[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 104 (Wednesday, July 13, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1311-E1312]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    ENDOCRINE DISRUPTING CHEMICALS EXPOSURE ELIMINATION ACT OF 2011

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JAMES P. MORAN

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 13, 2011

  Mr. MORAN. Mr. Speaker, for decades our sons and daughters have been 
exposed to a chemical stew in water, food, fragrances, personal care 
products, children's toys, and household items. Unfortunately we do not 
know if this chemical stew is safe for pregnant mothers, their unborn 
babies, young children, or for that matter, anyone else. That is why 
I'm pleased today, along with Mr. Maurice Hinchey, Mr. Gerry Connolly, 
Ms. Eleanor Holmes Norton, Mr. George Miller, Ms. Laura Richardson, Mr. 
Raul Grijalva, Ms. Jan Schakowsky, Ms. Nita Lowey, Mr. Bobby Rush, Mrs. 
Lois Capps, Mr. James McGovern, and Mr. David Price, to introduce the 
``Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals Exposure Elimination Act of 2011.'' 
This bill is of enormous importance because it will arm us all with the 
information that we need to keep our families safe from these 
potentially harmful chemicals.
  There are numerous alarming studies showing increasing disease rates 
unheard of generations before. Asthma rates have nearly tripled in the 
past three decades. The United States Centers for Disease Control (CDC) 
reported this year that one of every six American children has a 
developmental disorder such as attention deficit hyperactivity 
disorder, dyslexia, and mental retardation. A recent study from Korea 
shows that 4 percent of children have autism spectrum disorder--that is 
one in every 25 children!
  Just this week an extensive University of Michigan study confirmed 
the correlation of phthalates and bisphenol A (BPA) to thyroid 
disruption. Thyroid hormones play a vital role in many human 
physiological processes including fetal and child growth and brain 
development, as well as energy balance, metabolism, and other functions 
in the nervous, cardiovascular, pulmonary, and reproductive systems of 
children and adults. The study confirmed previous reports associating 
phthalates and BPA with altered thyroid hormones.
  Phthalates and BPA are high-production chemicals commonly used in 
plastics and other applications, including fragrances in perfumes, 
children's toys, and body-care products. Exposure to these chemicals 
among Americans is widespread, according to the CDC. Recent studies 
show a decline in brain development related to phthalates and BPA 
exposure. Chemically-induced altered thyroid function may also be 
involved in increased waist circumference, insulin resistance, and 
diabetes among adults.
  Cancer, after accidents, is the leading cause of death among children 
in the United States. Primary brain cancer increased by nearly 40 
percent and leukemia increased by over 60 percent among children 14 
years and younger in the last 30 years. Childhood obesity has 
quadrupled in the past 10 years. Type-2 diabetes has increased 
drastically. There is an increase in sexual abnormalities, particularly 
in newborn boys. An analysis of the umbilical cords of a test group of 
newborns found over 200 chemicals in the blood--chemicals to

[[Page E1312]]

which the mother had unwittingly transmitted to her fetus.
  But these problems do not end with children. These chemically-induced 
changes linger into adulthood. Forty-one percent of Americans will be 
diagnosed with cancer at some point in their lives, and about 21 
percent will die from that cancer. When we look at these trends, it 
becomes glaringly obvious that something in our environment is making 
us sick.
  There is mounting evidence suggesting that these alarming public 
health trends are the result of chemicals in the environment that 
disrupt the endocrine system. Small amounts of these chemicals, or 
mixes of these chemicals, it has been shown, can have a huge impact on 
our health and ultimately American healthcare costs. As a result, 
health groups including the Endocrine Society, The Endocrine Exchange, 
and renowned scientific authorities like Dr. Fred S. vom Saal have all 
endorsed this bill.
  The Endocrine Society, the world's oldest and largest professional 
organization devoted to endocrine research, found that ``endocrine 
disruptors have effects on male and female reproduction, breast 
development and cancer, prostate cancer, neuroendocrinology, thyroid, 
metabolism and obesity, and cardiovascular endocrinology.'' Based upon 
these findings they recommended that we increase ``basic and clinical 
research.''
  In addition to these troubling human diseases, we're also seeing 
chemically-induced changes in wildlife. In parts of the Potomac River, 
100 percent of the studied male small mouth bass are intersex--meaning 
that they are carrying both male and female reproductive organs. We are 
eating these fish and we are drinking the water that they swim in. 
Because of this, Trout Unlimited, one of the largest fisheries 
conservation organizations in the country, also endorsed this bill. As 
I said years ago when intersex fish were first reported, this discovery 
should serve as our early warning telling us that something is gravely 
wrong.
  Close to 14 years ago, Congress enacted legislation requiring the 
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to establish an Endocrine 
Disruptor Screening Program. To date that endeavor has focused 
primarily on pesticides, to the exclusion of other chemicals. The 
agency has been hamstrung by its use of old science and interference by 
the chemical industry.
  This bill will facilitate increased study and regulation of endocrine 
disrupting chemicals. It will require that the government focus on the 
chemicals of most concern, to which people are exposed through drinking 
water, food, household items, toys, and personal care products. It will 
empower federal agencies with jurisdiction to consider a range of peer-
reviewed scientific sources of information on toxicity, and to act 
quickly in regulating substances found harmful to human health.
  Finally, for those chemicals that scientists overwhelmingly agree are 
the most hazardous, the bill will restrict them only to uses that 
ensure they cannot get into human bodies. Twenty-four months after 
scientists find that a chemical is an endocrine disruptor, that 
chemical will be banned unless the industry using that chemical can 
ensure that it will not enter our food, our water, or our bodies.
  It is time to take action. It is time we increase research on these 
chemical impacts. And it is time for the most dangerous chemicals to be 
controlled. The Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals Exposure Elimination Act 
of 2011 will do just that.

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