Michele Bachmann: “as the author of an amendment that was not made in order under this rule, I rise in opposition to this rule. My…”

“as the author of an amendment that was not made in order under this rule, I rise in opposition to this rule. My amendment would have prohibited taxpayer funds authorized by this bill from being used to purchase mercury-laden compact fluorescent light bulbs, also known as the CFL. Mr. Speaker, it is not my intention to take the choice away from public schools as to how to meet their lighting needs. In fact, I believe that Congress already makes, too often, decisions for our citizens. But it is Congress' single-minded dangerous pursuit of this environmental fad that has gotten us all to this point of silliness today. Congress must ensure that mercury-laden light bulbs are safe before we encourage their use in our child's classrooms. There are very serious health concerns about these light bulbs that are filled with mercury. They pose problems to humans precisely because of their high mercury content, and we must be sure of their safety before we force them on our public school children through this ill-conceived law. When mercury light bulbs break, let's remember, extensive cleanup is needed. That's what these regulations show us. This is very highly selective and very detailed clean-up regulations. What does this mean for school children that could be exposed to light bulbs of the broken mercury latent light bulbs?”