Memorandum from Florini to Organizations Concerned About Children Re: Request for Support for Legislation

    ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND 
1616 P Street, NW 

Washington, DC 20036 

(202) 387-3500 

National Headquarters 

257 Park Avenue South 

New York, NY 10010 

(212) 505-2100 

  

1405 Arapahoe Avenue 

Boulder, CO 80302 

(303) 440-4901 

5655 College Avenue 

Oakland, CA 94618 

(415) 658-8008 

1108 East Main Street 

Richmond, VA 23219 

(804) 780-1297 

128 East Hargett Street 

Raleigh, NC 27601 

(919) 821-7793 

1800 Guadalupe 

Austin, TX 78701 

(512) 478-5161 

100% Recyled Paper 

MEMORANDUM 

Organizations Concerned About Children, 
Education, Civil Rights, Public Health, Urban 
Issues, Environmental Quality, and Related 
Topics 

Karen Florini, Senior Attorney, EDF 

June 14, 1991 

Request for Support for Legislation -- 
The Lead-Based Paint Hazard Abatement Act 
of 1991 

Response Requested by COB June 25, 
1991 (earlier or later responses also useful) 

"Lead poisoning remains 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. 

  

  

Recent months have seen a groundswell of 
public and governmental attention to the continuing 
problem of childhood lead poisoning in America today. 
Currently, over 3 million children -- about one in every 
six preschoolers -- are estimated to have lead levels in 
their blood high enough to cause measurable, 
significant impairment of neurologic abilities. And, 
among children with high-dose exposures (which 
nonetheless cause no overt symptoms during exposure), 
consequences include many-fold increases in high-school 
dropout rates and reading disabilities. 

Major legislation will shortly be introduced 
addressing the most intractable aspect of this problem: 
curtailing the high-dose, long-term exposures caused by 
deteriorating lead-based paint in low-income housing. 
While such paints have been banned from residential 
use since 1978, an estimated three million tons of lead  



Organizations Concerned About Lead Poisoning 
June 14, 1991 
Page 2 

remains in paint in and on 57 million American homes. In many 
instances, that lead poses no immediate hazard. However, where the 
paint surface is broken and lead particles are released into dust, children 
can absorb dangerous levels of lead as a result of normal hand-to-mouth 
activity. 

Unfortunately, abating these hazards in deteriorating housing is 
an expensive process; the best estimates now available suggest a price tag 
in excess of $10 billion over the next decade for low-income housing alone. 
Current federal, state, and local resources cannot provide more than a 
drop in the bucket. And, under the 1990 Budget Act, new federal 
expenditures are possible only where new funding sources are tapped. 

Legislation shortly to be introduced by Representative Ben 
Cardin (Baltimore, Maryland) addresses this urgent need by creating a 
federal trust fund, financed by placement of an excise fee on lead, to be 
used for abatement of lead in low-income housing.! (This concept was 
originally proposed by EDF in its March 1990 report, Legacy of Lead: 
America’s Continuing Epidemic of Childhood Lead Poisoning (please 
contact us if you would like a copy of the report).) 

We now seek your support for the bill by signing onto 
the enclosed letter (and/or by sending your own letter to Representative 
Cardin). A fact sheet on the bill is enclosed. The text is now being 
completed and will be available soon. Let us know if you would like a 
copy. 

The exact date for introducing the bill has not been selected, but 
will probably be within the next several weeks. A companion bill may be 
introduced in the Senate at the same time. The enclosed letter of support 
(or any separate letters written by individual organizations) will be 
circulated to members of Congress seeking their participation as original 

  

! This legislation is distinct and separate from S. 391, "The Lead 
Exposure Reduction Act" (initially introduced last year as S. 2637, with a 
companion bill in the House, "The Lead Pollution Prevention Act,” H.R. 5372). 
That bill would impose limits on certain uses of lead (e.g., in paint, packaging, 
etc.); require compilation of an inventory of lead-containing products; and 
mandate additional R&D on lead screening, abatement, and related matters. 
The Lead Exposure Reduction Act was designed to be "phase one" of a two- 
part legislative strategy, with the second phase being the abatement program 
described above. We are not seeking your action on the Lead Exposure 
Reduction Act at this point, but we may contact you regarding them in the 
future as that bill moves through the legislative process.  



