Des Moines, IA — Today, according to media reports, Iowa House Speaker Pat Grassley told reporters that Bayer’s Cancer Gag Act, which would shield pesticide corporations from many health related lawsuits, did not have enough Republican support to pass the Iowa House. The legislation passed the Senate last week.

Just this morning, 31 groups representing tens of thousands of Iowa residents sent a letter to the Iowa House calling on the chamber to stop the dangerous legislation. Recent polling from the Iowa Association for Justice found that 89% of Iowa voters oppose pesticide immunity legislation, including 87% of Republican respondents.

Food & Water Watch Iowa Organizer Jennifer Breon issued the following statement:

“Bayer’s Cancer Gag Act has no place in Iowa. This cruel ploy to protect private profits at the public’s expense is no response to the public health reckoning we face. News that this dangerous bill does not have the votes to pass will be music to the ears of the overwhelming majority of Iowans who fought tirelessly to stop Bayer’s power grab.

“Speaker Pat Grassley and his Iowa House must send Bayer a clear message: no Cancer Gag Act in Iowa. Not now, and not ever.”