U.S. SENATOR PATRICK LEAHY

Statement Of Senator Patrick Leahy
News Conference On The Bush Administration’s Mercury Rule
Tuesday, March 15, 2005

Even though St. Patrick’s Day is just around the corner, things are not looking very green in Washington this week.  The Bush Administration’s toxic trading program for mercury will leave Vermont’s environment and our children to endure whatever the winds blow our way. 

Once again the Bush Administration had a choice, and once again they have put powerful special interests over the health of the American people -- especially the health of children and pregnant women.  It leaves the issue of whether or not we actually see declines in mercury levels under this short-sighted plan up to the corporate polluters.  This rule formalizes a right to pump mercury into the environment and treats mercury pollution like kids’ trading cards. 

There shouldn't be an inherent right to put mercury into the environment.  There SHOULD be an inherent right of the American people to breathe clean air, drink clean water and to trust that the fish and food they eat is not contaminated with toxic mercury.   To the record number of Americans that wrote to EPA opposing the mercury proposal because it did too little, too late, the Administration’s response is:  Your voices don’t speak as loudly to us as the polluters’ voices do.  Their voices come through loud and clear in this mercury rule.

As this chart shows, the number of newborn children and pregnant women threatened by high mercury levels has doubled. [VIEW CHART(pdf)]

630,000 newborns are estimated to have unsafe mercury levels in their blood – levels that lead to development problems and lower IQs.

The Administration always hides behind cost as a reason for not doing more to control mercury from power plants.  But with this rule, they conveniently ignored the cost of these health effects on children -- $1.3 billion a year in the United States according to a new study.

If you are from my neck of the woods, you are particularly concerned about these health effects.  You can hardly see Vermont on this map.  It is blanketed in red – showing some of the highest mercury levels in the country.  You can also see why my colleagues from California are so concerned. 

Under the Bush proposal, this map will hardly change for another decade.  We will continue to see toxic emissions drift over our borders and deposit in our lakes, streams and forests and eventually in our bodies.  We could have done better.  The Administration should have followed the law – heeded the Clean Air Act and used existing technology to cut mercury emissions deeper and faster.

This mercury rule is a travesty and will go down as one of the coziest steps any administration’s EPA has ever taken with special interests against the American people.

Although the Administration would like to close the book on this proposal, Congress should not.  That is why Senator Jeffords, Senator Boxer and several of our colleagues are calling for a hearing as soon as possible on the health and environmental effects of mercury and what will be left undone by this rule.