U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse is teaming up with New Mexico Sen. Tom Udall in an attempt to protect people who could be exposed to toxic pesticides.

The bill, known as the Protect America’s Children from Toxic Pesticides Act of 2020, represents the first comprehensive update since 1996 to the law governing pesticide use in the United States, the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, according to a release from Congress.

“The use of harmful pesticides on everything from our crops to our front yards has become all too commonplace, putting American farmworkers and young children at immense risk of harmful health impacts,” Neguse said. “For far too long highly toxic pesticides have gone unregulated as the EPA has put the interests of the pesticide industry above the health and safety of people and our environment.”

The bill has a number of components to it. If made into law, it would ban pesticides that it deems “damaging,” including organophosphate, neonicotinoid and Paraquat; involve communities in identifying and fighting against dangerous pesticides through petitions and legislation; and provide protections for front-line communities that are frequently exposed to pesticides.

“Families across the country fill their shopping carts with food every day to feed their families, trusting that American produce and grains are safe to eat,” Udall said. “But in many cases, our food is sprayed with pesticides considered highly toxic or dangerous. Our nation’s pesticide laws have not kept up to keep us safe,”

However, the bill has not received total support from across the state. Zach Riley, the director of public policy for the Colorado Farm Bureau, wrote in an email to Colorado Politics that health and safety is and always has been a high priority for farmers, particularly when it comes to substances to control pests and weeds. 

“It’s important that farmers have access to technology in order to grow food to feed families, communities and the world. Safety rules and guidelines required by the Environmental Protection Agency and others are rigorous, evidence-based and scientifically supported,” Riley wrote. “It requires the attention and strict adherence by users, making these tools safe and necessary to continue feeding the world.”

Riley added that bill could “have huge negative consequences for the future of Colorado farmers, and is a frustrating example of what happens when the voices of those in the agriculture industry are not heard.” 

The United States, according to a study from the Center for Biological Diversity, sprays more than one billion pounds of pesticides on American landscapes every year. These pesticides can hurt both human and environmental health.

The study also states that in 2017 and 2018, the EPA approved more than 100 pesticide products containing ingredients that are “widely considered to be the most dangerous still in use.” These include some that have been banned in multiple countries or targeted for phasing out within the United States.

Neguse said his district is fortunate to have some of the nation’s top environment experts – experts who have warned for years of the “dangers posed by the existing and largely profit-driven regulatory and oversight system,” adding that it is the responsibility of Congress to listen to science in these cases.

“As Coloradans and all Americans purchase food, prepare meals for their family and as agricultural workers head to work, they deserve to know their health and safety are not in jeopardy and they are not at risk to harmful toxins,” Neguse said. “This reform is long overdue and urgently needed. We must get it done.”