Correspondence from Ryan to Lead Poisoning Prevention Coalition et al.; Press Releases; Lead Scare Article; Response Form

    Honorary Co-chairs 

Senator John Heinz 

Senator Joseph Lieberman 

Board of Directors 

Herbert L. Needleman M.D. 
Chairman 

Cushing N. Dolbeare 

Edward B. Fort Ph. D. 

Teresa Heinz 

Richard J. Jackson M.D. 

Seymour Kety M.D. 

Philip J. Landrigan M.D. 

Audrey R. McMahon 

Frank Oski M.D. 

Charles E. Peck 

Stephanie Pollack Esq. 

David P. Rall M.D. 

Cecil Sheps M.D. 

Ellen Silbergeld Ph.D. 

Bailus Walker, Jr. Ph. D. 

Executive Director 

Don Ryan 

The problem 

is so well defined, 

so neatly packaged, 

with both causes 

and cures known, 

that if we don't 

eliminate this social 

crime, our society 

deserves all the 

disasters that have 

been forecast for it. 

— Rene Dubos 

  

       
          

  

J WX 3 NAACP LEGAL DEFENSE A 
Prin { AL FUND, NG 

ALLIANCE TO END CHILDHOOD LEAD POISONING 

FIRST COMPREHENSIVE NATIONAL CONFERENCE 

® Omni Shoreham Hotel ® Washington, D.C. ® October 7 & 8, 1991 # 

July 17,:1981 

To: Lead Poisoning Prevention Coalition Members, State 
and Local Advoca , and Kindred Organizations 

From: Don ran li, Am, 

THANK YOU. Your response was tremendous to last month's 
Legislative Alert on the Kanjorsky Amendments opening 
loopholes in the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) anti- 
redlining provisions. The more than 500 letters and calls 
that we generated helped tilt the scales to a decisive 
victory. Equally important, several key Congressional 
staff saw for the first time that lead-paint poisoning can 
be used to help the cause of low-income housing -- as well 
as the power of our constituency. A copy of the June 19 
Wall Street Journal article is enclosed for your informa- : 
tion. The CRA battle now moves to the Senate. We will 
keep you posted as this issue comes to a head in the 
future. 

  

I apologize for taking so long in getting back to you with 
this good news, but I have been waiting to batch several 
other things together. While this hefty package may seem 
imposing, consolidating things in one mailing stretches 
our postage dollar. 

Registration materials for the national conference October 
6, 7 & 8 are also enclosed. This conference is intended 
to bring together all the players who need to be part of 
the solution to develop a national action agenda. If you 
cannot make it, please pass this along to someone else. 
The Alliance is working hard to find scholarship funds to 
assist grassroots organizations and others with travel 
costs. We are convinced that this conference will mark 
another major turning point. 

You should also be aware of Newsweek's excellent cover 
story on childhood lead poisoning (dated July 15). This 
cover story has had an incredible impact -- suddenly, the 
hazard of lead-paint poisoning has been legitimized. 
Other media and press coverage is flowing directly from 
it, parents are waking up across the country, and Members 
of Congress are rushing to unveil their bills. We must 
work hard to make the most of this opportunity. There are 
several items I want to call to your attention -- and ask 
for your help on once again. 

  

® 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, S.E. ® Suite 100 ® Washington, D.C. 20003 ® 202-543-1147 ® FAX 202-543-4466 

 



  

  

1. HUD Appropriations for Low-Income Lead Paint Abatement 

The most time-critical issue is funding for the new HUD competi- 
tive grants program to help cities and states abate lead paint 
hazards in private housing. The House bill provides $25 Million, 
the Senate bill $75 Million, with the final amount to be decided 
by the "conference committee." Our focus needs to be on the 
House members to move to the higher Senate figure (with copies to 
Senator Mikulski to demonstrate how hard we are working for 
this). A sample letter is enclosed with the list of the nine key 
House members. There needs to be a signal this year that the 
federal government is finally getting serious about lead paint 
poisoning -- this new grant program is it. 