  

Organizations Concerned About Lead Poisoning 
June 14, 1991 
Page 3 

co-sponsors of the bill. Such letters will also be released at the press 
conference introducing the bill. In addition, Congressman Cardin may ask 
representatives of a number of organizations to make brief supporting 
statements (this will mostly depend on the number of original co-sponsors 
who wish to make statements). 

Please note that the enclosed letter expresses support for 
the objectives and general mechanism of the bill, rather than 
focusing on precise details. Almost inevitably, a number of details will be 
revised as the bill goes through the legislative process. Your input on 
ways to improve the bill is actively solicited. The basic approach, 
however, will probably remain similar. For example, because of the 
requirements of the Budget Act enacted last October, the program must be 
structured on an entitlement basis. 

The enclosed response form includes space for indicating whether 
your organization is willing to (i) sign onto the enclosed letter of support 
and/or (ii) send your own letter of support and/or (iii) make a statement at 
the press conference. Any organization is more than welcome to do any or 
all of these. Separate letters have a greater impact than signing onto a 
group letter, so if possible please do both. If you send a separate letter, I 
would greatly appreciate receiving a copy of it. 

Ideally, we would like to receive a response from you by CLOSE 
OF BUSINESS TUESDAY, JUNE 25; earlier responses would be very 
welcome. The easiest way to respond is via fax. If you don’t have a fax 
machine (or can’t get through to EDF’s), please mail me the same info if 
time permits; if not, phone it to my research assistant, Keith Winston, or 
leave a message for me with the receptionist. If you can’t respond by 
June 25, expressing support at a later time would still be useful, since 
we can 're-issue” this letter with additional signatories for the press 
conference, and at subsequent times when seeking to secure additional co- 
sponsors. (However, we will not "re-issue" the letter more than six 
months from now without first checking with you again, to ensure that 
your support is continuing.) 

Finally, attached is a list of groups to whom this memo is being 
circulated. If you know of others who should receive it, please send it to 
them directly and let me know who they are for future reference. We 
anticipate sending around other memos like this as other legislative and 
related activities occur -- i.e., hearings, markup of bills, and floor action. 
Of course, signing on to this letter in no way obliges you to sign on to any 
future letters, each of which will be separately circulated to you. 

 



  

Organizations Concerned About Lead Poisoning 
June 14, 1991 
Page 4 

A strong showing of support from a wide range of groups around 
the country will help create momentum for passage of strong lead- 
poisoning legislation, advancing the day when lead poisoning has been 
eradicated from America. We look forward to working with you on this 
vital issue. 

Enclosures: 

Fact Sheet 
Draft letter of support 
Response form 
List of recipients of this memo fh

 
50

.0
0 fu

i 

P.S. You should also be aware of the newly formed "Lead Poisoning 
Prevention Coalition," a collection of organizations (including EDF) working 
together informally on a wide range of legislative, budget, technical, and 
policy issues related to lead poisoning. The Alliance to End Childhood 
Lead Poisoning is acting as the coordinator for the Coalition, with efforts 
initially being focused through three task forces: (i) screening and public 
health, (ii) jobs, training, and worker protection, and (iii) housing and 
abatement resources. If you would like to joint the coalition’s ongoing 
advocacy efforts, please call the Alliance at 202-543-1147 and speak to 
Maria Rapuano or Don Ryan. 

 



  

Fact Sheet 

The Lead-Based Paint Hazard 

Abatement Act of 1991 
An innovative measure for preventing the "most common and 
soctetally 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 Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of 
Health and Human Services 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. 

This dedicated source of funds will be used to correct 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. While 
lead poisoning is a threat to all segments of society, poor children have 
the highest rates of lead poisoning and are the least able to protect 
-themselves. 

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 a trust fund based on a statutory formula reflecting local 
needs in terms of poverty and lead paint hazards. To receive annual 
grants under the formula, cities and states must match a portien of the 
federal grant and demonstrate their capacity to carry out the program 
efficiently and effectively. 

