WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) introduced the Pesticide Injury Accountability Act, legislation that would ensure that pesticide manufacturers can be held responsible for the harm caused by their toxic products. Specifically, this bill would amend the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act of 1972 (FIFRA) to create a federal right of action for anyone who is harmed by a toxic pesticide.

Despite growing peer-reviewed scientific evidence linking widely used pesticides to a host of health harms including cancers, birth defects, endocrine disruption, Parkinson’s disease, and infertility, a coordinated effort is being led by pesticide manufacturers in state legislatures and in Congress seeking legal immunity – a liability shield – for these big corporations.

If these largely foreign-owned companies are successful, this liability shield would leave farmers, farmworkers, and other injured individuals without meaningful recourse for the harms caused by these toxic substances. 

Chemical companies are seeking liability shields because they know the harm their products have already caused. Syngenta, a subsidiary of the Chinese state-owned company ChemChina, reached a $187.5 million settlement in 2021 for paraquat-related Parkinson’s disease claims. Monsanto, now owned by Germany’s Bayer, has paid billions of dollars to settle lawsuits linking Roundup (glyphosate) to non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

“Rather than providing a liability shield so that foreign corporations are allowed to poison the American people, Congress should instead pass the Pesticide Injury Accountability Act to ensure that these chemical companies can be held accountable in federal court for the harm caused by their toxic products,” said Senator Booker.

“CHD opposes any liability shield for any industry that has a direct impact on the health of the American people,” said Mary Holland, CEO of Children's Health Defense. “Granting blanket immunity to corporations who have a fiscal responsibility to their shareholders, and not a responsibility to consumer safety, is one of the most dangerous propositions imaginable. CHD sincerely thanks Senator Booker for his leadership in sponsoring this critical piece of legislation to protect the American people over corporations.”

"No one can dispute that crop pesticides are poisons. They are designed to kill weeds, but they also kill non-target plants and there is sound evidence linking them to human health problems," said Jim Goodman, president of the National Family Farm Coalition. "To date, Bayer alone has paid out over $11 billion in legal settlements for medical problems caused by their herbicide Roundup. To avoid paying for damages caused by their poisons, agri-chemical companies routinely lobby for federal and state laws that shield them from any liability for the damages they are responsible for. People sickened by their poisons go bankrupt paying for their medical care and sometimes ultimately die. The Pesticide Injury Accountability Act of 2025 will hold agri-chemical companies accountable for the irreparable harms they cause."

“Moms Across America strongly supports the Pesticide Injury Accountability Act, which reaffirms our 7th Amendment right to sue for harm or damage,” said Zen Honeycutt, Founding Executive Director, Moms Across America. “It is unconscionable that corporations are pushing our elected officials to manipulate laws so that they can avoid accountability for safety and protect their profits over the health and safety of Americans. We must protect the American people from harm - especially from products that are proven to cause infertility, cancer, liver disease and many other negative health effects.”

“People exposed to and suffering from the health effects of toxic chemicals should not be denied their right to seek justice,” said Geoff Horsfield, Policy Director, Environmental Working Group. “We applaud Senator Booker for his efforts to protect the rights of farmers, rural communities, workers, children and families.”

“Granting legal immunity to pesticide manufacturers would leave farmers and their families with no way to seek justice after suffering health or crop damage from these chemicals,” said Kelly Ryerson, Co-Founder, American Regeneration. “Farmers have a right to hold companies accountable and protect their livelihoods from devastating illness." 

Last month, Senator Booker led a group of 20 of his colleagues in calling on Senate leadership to oppose any efforts to limit existing state and local authority to regulate pesticides in the upcoming Farm Bill or any other legislation.  

To see a full list of endorsing organizations, click here.

To read the full text of the bill, click here.