Consumer Advocates Lobby Obama for Public Health Funding
Consumer advocacy groups have asked President-elect Barack Obama to ensure full funding for CDC, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Geological Survey and other agencies charged with "protecting public health and natural resources from pollution," the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
The groups argue that under the Bush administration the agencies experienced significant budget reductions or "were thwarted from carrying out their missions" and that EPA allowed companies to reduce reports on the release of toxic waste and eliminated or decreased the scope of "more than a dozen essential monitoring programs," the Chronicle reports.
Reid Cherlin, a spokesperson for the Obama transition team, said, "The president-elect made it clear throughout the campaign that restoring scientific integrity and environmental protection will be a top priority of the Obama administration."
Cherlin added, "He strongly believes that we can't afford to ignore these problems any longer and that we need to restore the protections that ensure clean air, clean water and responsible stewardship of public lands."
Last week, the Natural Resources Defense Council released a report on a number of Bush administration policies that have raised public health concerns (Kay, San Francisco Chronicle, 12/10). This is part of the California Healthline Daily Edition, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.