Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026
Floor Speech
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Mrs. LUNA. Mr. Chair, I rise to support this amendment. As you know, I never thought I would have to be debating liability protections for pesticide companies, yet here I am today.
I would like to share some statistics with you. A major study found that pesticide mixtures increased childhood leukemia by 23 percent, brain cancer by 36 percent, and overall childhood cancer by 30 percent.
We find that a majority of Americans, specifically that do rely on SNAP and EBT, are being fed massively processed foods that are increasing their cancer risk, not to mention, as a whole, I think this is something that we should all get behind. We do not want to ever provide or be on the side of cancer-causing anything.
Research shows that maternal exposures to pesticides at home and work are linked to a higher risk of leukemia in children. These chemicals are known to cross the placenta and impact fetal development.
In addition to that, a review of over 174 studies, from 2013 to 2023, found constant and consistent links between pesticide exposures and leukemia, brain cancers, and rare childhood cancers.
Off the record, I had a conversation in the Cloakroom with a young Member of Congress who was just elected in Georgia who said he suffered from thyroid cancer, and he thought it was due to an environmental factor.
The point is that this should not be partisan. It is about the American people and protecting them.
Now, I understand that this place can get pretty heated sometimes, but I was also called a damn liar for defending my position, which is far from the truth. The fact is that I am not getting paid special interest money. I am trying to fight for my district and, I think, for the well-being of a majority of Americans. The fact is that there is far too much special interest money going into policies like these. While people claim that they are not in opposition, if you pull FEC reporting, of which we have screenshots of all of that, it says quite otherwise.
I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from Maine (Ms. Pingree).
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Mrs. LUNA. Mr. Chairman, I would like to clarify that section 10205 blocks States and local governments from requiring any warnings beyond what the EPA provides. As far as I am concerned, if someone is trying to give something to my kid that causes cancer, I would hope to heck that Congress would block that.
Mr. Chairman, I will end by saying that I take zero money from pesticide liability and manufacturers, and my colleague takes $124,000 from them. I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia. Mr. Chairman, again, this is uniformity of pesticide labeling. It has nothing to do with the actual chemical or the pesticide in the jug.
Mr. Chairman, I yield the remainder of my time to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Thompson), the chairman of the committee.
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Mrs. LUNA. Mr. Chair, I demand a recorded vote.
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