Memorandum from Florini to Organizations Concerned About Children Re: Request for Support for Legislation
Correspondence
June 14, 1991

10 pages
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Case Files, Matthews v. Kizer Hardbacks. Memorandum from Florini to Organizations Concerned About Children Re: Request for Support for Legislation, 1991. 9b7e9c29-5d40-f011-b4cb-7c1e5267c7b6. LDF Archives, Thurgood Marshall Institute. https://ldfrecollection.org/archives/archives-search/archives-item/e134a3d3-066d-4cf9-b89f-dd5b3373269c/memorandum-from-florini-to-organizations-concerned-about-children-re-request-for-support-for-legislation. Accessed July 12, 2025.
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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