CropLife America spent over $492K lobbying in 1Q

An agricultural pesticide trade group spent $492,195 in the first quarter to lobby on the farm bill and other issues, according to a recent disclosure form.

CropLife America _ whose 64 members include Chemtura Corp., Dow Chemical Co. and DuPont Co. _ lobbied on the $290 billion farm bill, as well as legislation that would address nutritional assistance to families in need and improve food safety.

Congress this week passed the five-year measure overriding President Bush's veto for a second time after a clerical error in the first farm bill threatened delivery of U.S. food aid abroad. Most of the bill was enacted in May, when both the House and Senate easily overrode Bush's first veto of the legislation.

Besides Congress, the trade group lobbied the White House, Environmental Protection Agency, the Interior and Agriculture departments and others, according to the report filed April 21 with the House clerk's office.