JEFFERSON CITY 鈥 Angered by a 鈥渂ombastic鈥 attempt to silence them, nine Republican state senators on Monday declared a planned legal shield for herbicide maker Bayer 鈥渄ead on arrival鈥 in the Missouri Senate.
Without mentioning Bayer by name, a news release on Missouri Freedom Caucus letterhead said the nine had 鈥渃ome under attack from a powerful foreign entity鈥 demanding blanket immunity for its products containing glyphosate.
It said the company flooded hundreds of thousands of households in their districts with 鈥渕isleading attack mailers, distorting their records.鈥
The senators, the news release said, 鈥渉ave refused to bow to this foreign corporation鈥檚 pressure tactics and have declared these outlandish requests for blanket immunity as dead on arrival in the Missouri Senate.鈥
The announcement Monday came on the heels of 鈥 three more than needed to approve the bill 鈥 Thursday to advance legislation supported by German biotechnology giant Bayer to the Senate for consideration.
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The legislation was already facing criticism from Republicans, with 24 GOP House members joining 48 Democrats to vote against it last week. (One Democrat, Rep. Aaron Crossley of Independence, voted for the bill.)
The news release Monday from over one-third of the Senate GOP caucus threw passage of the Bayer-backed measure further into doubt.
The nine Republican senators mentioned in the news release were David Gregory of Chesterfield; Adam Schnelting of St. Charles; Nick Schroer of Defiance; Ben Brown of Washington; Rick Brattin of Harrisonville; Brad Hudson of Cape Fair; Mike Moon of Ash Grove; Jill Carter of Granby; and Joe Nicola of Independence.
Only four of the senators 鈥 Schroer, Schnelting, Brattin and Hudson 鈥 are members of the hard-right Freedom Caucus.
Copies of some of the mailers sent by Schroer on Monday place a photo of President Donald Trump next to apparently altered pictures of senators, saying in all caps, 鈥淲hy is (the senator) on the fence in the fight to protect American agriculture manufacturers and prevent outsourcing of our food supply chain to China?鈥
The flip side of a mailer provided by Schroer said it was paid for by Protecting America Initiative; a group by that same name was listed as active by the Federal Election Commission on Monday.
A spokesperson for Bayer said the company was unaffiliated with Protecting America Initiative, which also purchased a Super Bowl ad arguing the legislation is necessary to combat Chinese influence in the U.S. food supply.
Bayer is looking for relief from lawmakers concerned about the possibility that Roundup 鈥 a product developed and marketed by Monsanto, which Bayer acquired in 2018 鈥 could be pulled from the U.S. market. The North America headquarters of Bayer鈥檚 Crop Science division, which produces Roundup, is based in Creve Coeur.
A mountain of lawsuits filed in Missouri claim the company failed to warn of cancer risks associated with its Roundup weedkiller.
The House sponsor of the plan, Rep. Dane Diehl, R-Butler, has argued it鈥檚 better to use a product that鈥檚 produced and regulated in the United States rather than a foreign-made generic product.
Under the House legislation, failure-to-warn claims against pesticide makers would be blocked if the company uses a label approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA has said glyphosate is 鈥渘ot likely鈥 carcinogenic to humans.
The senators, in their news release, said their position aligns completely with President Donald Trump鈥檚 and U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.鈥檚 鈥渕ovements to make America Great & Healthy Again.鈥
The news release said the movements had questioned the safety of glyphosate especially when used 鈥渋n the production of our food supply.鈥
鈥淕ranting blanket immunity to any company, especially foreign actors, is fundamentally wrong,鈥 the release said.
The senators also touted legislation that would seek to ban Chinese-made herbicides and other agrochemicals, 鈥渨hich is the stated alleged goal of the authors of the attack mailers.鈥
Bayer in a statement Monday called the 鈥渘otion鈥 that the proposed legislation, , provides a 鈥渂lanket immunity shield ... a false narrative positioned by the Litigation Industry.鈥
鈥淣o company should be afforded blanket immunity,鈥 Bayer said. 鈥淗B 544 ensures that when products adhere to federal labeling guidelines, the labels are recognized by states.鈥
Bayer said it looked 鈥渇orward to working with the Freedom Caucus and any other members of the Legislature that preserve farmers鈥 access to crucial crop protection tools and reduce prices on grocery store shelves.鈥
Editor鈥檚 note: Corrects an earlier version describing Bayer鈥檚 Creve Coeur-based operations.
Missouri's Legislature reflects the federal structure in many ways. Video by Beth O'Malley