  

2. CDC Grants for State/Local Screening Programs 
  

The Bush 1992 Budget proposed doubling the CDC categorical grant 
program to $15 Million. Because this program has not been 
formally reauthorized, the House (without prejudice) provided the 
current $8 Million level. The Senate bill includes $25 Million. 
Here again, the handful of members from the House and Senate who 
will sit on the conference committee are the key. A sample 
letter is enclosed, which should be targetted to House members 
(with copies sent to Senators Harkin and Specter). 

3. Lead Paint Abatement Trust Fund 
  

At long last, the $1 Billion per year Trust Fund bill has been 
introduced by Congressman Cardin. We are now trying to get other 
members to join in co-sponsoring this bill. Two press releases 
on the bill, H.R.2922 , are also enclosed for your background 
information. Please write to your Representative, your two Sena- 
tors and other logical candidates to ask them to join as co- 
sponsors of this bill. This bill fulfills our mid-term objective 
of substantial new resources to clean up lead paint hazards in 
low-income housing. This bill really does "make the pie bigger." 

  

4. Congressman Waxman's New Legislative Proposal 

Lead-paint poisoning has officially shifted from a "housing 
nuisance" issue to the top of the environmental health agenda 
with the entrance into the ring of Congressman Henry Waxman from 
California. His bill (H.R. 2840), which deals with both lead in 
drinking water and paint, was introduced on July 10 with hearings 
scheduled on the bill July 26. Various provisions of the Waxman 
bill will be added to the Senate's "Reid/Lieberman" legislation. 
No action is needed at this time. We will alert you when the 
time is ripe. 

TIME OUT. If you don't have the time or inclination to write 
letters to Washington, please request at the bottom of the en- 
closed form that we drop your name from our "coalition" mailing 
list -- and we'll stop bothering you with these ALERTS. We don't 
want to waste either your time or ours. 

 



  

In the same vein, we are trying to broaden our network of indi- 
viduals and state and local organizations who want to work to 
launch this national prevention campaign. Letters to Congressmen 
and Senators dé pack a powerful punch. We hope you will share 
these alerts with others and distribute within your organization 
to multiply their impact. Also, please use the enclosed form to 
suggest other organizations or individuals who are candidates for 
this "coalition." 

PARTING SHOTS In closing, let me call your attention to the 
enclosed OpEd piece in the June 28 Wall Street Journal, which 
attacks lead-poisoning prevention as a conspiracy to advance a 
liberal social agenda. I hope this piece offers some inspira- 
tion. Later this summer, the Fox TV Network will air a debate 
between our close ally, Karen Florini of the Environmental 
Defense Fund, and Mr. Felten on a show calld"Techno-politics." 
We'll try to keep you posted on the air time. 

  

P. S. The Alliance is open to tax-exempt donations at all times. 
Thank you for all your help and support. Send us copies of your 
letters please. 

 



  

/ 
he 
ALLIANCE TO END CHILDHOOD LEAD POISONING 

FOR RELEASE 9:30 AM CONTACT: 
July 17,1991 Don Ryan 
Washington, D.C. 202 543 1147 

AN UNBEATABLE IDEA: PREVENTING LEAD PAINT POISONING 

Alliance Hails Congressman Cardin's Trust Fund Bill 
  

"For 20 years the federal government has left cities and states 
holding the bag on lead-paint poisoning -- for 20 years we have been 
reacting to poisoned children. At last, the Cardin bill provides 
the resources to start preventing childhood lead poisoning." 

So says Don Ryan, executive director of the Alliance To End Child- 
hood Lead Poisoning, the national nonprofit group formed last year 
by leaders in health, housing, environmental protection, education 
and children's welfare. "The strategic plans developed by the Bush 
Administration are terrific, but what we need is money, not plans," 
charges Ryan. "The $1 Billion per year from this Trust Fund will 
attack the worst lead-paint hazards and light the fuse on a nation- 
wide campaign to eliminate this disease." 

