Congress passes Monsanto Protection Act, All hands on deck!
We regret to inform you, but today Congress succeeded in passing Section 735, aka the Monsanto Protection Act, in the Continuing Resolution spending bill. Once again, Monsanto and the biotech industry have used their lobbying power to undermine your basic rights. We need you to contact Congress and tell them you are outraged. With the Senate passage of the Monsanto Protection Act, biotech lobbyists are one step closer to making sure that their new GMO crops can evade any serious scientific or regulatory review.
This dangerous provision, which we're calling the Monsanto Protection Act, strips judges of their constitutional mandate to protect consumer and farmer rights and the environment, while opening up the floodgates for the planting of new untested genetically engineered crops, endangering farmers, citizens and the environment.
We are asking that you take action here and then call Congress to shut down their phone lines until Section 735 is removed from the CR before the President signs. Join us in putting a stop to the Monsanto Protection Act!
A copy of your letter of support will be delivered to President Obama, your Member of Congress and Senators:
Dear President Obama, Representative and Senator,
I am writing to let you know that I am outraged that the “farmer assurance provision”, Section 735, currently included in HR 933, was not struck from the Continuing Resolution spending bill passed by Congress.
Though wrapped in a “farmer-friendly” package, this provision is simply an industry ploy to continue to sell genetically engineered (GMO) seeds even when a court of law has found they were approved by USDA illegally. It is unnecessary and an unprecedented attack on U.S. judicial review. Congress should not be meddling with the judicial review process based solely on the special interest of a handful of companies.
The judicial review process is an essential element of U.S law and serves as a vital check on any federal agency decision that may negatively impact human health, the environment or the livelihood of farmers, yet this provision seeks an end-run around such judicial review by preemptively deciding that industry can set its own conditions to continue to sell biotech seeds, even if a court may find them to have been wrongfully approved.
The provision further forces USDA to immediately approve any permits for continued planting at the industry's request, putting industry completely in charge by allowing for a “back door approval” mechanism. USDA’s duty is to protect the interests of all farmers and the environment, a duty that would be eliminated by this provision.
The provision is also completely unnecessary. Every court to decide these issues has carefully weighed the interests of farmers, as is already required by law. I demand that this dangerous and unconstitutional rider be struck from HR 933, the Continuing Resolution by the President before signing this bill.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
I am writing to let you know that I am outraged that the “farmer assurance provision”, Section 735, currently included in HR 933, was not struck from the Continuing Resolution spending bill passed by Congress.
Though wrapped in a “farmer-friendly” package, this provision is simply an industry ploy to continue to sell genetically engineered (GMO) seeds even when a court of law has found they were approved by USDA illegally. It is unnecessary and an unprecedented attack on U.S. judicial review. Congress should not be meddling with the judicial review process based solely on the special interest of a handful of companies.
The judicial review process is an essential element of U.S law and serves as a vital check on any federal agency decision that may negatively impact human health, the environment or the livelihood of farmers, yet this provision seeks an end-run around such judicial review by preemptively deciding that industry can set its own conditions to continue to sell biotech seeds, even if a court may find them to have been wrongfully approved.
The provision further forces USDA to immediately approve any permits for continued planting at the industry's request, putting industry completely in charge by allowing for a “back door approval” mechanism. USDA’s duty is to protect the interests of all farmers and the environment, a duty that would be eliminated by this provision.
The provision is also completely unnecessary. Every court to decide these issues has carefully weighed the interests of farmers, as is already required by law. I demand that this dangerous and unconstitutional rider be struck from HR 933, the Continuing Resolution by the President before signing this bill.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
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