Harshon Ratanpal

The bill would limit hemp products to just 0.4 milligrams of THC, the chemical in cannabis that gets people high.

Hemp-derived drugs have been legal since the 2018 Farm Bill, which allowed growing cannabis for industrial purposes.

Missouri farmer Brian Regal sells hemp-derived products, including gummies and drinks.

He says the ban would bankrupt his company's.

Republican Senator Rand Paul tried to get the hemp ban stricken from the bill, but almost all of his GOP colleagues voted to keep it.

For NPR News, I'm Harshon Ratanpal in Columbia, Missouri.

Support for NPR comes from NPR member stations and Eric and Wendy Schmidt through the Schmidt Family Foundation, working toward a healthy, resilient, secure world for all.

On the web at theschmidt.org.

Almost all of the employees at the Columbia Environmental Research Center would be cut if the government's plan goes through.

Scientists at the center help to repopulate endangered species and study how chemicals and invasive species impact ecosystems.

Their research is used by decision makers in other parts of the government and the private sector.

Don Tillett is a scientist who worked there for 30 years.

He's been in contact with current employees.

A federal judge has temporarily blocked the Department of Interior from enacting its plan.

For NPR News, I'm Harshon Ratanpal in Columbia, Missouri.

This is NPR News.