According to EPA and HHS, lead poisoning is "the No. 1 environmental 
health hazard to American children," adversely affecting over three 
million young children. Once dismissed as a disease of the poor, we 
now know that children are being poisoned in families across the 
income spectrum, in most cases by lead paint in older homes. Just 
last week, Newsweek's cover story confronted the American public 
-- many for the first time -- with the cruel realities of lead paint 
poisoning. According to HUD, over half the U.S. housing stock has 
some lead paint, with 3.8 million "priority hazard" homes posing an 
immediate danger to the children living in them today. Lead poison- 
ing eclipses virtually all other environmental health hazards. 

  

"The Cardin bill will provide 40 times more money for lead-paint 
cleanup than the Administration's budget request -- without adding 
one dime to the national deficit," according to Ryan. At the same 
time, the Cardin bill uses these funds as leverage to require state 
and local governments to get their acts together. A statutory 
formula allocates all funds based on need -- but cities and states 
can only access these funds by demonstrating the capability to put 
them to good use. The Alliance applauds the bill's targeting to 
only the worst health hazards in homes of low-income families with 
the greatest need. This bill's requirements for certified contrac- 
tors and trained workers will also work to protect the public at 
large from unqualified or unscrupulous contractors." 

By placing a two-tiered excise fee on lead, the Cardin bill also 
advances two priority environmental objectives: rewarding the 
recycling of lead, and encouraging a shift to safer substitutes. 

® 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, S.E. ® Suite 100 ® Washington, D.C. 20003 ® 202-543-1147 ® FAX 202-543-4466 

 



      

   

  

PRGE .0Q0Q! 

PRESS RELEASE 

   
Congressman 

Ben Cardin 
    

  

JC a Ty CAjy Ty ORY, 1 : 3 ‘Ma ZTE ] 

fre a te JE gy bl TRAY Fe,” HTS, Congreusiaiiul. Digtite) Mand lek, "ver, 00d0 frre. 
  

THE LEAD-BASED PAINT HAZARD ABATEMENT ACT OF 1991 
  

An innovative measure for preventing the "most common and 

societally devastating environmental disease of young children® 

(U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Strategic Plan for the 

Elimination of Childhood Lead Poisoning, Feb. 1991, p. 1) 
  

  
  

Both the EPA and HHS have declared lead poisoning the No. 1 

environmental health hazard to American children. This legislation 

provides for the only real cure for lead poisoning =-- prevention. The 

bill establishes a Trust Fund of about $1 billion per year for use by 

states and cities to operate comprehensive programs addressing the most 

intractable source of high-dose lead exposure for children: 

deteriorating lead-based paint in low-income housing and child care 

centers. 

This dedicated source of funds will be used to cleanup lead paint 

hazards in older housing, the primary cause of the epidemic of 

childhood lead poisoning which affects one out of every six American 

children -- causing IQ reductions, reading and learning disabilities, 

reduced attention span, hyperactivity and other learning and behavioral 

problems. 

By generating revenues from an excise fee on lead, this 

legislation is consistent with the pay-as-you-go requirements of last 

year’s budget agreement and will not increase the federal budget 

deficit. Funds will be allocated from this trust fund based on a 

statutory formula reflecting local needs in terms of poverty and lead 

paint health hazards. To receive grants each year under the formula, 

cities and states must match a portion of the federal grant and 

demonstrate their capacity to carry out an effective cleanup program. 

The tax will be 75 cents per pound on newly mined lead and 37 

cents per pound on recycled lead. The price of lead with the tax, 

however, will be roughly the same as it was a decade ago (adjusted for 

inflation). This two-tiered tax structure will provide strong 

incentives for expanded recycling of lead, a major environmental goal. 

Consumers will most frequently see this tax reflected in the price of a 

car battery which will increase by about $15. Since most car batteries 

last four to five years, the actual cost to the consumer will amount to 

only $3 per year. 
Comins on (Re verse 

  

  T= Washington Office: 117 CARNGA House Office Bulldirid, Washinglor BG: 20515; (202) 2254018 7.   
    

