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Bipartisan Progress On Chemical Security
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MILLIONS AT RISK—More than 1 million Americans live close enough to a chemical plant to suffer serious consequences in the event of an accident or attack. Unfortunately, the House of Representatives approved a bill that fails to require safer alternatives to dangerous chemicals. |
Stalls
In October, the House failed to improve safety protections at chemical facilities. The Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Act of 2006 (HR 5695) would have required the most dangerous chemical and manufacturing plants to look for safer ways of doing business, such as using safer alternatives to toxic chemicals whenever those alternatives exist.
Instead, the chemical industry reached a closed-door deal to displace permanent and comprehensive chemical security provisions with weaker, temporary provisions. The House approved the weaker bill in October.
Across the United States, thousands of industrial facilities use and store hazardous chemicals in quantities that put large numbers of Americans at risk of serious injury or death.
The risk is widespread—according to EPA, over 100 facilities each put more than a million people at risk of injury or death in the event of an accident or terrorist attack.
“The industry deal will take real chemical security solutions off the table and replace them with an inadequate temporary program,” said Staff Attorney Alex Fidis.
“Congress is as close as it has ever been to passing permanent chemical security regulations, but a few lawmakers capitulating to the chemical industry’s demands will derail years of work to protect communities from chemical terrorism.”
Despite industry claims of boosted protections, federal studies confirm that security at most chemical facilities ranges from poor to non-existent.
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Canadian Rx Drug Importing Allowed
Americans will soon be able to legally buy safe and low-cost prescription drugs from Canada thanks to the efforts of Sen. David Vitter (La.) and others who added prescription drug reimportation language to the Homeland Security bill.
The bill passed both houses of Congress and was signed by the president in October. The victory is a small step, however, toward reining in the high price of prescription drugs.
The bill allows Americans to buy a 90-day supply of prescription drugs from Canadian pharmacies.
Advocates were not able to overcome industry opposition to Internet and mail order sales of Canadian drugs, which would help the majority of Americans who cannot make the trip to Canada for prescription drugs. These sales are still prohibited.
The Department of Homeland Security had come under some fire for confiscating critical medications from seniors who, faced with choosing between needed medications and other essential purchases, opted to import their prescription drugs from Canada.
Customs agents seized and destroyed at least 40,000 prescription drug packages at the border before backing down and stopping the seizures in September.
Advocates will build on momentum from these victories to get Congress to leverage better prices from the powerful pharmaceutical industry, including the PIRG-backed Medicare Prescription Drugs Saving and Choice Act (HR 752), which would allow Medicare to negotiate lower prescription drug prices with manufacturers.
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Advocates Stand Up To Assault on Food Safety
Last year, food-borne E. Coli outbreaks caused by contaminated spinach heightened the country’s awareness of food safety laws.
Incredibly, Congress was at that time considering legislation that would roll back food safety protections at the behest of the food manufacturers lobby.
As this newsletter goes to print, our coalition is working in the Senate to stop the attacks on our food safety protections, and calling on senators to oppose the so-called National Uniformity for Food Act, and any bill that would take away the rights of states to protect people from chemicals in food.
The act would eliminate proven food safety and labeling standards that are more protective than federal standards, even when the federal government has no regulation on the books.
For instance, states currently have the right to post warnings to pregnant women and parents about the significant risks to the brains of fetuses and young children from high levels of mercury in certain kinds of fish.
They would lose this power if the bill went into effect. A PIRG-led coalition of state and local food safety officials and 39 attorneys general oppose the bill.
Our advocates will continue to work during the 110th Congress to stop the assaults on our food safety protections.
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Florida PIRG Alerts
Shoppers To Toy Hazards
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| PROTECTING CONSUMERS FROM DANGEROUS TOYS—Because of
the work of the state PIRGs and other safety advocates, most toys on
store shelves are safe and fun for children. Unfortunately, after more
than two decades of advocacy on behalf of America’s littlest consumers,
hazardous toys can still be found on many store shelves. |
Just before Thanksgiving and the
busiest shopping day of the year,
Florida PIRG released its 21st annual
toy safety survey.
The report, “Trouble in Toyland,” provides parents and consumers
with safety guidelines for purchasing
toys for small children.
The report also provides consumers
with examples of toys found
on store shelves that pose potential
safety hazards.
For the report, Florida PIRG’s
research focused on several categories
of toy dangers including: toys
that pose choking hazards, toys
with powerful magnets, toys that
contain lead, and toys that contain
toxic chemicals.
“Even one toy-related death is
too many because these deaths
are preventable,” said Dr. Sam
Ashoo, an Emergency Medicine
Specialist at Tallahassee Memorial
Hospital.
Dr. Ashoo joined Florida
PIRG staff at the report’s release on
Nov. 21.
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Money Still Top Predictor
of Election Outcomes
Despite numerous public opinion
polls indicating record levels of
public frustration with the previous
Congress, 76 percent of the 2006
primary congressional elections
were uncontested.
According to “The Wealth Primary,” a new report by Florida
PIRG, the biggest fundraisers won
92 percent of the 2006 major party
primaries.
The report also found that major
party nomination campaigns were
primarily funded by large contributions
from less than one-tenth of
1 percent of the electorate.
“This report simply confirms what
every prospective candidate already
knows—the first questions
to ask when considering whether
to run for office are about money.
Am I rich? Do I know rich people
who will give me money? If not,
my chances of reaching Congress
are slim and maybe I’d better
pursue another line of work,” added Brad Ashwell, advocate for
Florida PIRG.
Florida PIRG is calling on the
110th Congress to provide public
financing to candidates who agree
to spending limits and refuse
special interest and other private
contributions.
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Florida PIRG Works To
Save The Voters’ Voice
During the 2006 election, Florida
PIRG worked with other groups
in an unprecedented bi-partisan
effort to protect the state’s ballot
initiative process.
Ironically, Amendment 3, which
was only approved by 57 percent of
Florida’s voters, now requires that
all future constitutional amendments
pass with a 60 percent approval.
Florida also now has a higher voter
approval requirement for constitutional
amendments than any other
state.
However, some groups have signaled
that they are still not satis-
fied.
These groups plan to return to the
Legislature in the 2007 session and
pursue additional legislation that
will make the process even less accessible
to grassroots groups.
Florida PIRG will continue to defend
citizens’ access to government
and will support the creation of a
statutory initiative process.
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BellSouth Tries To Pass
Damages To Consumers
BellSouth has quietly filed for a
$34.6 million hike in the phone rates
of its Florida customers.
This is the first request to take advantage
of a recent anti-consumer
statute that lobbyists slipped into
an otherwise good utility reform
bill in 2005.
During the 2005 session, BellSouth
convinced the Legislature to allow
the phone monopoly to petition for
rate increases to cover uninsured
storm losses.
BellSouth then turned around and
pocketed the money, rather than
doing what any prudent company
would have done—spent
the money on insurance and other
storm-protection measures.
The ultimate decision on whether to
allow this gouging of Florida consumers
rests with the Florida Public
Service Commission (PSC).
Florida PIRG will continue to
watchdog the PSC and work to
prevent unfair rate increases.
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