Dear NMPIRG member,
Imagine my surprise on hearing that a veritable army
of ExxonMobil lobbyists were lining up for a Senate
hearing on a product safety bill. What does ExxonMobil
have to do with safe toys?
I wasn’t alone. The Washington Post even quipped that our lead consumer advocate Ed Mierzwinski’s “jaw [went] slack.”
Apparently, ExxonMobil makes a good deal of money selling highly toxic chemicals called phthalates, which are used in children’s toys.
We think that’s wrong and we called on Congress to ban the practice. So ExxonMobil sent over their lobbyists to block the reform so they could continue to sell us, without our knowledge, children’s products laced with chemicals linked to reproductive disorders.
They succeeded in slowing down the ban by stirring up controversy about every last part of the bill. They might have killed the bill, too, if thousands of you hadn’t called and e-mailed your representatives and told them to ignore the pressure and do the right thing—which I know made a big difference.
I can assure you that no matter who this election brings into Congress and the White House, powerful corporations and their lobbyists will be ready.
But, thanks to you, so will we.
Sincerely,
Andre Delattre
Executive Director, U.S. PIRG
AndreD@uspirg.org