 



The Secretary of Health and Human Services will review and 
approve local plans (in consultation with the Department of Housing and 
Urban Development). A minimum ¢ 75 percent of the funds will go into 
actual cleanups, with 10 percer allowed for inspections to identify 
the worst hazards, 5 percent fc: training contractors and workers, § 
percent for oversight and quality assurance, and 2 percent for 
counseling occupants in lead poisoning prevention methods. Only 3 
percant will be permitted for administrative expenses. A statutory 
requirement will guarantee that funds will be targeted to low income 
families. 

The national mandate to wipe out lead paint poisoning was 
established by Congress 20 years ago. Since then little action has 
been taken as millions of American children continue to suffer from 
this fully preventable disease. This bill provides the urgently needed 
resources to wage a concerted attack on the nation’s most severe lead 
poisoning problems. 

 



  

Lead Scare: Lef 
By Eric FELTEN 

Though lead in houses, food and in the 
air is far scarcer than it was 10 or 20 years 
ago, environmental activists are protesting 
that the country is in the grip of a lead-poi- 
soning epidemic. The federal government 
banned lead from paint in the mid-1970s. 
Many cities and states, banned lead paint 
for residences in the 1950s. In the past dec- 
ade, lead in gasoline has been all but erad- 
icated. There used to be more lead in food 
as well: In 1935 the average diet included 
300 micrograms of lead a day, whereas the 
normal daily diet now has fewer than 100 
micrograms of lead. 

Despite these improvements, an Envi- 
ronmental Defense Fund report released 
last year and quoted widely and uncriti- 
cally on Capital Hill claims that lead poi- 
soning is ‘an epidemic that is causing per- 
manent neurologic damage to millions of 
American children.” 

The EDF is being seconded by the me- 
dia. '‘In Maryland, new cases of childhood 
lead poisoning roughly doubled from 1989 
to 1990, from 622 to 1,776," the Washington 
Post darkly reported in March. But the en- 
vironmentalist hype and the news accounts 
are not correct. How could they be? It sim- 
ply doesn't make sense that lead poisoning 
would double from one year to the next in 
an environment of decreasing lead expo- 
sure. What the Post failed to mention was 
that as part of an aggressive program in 
Maryland. the number of children tested 
for blood lead levels more than doubled in 
1990. The percentage of children tested 
who had slightly elevated blood lead was 
the same in both years. 

Another reason for the “‘epidemic” is 
that the definition of lead poisoning has 
changed faster than the amount of lead 
children are exposed to. In 1970, lead poi- 
soning was defined as 60 micrograms of 
lead per deciliter of blood. The Centers for 
Disease Control currently recognize poi- 
soning at 25 mg, dl. The EDF has been lob- 
bying for a new definition, one which the 
CDC appears ready to adopt, that would 
set lead poisoning at 10 mg/dl—even 
though the scientific evidence for the 
EDF's target figure is sketchy at best. 

The case that even low levels of lead 
are dangerous is based on a study that 
found that the IQ test scores of children 
with slightly elevated blood lead were a 
few points lower, on average, than those 
of children with very low blood lead. But 
there could be an explanation other than 
lead. Children from lower economic and 
social strata tend to live in older housing, 
are more often exposed to old lead paint 
and thus tend to have slightly higher blood 
lead levels. It is altogether possible that 
the correlation between IQ and low-level 

wall Street Journal 
  

June 28, 1991 

lead exposure is caused by the social and 
educational biases built into IQ tests. 

Activists prefer a different explanation: 
that the educational difficulties of the in- 
ner-city poor are caused by the lead paint 
in their dilapidated houses. The burgeoning 
lead-poisoning epidemic, has become an 
excuse for low test scores. ‘‘Reading and 
writing skills of the nation’s children re- 
main ‘dreadfully inadequate’ despite a 
decade of educational reform,” says the 
EDF report. ‘‘[L]ead is partly to 
blame." 

Such a suggestion is absurd. Children, 
even those in the inner city, are exposed to 
less lead every year. If intelligence is im- 
paired by small amounts of lead, then, if 
anything, reading and writing skills should 
be inching upward. 

