Political Quotes

“I rise in support of S. 729, the Lead Exposure Reduction Act of 1994. I have cosponsored this bill for several years, and I am very pleased to see it finally considered on the Senate floor. The measures in S. 729 are overdue. Fifteen percent of Vermont's 2-year-olds receiving Medicaid have lead blood levels exceeding safe levels, and 9 percent of Vermont's 2-year-olds overall have lead levels equal to or above the safe level. According to Gregg Small of the Alliance to End Childhood Lead Poisoning in Burlington, VT, lead poisoning is the No. 1 environmental health hazard facing American children today. This amount of lead exposure is intolerable. We need to take direct and immediate steps to reduce exposure to lead and clean up the environment where our children are growing up. This bill provides for the clean-up of older day care centers and schools where lead exposure risks run highest. The State of Vermont, through several State agencies, has worked to address the lead problem in several ways, and this bill will lend additional support. The bill also provides for better health protection from lead exposure through National Centers for the Prevention of Lead Poisoning. One of my chief interests in this legislation, and in other bills we have considered recently in the Senate, is the public's right to know. The American people have the right to know if a manufactured product presents a risk to their health.”