September, 01 2010, 07:52am EDT
California Lawmakers Fail to Ban BPA From Kids' Food, Drink
In
a victory for the chemical industry and a great loss for the health of
California's children, the California State
Legislature on Tuesday narrowly failed to pass a bill that would have
eliminated the plastics chemical, bisphenol A (BPA), a synthetic
estrogen, from baby bottles, sippy cups and infant formula cans sold in
California.
The
bill had already passed the State Assembly (July 1, 2010) and the
Senate (June 2, 2009), but needed to be approved by the Senate
again in what should have been a non-controversial procedural vote.
OAKLAND, CA
In
a victory for the chemical industry and a great loss for the health of
California's children, the California State
Legislature on Tuesday narrowly failed to pass a bill that would have
eliminated the plastics chemical, bisphenol A (BPA), a synthetic
estrogen, from baby bottles, sippy cups and infant formula cans sold in
California.
The
bill had already passed the State Assembly (July 1, 2010) and the
Senate (June 2, 2009), but needed to be approved by the Senate
again in what should have been a non-controversial procedural vote.
However,
the combination of two ill and absent Democratic Senators (Jenny
Oropeza and Patricia Wiggins) and a heavily funded lobbying
campaign by chemical and formula manufacturing companies changed the
playing field and ultimately lead to the demise of the the "Toxin-Free
Infants and Toddlers Act"(SB 797), authored by State Senator Fran Pavley
(D-Santa Monica).
Pavley
introduced the legislation in response to mounting scientific evidence
that exposure to even minute amounts of BPA endangers
human health. More than 200 scientific studies show that BPA exposure,
particularly during gestation and early infancy, is associated with a
wide range of disorders, including breast and prostate cancer, birth
defects, infertility, early puberty in girls,
diabetes and obesity. Federal investigators with the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have found traces of the chemical
in 93 percent of Americans tested.
"Once
again we see children's health sacrificed to the cold alter of money
and influence," said Renee Sharp, director of EWG's California
office. "Apparently, the fact that the Food and Drug Administration,
the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Toxicology Program,
and several other states and countries around the world have expressed
serious concern and/or taken action to reduce
BPA exposures means little compared to how money talks in Sacramento."
The
San Francisco Chronicle reported that the chemical and pharmaceutical
industries spent more than $5 million to defeat SB 797, and
other press reports have exposed how these industries were using "fear
tactics" and "befriending people that are able to manipulate the
legislative process."
Sen.
Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) has said she plans to offer an amendment to
landmark food safety legislation currently before Congress
that would prohibit the use of BPA in all food and beverage packaging
meant for children 3 and under - including cans of infant formula.
The Environmental Working Group (EWG), The Breast Cancer Fund and
Physicians For Social Responsibility/Los Angeles sponsored of the Pavley
legislation, and were joined by more than 75 other health, labor,
community, environmental ,and consumer protection organizations
in support of the measure.
The Environmental Working Group is a community 30 million strong, working to protect our environmental health by changing industry standards.
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Once Again, Tom Cotton Blocks Bill to Shield Journalists From Betraying Sources
Responding to the GOP senator's latest thwarting of the PRESS Act, Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden vowed to "keep trying to get this bill across the finish line" before Republicans take control of the Senate next month.
Dec 10, 2024
Republican U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas on Tuesday again blocked the passage of House-approved bipartisan legislation meant to shield journalists and telecommunications companies from being compelled to disclose sources and other information to federal authorities.
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) brought the Protect Reporters from Exploitative State Spying (PRESS) Act—which would prohibit the federal government from forcing journalists and telecom companies to disclose certain information, with exceptions for terroristic or violent threats—for a unanimous consent vote.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) argued Tuesday that passing the PRESS Act is "more important now than ever before when we've heard some in the previous administration talk about going after the press in one way or another," a reference to Republican President-elect Donald Trump's threats to jail journalists who refuse to reveal the sources of leaks. Trump, who has referred to the press as the "enemy of the people," repeatedly urged Senate Republicans to "kill this bill."
Cotton, who blocked a vote on the legislation in December 2022, again objected to the bill, a move that thwarted its speedy passage. The Republican called the legislation a "threat to national security" and "the biggest giveaway to the liberal press in American history."
The advocacy group Defending Rights and Dissent lamented that "Congress has abdicated their responsibility to take substantive steps to protect the constitutional right to a free press."
However, Seth Stern, director of advocacy at the Freedom of the Press Foundation, noted ways in which Senate Democrats can still pass the PRESS Act before Republicans gain control of the upper chamber next month:
Senate Democrats had all year to move this bipartisan bill and now time is running out. Leader Schumer needs to get the PRESS Act into law—whether by attaching it to a year-end legislative package or bringing it to the floor on its own—even if it means shortening lawmakers' holiday break. Hopefully, today was a preview of more meaningful action to come.
