"In observing Earth Day 1997 America must put kids first. In Congress, we must advance an agenda that invests in America's children by requiring environmental responsibility," said Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA). Rep. Pelosi is an original co-sponsor of Congressman Henry Waxman's (D-CA) Children's Environmental Protection and Community Right to Know Act. "This important bill will allow communities to have necessary information about exposure to toxic chemicals in their neighborhoods and in the products they buy. It is must pass legislation!," Pelosi said.
The bill addresses two issues: children's environmental protection and the public's right to know about toxic issuances in their communities. It directs the Environmental Protection Agency to set lower reporting thresholds for toxic chemicals which may present an environmental risk to children and to establish a program to address hazardous substances in community schools and parks. The bill also expands the number and quantity of toxic chemicals reported by the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) of the EPA and provides consumers with concise and understandable information on the identity and quantity of toxics in the products they purchase.
"For too long manufacturers have been exempt from regulations disclosing the chemicals they use and have been negligent about informing their community neighbors about the potential harmful effects of chemical discharge," Pelosi said.
The U.S. must also be a world leader in the area of environmental protection. "The depletion of the rain forests, the devastation of animal populations on other continents, and the depletion of the ozone layer are of great concern to each of us because disease and pollution know no boundaries. Knowledge and information also have no boundaries, and the U.S. must use its resources to promote the care of the eco-system that we all share," Pelosi said.
In an Earth Day observance on Saturday, Pelosi joined with hundreds of young people in the Youth Service Day clean-up at the Presidio in San Francisco. More than two million people participated in park clean-ups nationwide.
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