Washington, DC - Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Environment and Public Works Committee, issued the statement below after the Republicans' stunning action to block all of the amendments offered to strengthen the new Vitter toxic chemical bill.
Senator Boxer said: "I am deeply disappointed that my Republican colleagues blocked every amendment to strengthen this bill. Instead, they chose to move a bill forward that preempts our states from acting to protect their people from the most toxic chemicals for at least 5 years. The legislation does nothing to ensure that terrifying disease clusters of children's cancers are addressed, and the killer of 10,000 Americans a year - asbestos - was entirely left out of the bill.
"I will continue to call attention to the flaws of the bill and the improvements that are needed to protect our families."
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