The tax will be approximately 75 cents per pound on newly mined lead 
and approximately 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). The structure of the tax will provide strong 
incentives for both the substitution of and recycling of lead, two major 
environmental goals. Consumers will most frequently see this tax reflect- 
ed 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. 

 



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 of 70 percent of the funds will go into actual 
cleanups, with 10 percent allowed for inspections to identify the worst 
hazards, 5 percent for training contractors and workers, 5 percent for 
oversight and quality assurance, and 5 percent for counseling occupants in 
lead poisoning prevention methods. Only 5 percent 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, and 
millions of American children continue to suffer from this fully preventable 
disease. This bill provides urgently needed resources for waging a 
concerted attack on the nation’s most severe lead poisoning problems. 

 



June __, 1990 

Honorable Benjamin Cardin 
U.S. House of Representatives 
Washington, DC 20515 

Dear Representative Cardin: 

The undersigned organizations strongly support the Lead-Based Paint 
Hazard Abatement Act of 1991, which we understand you plan to 
introduce shortly. As you know, "[llead poisoning remains the most 
common and societally devastating environmental disease of young 
children,” as recently noted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human 
Services. Well over three million children under age six are affected by 
this entirely preventable disease, which causes permanent neurologic harm 
to children and impairs their ability to learn and to function as productive 
members of society. 

As organizations that work on a wide range of issues -- including 
public health, education, civil rights, environmental quality, and related 
areas -- we view lead poisoning as a severe threat to the well-being of the 
nation’s children. Although particularly prevalent among the urban poor 
and minority children, this disease occurs throughout our society and 
across the nation. 

Your bill fills a critical gap in addressing the most severe and 
intractable aspect of this problem: the high-dose, long-term exposures 
caused by deteriorating lead-based paint in low-income housing. While 
lead-based paints have been banned from use in residential housing since 
1978, an estimated three million tons of lead remains in paint applied in 
American homes before that date. In many instances, that lead poses no 
immediate threat. However, as the paint surface ages and deteriorates, 
lead is released as dust or chips. Children can -- and all too often do -- 
absorb dangerous amounts of lead-contaminated dust as a result of their 
normal hand-to-mouth activity. 

Unfortunately, abating lead-paint hazards in deteriorating housing is 
an expensive process. Costs will exceed $10 billion over the next decade 
for low-income housing alone. Current federal, state, and local resources 
cannot provide more than a drop in the bucket, while low-income residents 
can seldom afford the $5,000 to $10,000 cost themselves. And abatements 
done "on the cheap” often actually increase the hazard, by generating 
additional lead dust that threatens abatement workers and residents alike. 

Your legislation addresses the urgent need for substantial additional 
resources by creating a federal trust fund, financed by placement of an 
excise fee on lead as it enters commerce, to be used for abatement of lead 
in low-income housing. Because the 1990 Budget Act requires that new 
federal expenditures be offset by new revenues, such an approach appears  



LEAD-BASED PAINT HAZARD ABATEMENT ACT 
ENDORSEMENT LETTER RESPONSE FORM. 

  

Please return this one-page form by FAX or mail to: 

Karen Florini (or Keith Winston) 
Environmental Defense Fund FAX = (202) 234-6049 
1616 P St. NW, Suite 150 [phone = (202) 387-3500] 
Washington, DC 20036 

  

Name of person filling out this form: 
Name of organization: 
Phone: 
Address: 

1. Our organization is able/unable [circle one] to sign on to the letter endorsing 
the Lead Abatement Program Act [if "able," please answer question 2; if "unable," 
please answer question 3; in either event please answer questions 4 and 5]. 

2. Our organization should be listed on the endorsement letter as follows: 

Individual’s name: 
Title: 
Organization’s name: 
City/State: 

3. Our organization is unable to sign onto the endorsement letter because [please 
check all that apply]: 

As a matter of policy, we do not sign onto such letters. 
We prefer to send our own letter [please send a copy to EDF]. 
We don’t agree with the position stated in the letter. 
We don’t work on these issues. 
We haven't had enough time to get organizational approval, but may be 
able to sign on later (if so, we will contact EDF at that time). 

4. Our organization is/is not [circle one] interested in participating in a press 
conference introducing the bill (probably during late June or early July). 