Responding to Tuesday's setback, Wyden vowed, "I'm not taking my foot off the gas."
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Dec 10, 2024
Antitrust advocates on Tuesday welcomed a pair of court rulings against the proposed merger of grocery giants Kroger and Albertsons, which was challenged by Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan and multiple state attorneys general.
"The FTC, along with our state partners, scored a major victory for the American people, successfully blocking Kroger's acquisition of Albertsons," said Henry Liu, director of the commission's Bureau of Competition, in a statement. "This historic win protects millions of Americans across the country from higher prices for essential groceries—from milk, to bread, to eggs—ultimately allowing consumers to keep more money in their pockets."
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While Liu was celebrating the preliminary injunction from Oregon-based U.S. District Court Judge Adrienne Nelson, later Tuesday, King County Superior Court Judge Marshall Ferguson released a ruling that blocked the merger in Washington state.
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Advocacy groups applauding the decisions also pointed to the high cost of groceries and the anticipated impact of Kroger buying Albertsons—a $24.6 billion deal first announced in October 2022.
"American families are the big winner today, thanks to the Federal Trade Commission. The only people who stood to gain from the potential merger between Albertsons and Kroger were their wealthy executives and investors," asserted Liz Zelnick of Accountable.US. "The rest of us are letting out a huge sigh of relief knowing today's victory is good news for competitive prices and consumer access."
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Some advocates specifically praised Khan—a progressive FTC chair whom President-elect Donald Trumpplans to replace with Andrew Ferguson, a current commissioner who previously worked as chief counsel to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and as Republican counsel on the Senate Judiciary Committee.
"Today's decision is a major win for shoppers and grocery workers. Families have been paying the price of unchecked corporate power in the food and grocery sector, and further consolidation would only worsen this crisis," declared Groundwork Collaborative executive director Lindsay Owens in a statement.
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Dec 10, 2024
LGBTQ+ and voting rights defenders were among those who sounded the alarm Tuesday over Republican President-elect Donald Trump's selection of a San Francisco attorney known for fighting against transgender rights and for leading a right-wing lawyers' group that took part in Trump's effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election to oversee the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division.
On Monday, Trump announced his nomination of Harmeet Dhillon to head the key civil rights office, claiming on his Truth Social network that the former California Republican Party vice-chair "has stood up consistently to protect our cherished Civil Liberties, including taking on Big Tech for censoring our Free Speech, representing Christians who were prevented from praying together during COVID, and suing corporations who use woke policies to discriminate against their workers."
"In her new role at the DOJ, Harmeet will be a tireless defender of our Constitutional Rights, and will enforce our Civil Rights and Election Laws FAIRLY and FIRMLY," Trump added.
However, prominent trans activist Erin Reed warned on her Substack that Dhillon's nomination—which requires Senate confirmation—"signals an alarming shift that could make life increasingly difficult for transgender people nationwide, including those who have sought refuge in blue states to escape anti-trans legislation."
Trump has picked Harmeet Dhillon as Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights. She has stated that it must be "made unsafe" for hospitals to provide trans care, and frequently shares Libs of TikTok posts. She intends to target trans people in blue states. Subscribe to support my journalism.
[image or embed]
— Erin Reed (@erininthemorning.com) December 10, 2024 at 8:14 AM
Reed continued:
Dhillon's most prominent work includes founding the Center for American Liberty, a legal organization that focuses heavily on anti-transgender cases in blue states. The organization's "featured cases" section highlights several lawsuits, such as Chloe Cole's case against Kaiser Permanente; a lawsuit challenging a Colorado school's use of a transgender student's preferred name; a case against a California school district seeking to implement policies that would forcibly out transgender students; and a lawsuit against Vermont for denying a foster care license to a family unwilling to comply with nondiscrimination policies regarding transgender youth.
Reed also highlighted Dhillon's attacks on state laws protecting transgender people, as well as her expression of "extreme anti-trans views" on social media—including calling gender-affirming healthcare for trans children "child abuse."
Last year, The Guardian's Jason Wilson reported that the Center for American Liberty made a six-figure payment to a public relations firm that represented Dhillion in both "her capacity as head of her own for-profit law firm and Republican activist."
Writing for the voting rights platform Democracy Docket, Matt Cohen on Tuesday accused Dhillon of being "one of the leading legal figures working to roll back voting rights across the country."
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Cohen also highlighted Dhillon's ties to right-wing legal activist and Federalist Society co-chair Leonard Leo, described by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) as a "lawless con man and crook" for his refusal to comply with a Senate subpoena and his organization of lavish gifts to conservative U.S. Supreme Court justices.
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