponsor PACTPA and reforms to the toxic core of FIFRA.
Specifically, the bill, the Protect America's Children from Toxic Pesticides Act (PACTPA), S.269, would provide some desperately needed improvements to FIFRA to better protect people and the environment, including:
At a time of increasing public health threats, biodiversity collapse, and climate crisis, it is critical to advance legislation that is truly protective of health and the environment. As the widespread success of natural, organic land care practices has shown, toxic pesticides are not needed to maintain agricultural productivity, beautiful landscapes, or quality of life.
Despite this impressive list of corrections, PACTPA does not touch the toxic core of FIFRA, which permits the unnecessary dispersal of toxic chemicals in the environment. To eliminate this toxic core, Congress must:
The targets for this Action are co-sponsors of Protect America's Children from Toxic Pesticides Act (PACTPA), S.269, and members of the U.S. Senate.
Thank you for your active participation and engagement!
>>Urge your Senators to co-sponsor PACTPA and reforms to the toxic core of FIFRA.