Congress funds research on PFAS and microplastics in farmland soils.
H.R. 3991 — Research for Healthy Soils Act · Filed by Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-WA) · 3 cosponsors · Introduced Jun 12, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill adds microplastics and PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) research to the USDA's high-priority agricultural research program, authorizing grants for studies on how these contaminants in biosolids and compost affect farmland, crops, and soil health. It also extends the authorization of the underlying research program from 2023 to 2031.
Why we flagged it
The bill's sole operative mechanism is to designate a new research topic (microplastics and PFAS in farmland) as eligible for USDA grants under an existing program and to extend that program's funding authority. It is a straightforward research authorization with no deregulation, liability shield, or private carve-out.
What the text implies
- Research findings on PFAS and microplastic uptake by crops may eventually inform EPA or FDA regulatory action on food safety or biosolids application standards, creating downstream compliance costs for wastewater treatment and agricultural operations.
- The bill does not mandate remediation or restrict biosolids application; it only funds research. Actual policy changes would require separate legislation or regulatory action.
- Extending the program authorization to 2031 locks in funding authority but does not guarantee appropriations; actual research grants depend on annual congressional appropriations.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
Ordinary citizens and farmers benefit from publicly funded research into contaminants (microplastics and PFAS) that accumulate in agricultural soils through biosolids application, potentially affecting food safety and groundwater. The bill creates no new restrictions on citizens and funds investigation of a genuine environmental and agricultural health concern.
Who stands to gain
- USDA research institutions and land-grant universities (grant recipients)
- Agricultural research contractors and consultants
Named in the bill
USDA, Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990, Section 1672, biosolids, PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), microplastics, land-grant universities
Where it stands
3 cosponsors: 2 Republicans, 1 Democrats.
- Jun 12, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Jun 12, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Agriculture · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Agriculture”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Money around this bill
1 lobbying clients named this bill on 2 disclosure filings across 2 quarters, Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $403,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 74 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.
More lobbying clients named this bill than 0% of bills with at least one filing.
Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, the sponsor, reported $927,619 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.
- Ocean Conservancy — $403,000 on 2 filings
Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 16, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (1,863 characters) on Aug 31, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
Money — Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act filings whose specific-issue field names this bill for quarters ending Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. A filing's amount is reported whole beside the median number of bills a filing names; it is never divided across them. PAC receipts are FEC-reported contributions to the sponsor's candidate committee in the 2026 cycle.
As of — lobbying records through Jul 16, 2026 · page rendered 2026-10-20.
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