Not surprisingly, other causes in the lib- 
eral social agenda benefit from the lead- 
paint scare. Since peeling lead paint in 
broken-down houses causes brain damage 
in poor children, those houses must, the 
EDF says, be renovated. Ellen Silbergeld, 
an EDF toxicologist and the head of Mary- 
land's Advisory Council on Lead Poisoning, 
was explicit on this point in the Washing- 
ton Post in March: “The lead problem is 
inextricably tangled with the housing prob- 
lem.” 

Herbert Needleman, a doctor who is one 
of the leading advocates of the alarmist 
view of low levels of lead, was even more 
explicit in the June issue of the American 
Journal of Public Health: ““[T Jhe eradica- 
tion of lead poisoning presents a unique op- 
portunity to address many of the other ur- 
ban pathologies that afflict our nation. To 
abate the 3 million houses that house chil- 
dren will require a large labor force, and 
there is no shortage of men who cannot 
find work, men living in precisely those 
areas where lead is in excess.” And the 
“opportunity” Mr. Needleman sees is not 
just to remove lead, but to rehabilitate the 
cities’ housing stock: ‘*The removal of this 
toxin could provide an opportunity to put 
people back to work restoring houses while 
creating decent living conditions ...” 

Baltimore now requires that landlords 
pay for thorough renovations of inner-city 
buildings if sufficient quantities of lead 
paint are found. Such rehabs are extrava- 
gently expensive—$15,000 and up, almost 
always more than the assessed value of the 
property —because stripping or sanding 
away the old lead paint puts dangerous 
levels of lead into the air of the house. So 
instead, the windows, railings, floorboards 
and other woodwork have to be completely 
replaced. And new walls often are built to 
seal in the old ones. 

The bill can be paid by taking out a 
loan from the state. The principal is for-   

tist Politics by Other Means 
given so long as the landlord guarantees 
that the renovated building will be used for 
low-income housing for at least 15 years. 
The number of loans is limited, however, 
and many property owners in Baltimore 
have been forced simply to board up their 
buildings in the face of stratospheric costs, 
reducing the amount of low-income hous- 
ing on the market. 

For the most part, however, Maryland 
taxpayers have ended up footing the reno- 
vation bill. The state's lead-paint abate- 
ment program has turned into an environ- 
mentally mandated public housing pro- 
gram. Like the Endangered Species Act 
(the principal tool of those trying to control 
land use j, Maryland's lead-poisoning rules 
are just another set of environmental regu- 
lations crafted to impose social policies un- 
der false pretenses. 

Mr. Felten covers Congress for Insight 
magazine. 

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. 

  

  

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Chairman Publisher & President 

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KANJORSKY AMENDMENTS DEFEATED 

Wall Street Journal -- June 19, 1991 
- 

  

| House Panel Clears 

Measure Covering | 

Low-Income Loans 

  

By PAULETTE THOMAS 
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL 

WASHINGTON — The House Banking 
Committee, after an emotional debate, re- 
stored to the banking overhaul bill require- 
ments for banks to disclose how much they 
lend to low-income people. 

  

The amendment preserves a 1977 law, 
the Community Reinvestment Act, which 
was stripped down in a subcommittee draft 
0 onth. The Taw requires 
federal regulators Yo scrutinize a bank's 
record on lending in poorer neighborhoods 
when a bank requests government permis- 
sion for new branches or mergers. The aim 
is to spur lending to poor people. 

Last month, the subcommittee ap- 
proved two amendments to exempt 
roughly 80% of the industry from keeping 
such records, and those quickly became a 
lightning rod for opposition to the entire 
bill. 

In addition, the bill would allow banks 
to underwrite insurance and securities for 
the first time, and it would recapitalize the 
nearly insolvent bank insurance fund. 

Yesterday, about 90 demonstrators op- 
posed to the exemption, who rode buses 
from Chicago and St. Louis, tried to 
squeeze into the hearing room. Many com- 
mittee members said that they had re- 
OT I Th a 
rom constituents on the amendments ex- 
€MpPUME banks from the Community Rein- 
vestment Act than e 
banking bill. 

