As Prepared For Delivery

Good morning. And thank you all for coming. As you know, Congressman Ed Markey and I had asked the General Accounting Office to update the status of research on the safety of the radio-frequency radiation emitted by cell phones, and to review pertinent actions taken by the appropriate regulatory agencies.

Today we are releasing the GAO response which finds the government must keep 110-million cell phone subscribers in this country better informed about health information. The report further concludes that testing procedures to determine radiation emissions from cell phones must be standardized in order to make them meaningful.

First let me address the question people are most interested in: are mobile phones safe? The GAO reports a consensus - reached by the Food and Drug Administration, the World Health Organization, and expert panels commissioned by the British and Canadian governments - that research to date finds no adverse health effects from radio-frequency emissions from mobile phones.

But the GAO reports there is insufficient data, at this point, to conclude cell phones pose no risk at all. There are two reasons for this: mobile phones have not been in widespread use for very long and the results of some studies require follow-up research. Quoting from the report, the GAO says, "given the long-term nature of much of the research being conducted... it will likely be many more years before a definitive conclusion can be reached on whether mobile phone emissions pose any risk to human health."

Hopefully, over time, a greater body of scientific evidence will lead to a definitive conclusion and put everyone’s anxieties to rest. In the meantime, our first responsibility is to educate consumers so that they can make fully informed decisions about their personal use of mobile phones. People have options Some consumers may wish to take precautions, such as wearing a headset to keep the antenna away from the head, or avoiding lengthy and frequent conversations on mobile phones. Other consumers may decide the risk is negligible or even non-existent and will do nothing to change their behavior. But the government has no choice. We must do everything we can to disseminate, as broadly as possible, clear and current information, and to support and oversee the research until a definitive conclusion can be made.

Toward that end, Congressman Markey and I have written to the Food and Drug Administration and the Federal Communications Commission asking them to do a better job of keeping the public informed. Right now, the FDA has a consumer update on cell phone use which is out of date and difficult to understand. The FCC provides information on radio-frequency exposure but it’s difficult to locate and again, difficult to understand. So today, we are calling on both agencies to jointly develop a web site for consumers that combines health information, explanations of radiation issues, and access to information about emissions from different model phones - in plain English.

The cellular telephone industry also has a responsibility to consumers. In recent years, most phone manufacturers have participated in voluntary education efforts by including health and safety information inside the packaging of their phones. I call on all manufacturers to do this. I would also call on manufactures and on retailers to make sure that the same information is available to customers in stores before they make a purchase.

The GAO report describes problems with how cell phones are tested for radiation emissions, and the inescapable conclusion is that right now, those tests are so inaccurate as to render compliance difficult if not meaningless. Phones are tested for how much radio-frequency energy is absorbed by the body, to ensure they fall below the FCC standard. The entire system, however, rests upon self-testing by manufacturers. And there are no standards for how the phones should be tested. What I’ve learned from the report is that because slight differences in testing procedures can cause significant discrepancies in results, for all intents and purposes, it’s impossible to determine accurate exposure limits. The FCC is working to adopt standardized testing procedures, and we urge it to complete that process expeditiously.

Finally, as long as there are legitimate scientific and health concerns regarding the safety of cell phones, our government must play an active and ongoing role in monitoring and funding necessary scientific research. The GAO notes that research supported by our government - quote - "represents asmall portion of the research being done in the area worldwide." End of quote.

We have just learned that an inter-agency project called the National Toxicology Program has decided to go ahead with a $10 million study involving long-term animal tests. I am pleased that the U.S. government is considering at least to some degree the question of how much research it should be doing. But the scientific establishment in this country must consider all of the ramifications of this issue. That’s why we are writing to the NIH and the FDA asking them to review, on an ongoing basis, whether the U.S. should be supporting more research in this area.

Anytime health or safety concerns are raised about a widely-used product, consumers will naturally be on high alert and will want immediate answers. In this climate, conflicting scientific studies and news reports only contribute to some people’s feelings of anxiety and confusion.

We are not here to offer any easy answers to the big questions, because there are none. Some may take comfort in GAO’s reporting that the research to date shows no adverse health effects from cell phones. Others may be concerned by GAO’s conclusion that this finding is not definitive. Until we know more, we must continue to pursue research, ensure effective regulation of cell phones, and, most importantly, inform the public as quickly and as clearly as possible about what we do know and what precautions are available, so that the public, itself, can make its own informed choices.