Political Quotes

“I simply take a minute. Since we have no amendments on leaded bullets or lead in fishing, this may be the only time it is germane to clear up an issue from our debate yesterday evening. The gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wittman), my good friend, mentioned about at shooting ranges, especially, bullets often end up back in the ground. I just wanted to clarify, and let me quote from the Science and Environmental Health Network, that in the environment many chemicals are degraded by sunlight, destroyed through reactions with other environmental substances or metabolized by naturally occurring bacteria. Some chemicals, however, have features that enable them to resist environmental degradation. They are classified as persistent and can accumulate in soils and aquatic environments. Metals such as lead, mercury, and arsenic are always persistent since they are basic elements and cannot be further broken down and destroyed in the environment. Lead contamination of air, soil, or drinking water can ultimately result in significant exposures in fetuses, infants, and children, resulting in impaired brain development. Mr. Chair, I just wanted to get that on the record that the lead is not going to degrade once it hits the soil during hunting or fishing. I yield back the balance of my time.”