Democrats are already changing America and the world with Barack Obama at the helm.
As to the news, anything that equates to a political and economic defeat for Exxon Mobil is incredible news to me... not to mention the kids!
Under language finalized yesterday, House and Senate lawmakers agreed to permanently ban three types of phthalates from children's toys and to outlaw three other phthalates from products pending an extensive study of their health effects in children and pregnant women.
Phthalates make plastics softer and more durable and also are added to perfumes, lotions, shampoos and other items. They are so ubiquitous that in one 1999 study, the Food and Drug Administration found traces in all of its 1,000 subjects.
The measure had wide support in the Senate, but it bogged down in the House, where the chemical industry waged a costly battle to defeat it. The campaign was led by Exxon Mobil, which manufacturers diisononyl phthalate, or DINP, the phthalate most frequently found in children's toys. The company spent a chunk of its $22 million lobbying budget in the past 18 months to try to prevent any ban.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/...
It being an election year, Bush and Republicans surely don't want to be against something that protects children? Wrong. The Republicans and their bold leader are against these protections. The WH says it is "too early to say whether he will veto the measure."
Whether Bush vetoes or not is irrelevant, just like his entire presidency is at this point: this will pass in 2008 if the repubs are stupid enough to let their leader veto this.