=TThave been subjected to intense emo- 
tional protests in the district and in the 
press,” said Rep. Marge Roukema (R., 
N.J.). The intent of the earlier amend- 
ment, she said, was simply to ‘‘target” the 
record-keeping requirement toward banks 
where it would have the greatest impact. 

a
e
 

    

This week, Treasury Secretary Nicholas 

Brady made’ 4 GOT of Ele Tepories. 
at the Bush administration had no role i 

an ‘ didn’ ything to d 
wi at,” Mr. Brady said. Banking trade 

S have lobbied for a curtailment of 
the community reinvestment law, citing 
the record-keeping costs. 

Under a compromise, which went 
Ihrouer SIX drafts bering closed doors be- 
ore being presented to committee mem- 

rs, the earlier law was restored by a 
40-12 vote. 

In exchange, another amendment that 
had been approved will be dropped. It 
would have applied the community rein- 
vestment law to banks seeking to sell in- 
surance or securities. ‘Believe me,” said 
Rep. Joseph Kennedy (D., Mass.), “we 
will come back and try to win this amend- 
ment on the House floor.” 

Despite killing Mr. Kennedy's amend- 
ment, bankers considered the reinstate- 
ment of the C 1 andards 
a big blow. Lee Peckarsky, lobbyist for the 
ational Council o vings Institutions, 

said the bankers will continue to fight to 
Stale back the law. "THIS was certainly 
near the top of our priority list,” he said. 
“But this is a long process. where there 
has to a lot of give and take.” 

e committee yesterday also amended 
the bill to require regulators to take con- 
trol of a bank or thrift no later than six 
months after its capital, a cushion against 
losses, falls below 2% of assets. Committee 
members, citing the costs of years of inac- 
tion by thrift regulators, defeated a substi- 
tute amendment, sponsored by Rep. John 
LaFalce (D., N.Y.), on a 28-21 vote. It 
would would have permitted regulators to 
keep a bank open in certain circumtances, 
even if its capital was below 2%. 

“Either we are going to have early in- 
tervention or we're not,” said Rep. Bruce 
Vento (D., Minn. ). “This is a greater loop- 
hole.” 

  

      

 



  

ALLIANCE TO END CHILDHOOD LEAD POISONING 

COALITION RESPONSE FORM 

Your Name 
  

  

  

  

    

Title 
Organization 
Street 

Clty State ZIP 
Phone FAX 
    

Please check off the activities that your organization is willing 
and able to conduct on the issue of childhood lead poisoning. 

Sign on to letters 
Write letters 
Call your congressperson 
Make visits to the Hill 
Testify 
Respond to the media 
Mobilize support at the grassroots level 

If you know other individuals or organizations who would like to 
join the coalition's national campaign, please give us their 
names, addresses, and phone numbers below: 

Name 

Title 
Organization 
Street 
City State ZIP 
Phone FAX 

  

  

  

  

    

    

Name 

Title 
Organization 
Street 
City State ZIP 
Phone FAX 

  

  

  

  

    

    

Name 

Title 
Organization 
Street 

City State ZIP 
Phone FAX 

  

  

  

  

    

    

Please remove me from your mailing list. 

Please return this form to: The Alliance to End Childhood Lead 
Poisoning, 600 Pennsylvania, SE, Suite 100, Washington, DC, 
20003. 

 



  

NEW HUD LEAD ABATEMENT GRANT PROGRAM 

Write House Conferees: U.S. House of Representatives 
Washington, D.C. 20515 

  

Bob Traxler, Chairman (D-MI) Send copies of all 
Louis Stokes (D-OH) letters to Senator 
Alan B. Mollahan (D-WV) Barbara Mikulski 
Jim Chapman (D-TX) U.S. Senate 
Chester G. Atkins (D-MA) Wash, D.C. 20510 
Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) 
Bill Green (R-NY) (and the Alliance) 
Lawrence Coughlin (R-PA) 
Jerry Lewis (R-CA) 

SAMPLE LETTER: 

Thank you for providing funds in your 1992 Appropriations Bill 
(H.R. 2519) for the new HUD competitive grants program to help 
cities and states clean up lead paint hazards in low-income 
private housing. We realize the incredible funding pressures you 
face, but want to urge you to find a way at conference to provide’ 
$75 Million for this program. 