5. Our organization should remain on/be removed from [circle one] your 
mailing list; mailings should be sent to the person who filled out this form; 
the person who is listed in question 2; other [circle one; if "other," indicate 
name:]  



   
Lead Program 
Lead Task Force 
Leadtec Services, Inc. 
League of Women Voters 
Learning Disabilities Assoc. of Tennessee 
Learning Disabilities Association 
Legal Services of New Jersey 
Lynchburg Health Department 
Marshall Heights Comm. Devipmt. Org., Inc. 
Maryland Dept. of the Environment 
Mass. Advocacy Center 

Mass. Assoc. of Community Development Corporations 
Mass. Assoc. of Community Development Corporations 
Mass. Attorney General's Office 
Mass. Tenants Organization 
Meetings Management 
Mennonite Central Committee 
MFY Legal Services 
Montana Environmental Information Center 
N.E. Consortium of Childhood Lead Poisoning Program 
NAACOG: Org. for Ob-Gyn and Neonatal Practitioners 
NAACP Legal Defense Fund 
NAACP Legal Defese and Educational Fund 
National American Indian Housing Council 
National Assoc. of Community Health Centers 
National Assoc. of Elementary School Principals 
National Assoc. of Secondary School Principals 
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People 
National Association of Children’s Hospitals 
National Association of Community Health Centers 
National Association of Concerned Veterans 
National Association of Counties 
National Association of County Health Officials 
National Association of Housing Cooperatives 
National Association of Prenatal Social Workers 
National Association of Public Health Policy 
National Association of Social Workers 
National Association of Towns and Townships 
National Audubon Society 

National Black Child Development Institute 
National Black Nurses Association, Inc. 
National Black Womens Health Project 
National Catholic Education Association 
National Center for Clinical Infant Programs 
National Center for Education in Maternzl and Child Health 
National Center for Social Policy and Practice 
National Child Nutrition Project 
National Coalition Against the Misuse of Pesticides 
National Commission to Prevent Infant Mortality 
National Conference of State Legislatures 
National Congress of American Indians 
National Consortium for Child & Adolescent Mental Health 
National Council of Churches 
National Education Association 
National Foundation for Brain Research 
National Governors’ Association 
National Head Start Association 
National Health Law Program 
National Health/Education Consortium 
National Housing Conference 
National Housing Institute 
National Housing Law Project 
National League of Cities 
National Low-Income Housing Coalition 
National Medical Association 

National Neighborhood Coalition 
National Network to Prevent Birth Defects 
National Organization for Women 
National Parents-Teachers Association 
National Puerto Rican Coalition 
National Safe Kids Campaign 
National School Boards Assoc. 
National Toxics Campaign 
National Toxics Campaign Fund 
National Urban League 
National Wildlife Federation 
National Women’s Health Network 
National Women’s Law Center 
National Women’s Political Caucus 
Native American Rights Fund 
Natural Resources Defense Council 
Neighborhood Committee on Lead Pollution 
New Jersey Anti-Lead Poisoning Coalition 
New River Community Action 
New York State Tenants and Neighborhood Coalition 
NYC Coalition to End Lead Poisoning 
Occupational Health Foundation 
Oregon Environmental Council 
Partners for Liveable Places 
People United for a Better Oakland (PUEBLO) 
Phila. Coalition Against Childhood Lead Poisoning 
Phila. Welfare Rights Organization 
Philadelphia Citizens for Children and Youth 
Physicians for Social Responsibility 
Planned Parenthood Federation of America 
Poor People Pulling Together 
Project LEAP 
Public Citizen 
Public Health Foundation 
R.I. Committee on Occupational Safety and Health 
Rainbow Lobby 
Sierra Club 
Southern Association for Children Under 6 
Southern Christian Leadership Conference 

Southern Counties Action Movement 
Southern Poverty Law Center 
Student National Medical Association 
Tennessee Environmental Council 
The Children’s Foundation 
The Lead Project, Ltd. 
The Network 
The Prevention Network 
Trial Lawyers for Public Justice 
U. Baltimore Housing Clinic 
U.S. Conference of Mayors 
United Church of Christ 
United Methodist Board of Church & Society 
University Maryland Law School 
Urban Center for the Developmentally Disabled 
US Conference of Local Public Health Officers 

US PIRG 
Wash. Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights 
Washington Environmental Council 
Washington Toxics Coalition 
West Harlem Environmental Action 
West Virginia Citizen Action Group 
Western Center on Law and Poverty 
YMCA OF THE USA 
Youth Policy Institute 
YWCA of the USA 

 



  

List of Recipients 

ACLU Children’s Rights Proj. 
Advocates for Children and Youth 
Advocates for Children of New York, Inc. 

