[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 116 (Thursday, July 19, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1567]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            INTRODUCTION OF THE LEAD POISONING REDUCTION ACT

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                     HON. LOUISE McINTOSH SLAUGHTER

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 18, 2007

  Ms. SLAUGHTER. Madam Speaker, today I am pleased to introduce the 
Lead Poisoning Reduction Act, a bill that will remove toxic lead 
hazards from childcare facilities, and put an end to an entirely 
avoidable public health crisis. It is critical that Congress provide 
our communities the tools necessary to make the places where our 
children spend their time safe and defend them from the dangers that 
exposure to lead poses to their health.
  Exposure to lead is not safe for anyone, but children are most 
vulnerable among us. Even the slightest amounts of lead can do serious, 
irreparable damage because their bodies and minds are still in 
developmental stages. Among many other things, lead poisoning can cause 
learning disabilities, brain damage, organ failure, coma and even death 
in children. Despite the knowledge of the risks associated with 
exposure to lead hazards and the availability of tools that can prevent 
more children from suffering from lead poisoning, 310,000 American 
children are affected every year.
  Unfortunately, lead poisoning remains a threat to our children in 
places where they ought to feel the most safe--our childcare 
facilities. According to a report from the Environmental Protection 
Agency, nearly 12 million children under the age of five spend 40 hours 
a week in childcare. The Department of Housing and Urban Development 
has reported that approximately 14 percent of licensed childcare 
centers across the U.S. have hazardous levels of lead-based paint. 
Children attending daycare centers in the Northeast and Midwest are at 
a greater risk of being exposed to lead hazards, as 40 percent of the 
childcare facilities in those regions were built before 1960.
  In addition to lead hazards posed by paint at childcare facilities, 
these old buildings are home to corroded pipes and water lines which 
are also sources of lead exposure. A parent should not have to worry 
about their child consuming lead when their thirsty child visits a 
drinking fountain.
  Our childcare professionals must have the tools they need to guard 
our children from lead poisoning. The Lead Poisoning Reduction Act 
would establish a Select Group on Lead Exposure comprised of experts 
from the National Institute of Environmental Health Science, the 
Administration for Children and Families, the National Institute of 
Child Heath and Human Development, the Secretary of Education, and the 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Select Group will 
conduct a study of child-occupied facilities created before 1978 and 
develop baseline standards that facilities must meet to receive grants 
under this Act. To help childcare facilities comply with the new lead-
safety standards, the bill establishes a grant program to defray 
associated costs. Finally, the Act requires that all contractors hired 
for repair, renovations, or reconstruction of childcare facilities be 
provided with educational materials about lead hazards and the guidance 
necessary to avoid imposing additional risks.

  The Lead Poisoning Reduction Act fills a major gap in our national 
policy to eradicate lead poisoning by 2010 by providing the guidance 
and resources need to protect our children from lead hazards in their 
childcare facilities.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting the Lead Poisoning 
Reduction Act.

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