Dramatic changes have taken place in the last 12 months. The 
Bush Administration has examined the facts and declared lead 
poisoning "the No. 1 environmental health hazard to American 
children" (according to both HHS and EPA). HHS has developed a 
"national strategic plan" to wipe out lead poisoning, the blue- 
print for a national prevention campaign. Newsweek ran a cover 
story on the epidemic of childhood lead poisoning in its July 15 
issue. And in the next month or two CDC will be revising its 
definition of lead poisoning, resulting in a ten-fold increase in 
the number of children recognized with toxic levels. 

  

We believe that $75 million is needed to provide critical mass 
for this national competitive grants program. These grant funds 
also provide an effective lever to require certified contractors 
and trained workers, just as the Committee did in the case of the 
school asbestos program. The Administration has now acknowl- 
edged the epidemic of childhood lead poisoning, but their "na- 
tional strategic plan" sits on the shelf awaiting resources and 
direction from the Congress. 

Thank you for your support of this program which is critical to 
shifting from reaction to prevention.     

 



  

CDC LEAD POISONING SCREENING GRANTS TO CITIES AND STATES 

  

Write House Conferees: U.S. House of Representatives 
: Washington, D.C. 20515 

William Natcher, Chair (D-KY) Send copies to Tom 
Neal Smith (D-IO) Harkin (D-IO) and 
David Obey (D-WI) Arlen Specter (R-PA) 
Edward R. Roybal (D-CA) U.S. Senate 
Louis Stokes (D-O0OH) Wash, D.C. 20510 

Joseph Early (D-MA) 
Steny H. Hoyer (D-MD) (and the Alliance) 
Robert Mrazek (D-NY 
Carl Pursell (R-MI) 
John Edward Porter (R-IL) 
C.W. Bill Young (R-FL) 
Vin Weber (R-MN) 

SAMPLE LETTER: 

We want to thank you for your support in the past for the Centers 
for Disease Control's (CDC) lead poisoning screening grants 
program to cities and states. For the past two years, your 
Labor--HHS Appropriations bill has provided substantial increases 
above the President's budget. 

Dramatic changes have taken place in the last 12 months. The 
Bush Administration has examined the facts and declared lead 
poisoning "the No. 1 environmental health hazard to American 
children" (both HHS and EPA). The President's 1992 budget 
proposed a doubling of funds for this program. HHS has developed 
a "national strategic plan" to wipe out lead poisoning. Newsweek 
ran a cover story on the epidemic of childhood lead poisoning in 
its July 15 issue. In the next month or two CDC will be revising 
its definition of lead poisoning, resulting in a ten-fold 
increase in the number of children recognized with toxic levels. 

  

  

If parents wait until their children show symptoms, it is too 
late -- the damage is done. This is why screening programs are 
so vital. Unfortunately, we are now screening only one out of 
ten children. Private physicians must begin screening young 
children routinely. And cities and states need help, through 
this grant program, in expanding their programs to assure that 
children of low-income families are also tested. 

Because this program's authorization had technically lapsed, the 
House provided only level funding of $8 Million for these grants 
in the 1992 Appropriations Bill (H.R. 2707). The Senate bill 
provides an increase to $25 Million. Legislation has been 
introduced and is now moving in both the Senate and House to 
reauthorize and substantially expand these grants ($39-$40 
Million). 

We realize that your bill faces tremendous funding pressures, but 
as the House and Senate conferees convene to work out the differ- 

ences on H.R. 2707, we urge you to provide $25 Million for this 
vital program. Lead poisoning is our number one environmental 
health problem and affects millions of children.