Political Quotes

“Mr. President, recently we have had some very welcoming news out of the House of Representatives on the Toxic Substances Control Act. The House passed that in the last several days 403 to 12-- a wonderful, large, bipartisan majority--and I am glad we are going to proceed to TSCA sometime soon and deal with the legislation on the Senate floor. Mr. President, most Americans believe if they buy a product at the grocery store or a hardware store, the government has tested it and determined it is safe. Until now, that has not been true. We are exposed to hundreds of chemicals in our daily lives. In countless ways we can breathe, eat, and drink chemicals. They can be absorbed through our skin, even from common household items. Some are toxic, but almost none are regulated. Let me cite now a couple of examples. There are flame retardants in your sofa and in other furniture that get up into the air when pressure is put on the furniture. There is formaldehyde in pressed-wood floors and carpets, glues and adhesives even in noniron shirts. There are the PFOA compounds from the nonstick coating on your frying pans and bakeware. Most water bottles are BPA-free now, but you still find BPA in your credit card receipts. Some laser printers give off ultrafine particles like volatile organic compounds that can cause serious health problems. I could go on and on and on with the list of chemicals out there in our society that citizens are exposed to every day.…”