Why It Matters

The Environmental Working Group filed a lobbying activity report for the first quarter of 2026, disclosing $208,234 in in-house lobbying expenditures. The filing, signed May 4, 2026, lists no specific issues or legislation, though the group's parallel external lobbying activity and public advocacy point to a sustained focus on food chemical safety and pesticide regulation.

EWG operates at the intersection of environmental science and federal policy, pushing for stricter oversight of chemicals in food and drinking water. The organization's lobbying comes at a moment when federal regulators are revisiting (and in some cases rolling back) rules that EWG has long championed. With the Trump EPA moving to weaken Biden-era drinking water protections and the Farm Bill debate surfacing pesticide liability questions, EWG has clear legislative terrain to navigate.

By The Numbers

EWG's first-quarter 2026 lobbying disclosure reflects a notable jump in spending. The group spent $208,234 in the first quarter of 2026, up from $116,640 in the first quarter of 2025 and $111,537 in the fourth quarter of 2025.

Across the past year, EWG's in-house lobbying totals tell the story of a growing operation:

  • First quarter 2025: $116,640
  • Second quarter 2025: $146,109
  • Third quarter 2025: $133,265
  • Fourth quarter 2025: $111,537
  • First quarter 2026: $208,234

That puts total in-house lobbying spend over the past year at roughly $715,785.

EWG also retains ACG Advocacy LLC as an external lobbying firm. ACG filed a separate first quarter 2026 lobbying disclosure on EWG's behalf, focused on industrial solvents. ACG's fourth quarter 2025 filing listed both industrial solvents and food additives as issue areas. The external lobbying team at ACG has included as many as four registered lobbyists in a single quarter.

The in-house filing lists no individual lobbyists by name.

The Agenda

The first-quarter 2026 in-house lobbying disclosure lists no specific issues lobbied and cites no legislation. That blank disclosure stands in contrast to EWG's active public profile during the same period.

EWG's external lobbying through ACG Advocacy has consistently flagged industrial solvents and food additives as the firm's focus areas. Those issue areas align with EWG's broader public advocacy, which during the first quarter of 2026 included research on PFAS exposure and statements on pesticide policy.

EWG has also been publicly engaged on food chemical safety legislation. The group's Policy Director, Jessica Hernandez, was quoted in a communication tied to the Food Chemical Reassessment Act of 2025, introduced by Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) and Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT). Hernandez stated that "too many food chemicals in our food supply haven't been properly reviewed for safety, or haven't been looked at in decades."

EWG's Senior Vice President for Government Affairs, Scott Faber, also appeared at a Rutgers University roundtable tied to Rep. Frank Pallone Jr.'s (D-NJ) Grocery Reform and Safety Act, which would close the so-called GRAS loophole allowing food companies to self-certify ingredients as safe.

Neither bill is cited in this lobbying disclosure.

Broader Context

EWG's lobbying activity coincides with a turbulent regulatory moment for the issues it covers.

On PFAS, the Trump EPA has moved to partially rescind and delay the first federal limits on "forever chemicals" in drinking water, according to E&E News. In March 2026, EWG released research estimating that 176 million Americans are exposed to toxic PFAS as those rollbacks advanced.

On pesticides, the Farm Bill debate surfaced a provision that would have shielded pesticide manufacturers from liability. EWG publicly opposed that provision. In February 2026, EWG issued a statement calling it "a betrayal of MAHA." By April, the House passed the Luna Amendment by a 280-142 vote, stripping the liability shield from the bill, an outcome EWG publicly applauded.

Separately, in January 2026, EWG noted that 137 House lawmakers were urging Congress to reject legislation that would limit state and local pesticide safety rules.

President Trump also signed an executive order in February 2026 purporting to grant immunity to glyphosate production. Legal experts quoted by The New Lede said executive orders "cannot magically give Monsanto immunity for the harms of its toxic glyphosate products" without new congressional authority.

The Bottom Line

EWG is spending more on in-house lobbying than it has in recent quarters, even as its first-quarter 2026 disclosure leaves the specific issues blank. The group's external lobbying through ACG Advocacy and its documented public engagement suggest a continued focus on chemical safety, food additives, and pesticide policy. The regulatory environment (with the Trump administration revisiting rules on PFAS and pesticides) gives EWG clear reasons to maintain an active presence on Capitol Hill.

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