Akwesasne Notes/Indian Time 
Alice Hamilton Occupational Health Center 
Alliance for Justice 

Alliance to End Childhood Lead Poisoning 
Alternative Schools Network 
Ambulatory Pediatrics Association 
Americal Medical Students Association 
American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 
American Academy of Family Physicians 
American Academy of Pediatrics 
American Association of Medical Colleges 
American Association of School Administrators 
American Association of University Affiliated Programs for P 
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists 
American College of Occupational Medicine 
American Federation of Teachers 
American Friends Service Committee 
American Indian Health Care Association 
American Indian Law Center 
American Nurses Association 
American Occupational Medical Association 
American Pediatric Society 
American Psychiatric Association 
American Psychological Association 
American Public Health Association 
American Public Welfare Association 
Anne Arundel County Community Health Services 
Association for the Care of Children’s Health 
Association of Child Advocates 
Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now 
Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs 
Association of State and Territorial Health Officers 
Association of State and Territorial Health Officials 
Association of Teachers of Maternal and Child Health 
Basic Technologies Iriternational 
Black Women’s Health Council Inc. 
Boston Women’s Health Book Collective 
Cambridge Lead Organizing Group 
Campaign for Accessible Health Care 
Center for Child Protection and Family Support 
Center for Constitutional Rights 
Center for Environment, Commerce and Energy 
Center for Law and Education 
Center for Science in the Public Interest 
Center for Third World Organizing 
Chelsea Organized Against Lead Poisoning 
Child Welfare League of America 
Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program/Mass. 
Children’s Action Network 
Children’s Advocacy Institute 
Children’s Defense Fund 
Citizen Action £ 
Citizens for a Lead Free Environment 
Clean Water Action 

June 14, 1991 

Coalition Against Childhood Lead Poisoning 
Coalition for a Lead-Free Environment, Inc. 

Coalition for the Environment 
Community Action Commission 
Community Environmental Health Center 
Community Legal Services, Inc. 

Community Training and Resource Center 
Connecticut Fund for the Environment 
Conservation Law Foundation 
Consumer Federation of America 
Consumers Union 
Council for Exceptional Children 
Council of Chicf State School Officers 

Council of Great City Schools 
Delaware Valley Toxics Coalition 
Deleading Magazine 
Dept. of Pediatrics, Emory, Director, Section of Clinical Ph 

Dept. of Pediatrics, Howard University Hospital 
Developmental Disabilities Prev. Prog. 
Disablility Rights Education and Defense Fund 
Elmwood Neighborhood Housing Services 
Environmental Action 
Environmental Epidemiology Training Project 
Environmental Health Services 
Environmental Health Watch 
Environmental Law Institute 
Environmental Planning Lobby 
Environmental Protection Agency 
Friends Committee on National Legislation 
Friends Committee on Unity With Nature 
Friends of the Earth 
George Mason University 
Get the Lead Out Coalition 
Greater St. Louis Lead Poisoning Prevention Cotell 
Greenpeace 
Greenpeace Action 
GWU Division of Occ. & Env. Medicine 
Head Start Resour:e and Training Center 
Health Officers Association of California 
Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies National 
Historically Black Colleges and Universities/MI 
Hunter College 
ICF Incorporated 
Innovative Communities Enterprises 
Interfaith Community Services 
Intergovernmental Health Policy Project 
International Brotherhood of Painters 
Jobs for a Clean Environment 
Kent Environmental Council 
Kentucky Resources Council, Inc. 

Kids Care Fair 
Kiwanis International 
Lead Coalition of Minnesota 
Lead Elimination Action Drive 
Lead Free Kids 
Lead out of Children Coalition 
Lead Poisoning Task Force