Pelosi: Mercury Proposal is President's Latest Gift to Polluters

Washington, D.C. -- House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi released the following statement today about a proposal by the Bush Administration to dramatically weaken federal regulations to sharply reduce mercury pollution:

"Thanks to the Bush Administration, Christmas is coming every day for the special interests that are polluting our air and water. Once again, the Administration is allowing dirty industries to continue to pollute without having to clean up their act.

"The President’s latest gift to polluters is that power plants will not have to pay for equipment that would sharply reduce mercury emissions. Instead, individual Americans will pay through damage to their health. Children are particularly vulnerable to mercury, which causes neurological defects, delayed development, and mental retardation. To this Administration, corporate profits appear to be more important than children’s health."

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