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Groups advocating for clean, safe water are pushing back on proposals to revive a pesticide labeling law introduced last year in Congress which would give chemical companies legal immunity from claims if their products cause cancer.

A similar measure failed in Iowa this year, despite intense lobbying by the pesticide manufacturer, Bayer.

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Jennifer Breon, Iowa organizer for the group Food and Water Watch, said public sentiment has been decidedly against giving chemical manufacturers immunity from lawsuits if their products are shown to cause cancer.

"I was not surprised there was overwhelming opposition to this bill," Breon observed. "There was polling by one of the organizations in our coalition that said 89 percent of the people they polled on this bill were opposed to that. Hundreds of Iowans took thousand of actions to stop this bill."

The pesticide glyphosate, contained in the herbicide Roundup, is as the heart of what's known as the "Cancer Gag Act." While there is circumstantial evidence, the Environmental Protection Agency has not declared glyphosate carcinogenic Congress has not yet introduced a bill.

Bayer has four lobbyists working in Iowa. Despite the special interest pressure to pass the Cancer Gag Act, Breon noted the people of Iowa spoke up on social media, used phone banks and contacted their lawmakers, asking them to oppose it.

"This Cancer Gag Act was a cruel bill," Breon contended. "Nobody wants this in their community. To have their right to make their case in court that their cancer could have been caused by pesticide exposure."

Cancer Registry data show Iowa ranks second in the nation for cancer cases and is the only state where cancer rates are on the rise.