Challenge Letter to Congressional Candidates

The letter below is adapted from the Children's Environmental Health Network (CEHN) letter to presidential candidates to help identify each candidates commitment to the environment and our children's health. It has been adapted to address other congressional hopefuls at our local level of government.

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The letter below is adapted from the Children's Environmental Health Network (CEHN) letter to presidential candidates to help identify each candidates commitment to the environment and our children's health. It has been adapted to address other congressional hopefuls at our local level of government. Just fill in the blanks with your local candidate's name and address at the top and your name and address at the bottom. Many legislators have email addresses listed on the internet which makes this a pretty effortless activity.

CEHN has given permission for me to adapt this letter and route to various organizations and individuals who are concerned with our nations children and the epidemic of environmentally related illness'. CEHN asks that if you send this letter out to an organization for their members use, please cc CEHN <cehn@cehn.org>. That will enable them to get an idea of the magnitude of distribution and support for this effort. Please do not send them individual letters to local candidates. Anyone in Missouri that would like to work with me on this issue can contact me at scarro01@mail.win.org I would imagine the more letters a candidate receives, the more interested they will be in answering and supporting these issues.

I plan on providing the answers I receive from my candidates to our area news makers. This publicity will hopefully serve to get the right candidates elected to positions that will bring about good legislation aimed at protecting our children and supporting President Clinton's 1997 executive order but also may serve as an educational tool for those consumers that are not aware of the environmental issues. There are many networks and efforts going on right now. Without the right candidates in offices, changes are very difficult to come by. This is an opportunity for all of us to work together while bettering our own communities. Our local efforts can make a tremendous difference.

Sincerely,

Sue Carroll

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Challenge Letter to Congressional Candidates

Dear Candidate for Congress:

As parents of our nation's children, we are, of course, dedicated to their health, well being and their future.

I/we believe that it is our responsibility as a society to ensure that all children grow up in a safe and healthy environment. However, recent news stories based on the latest scientific studies show that we are not protecting our children adequately. We are not adequately recognizing children's unique susceptibilities to environmental hazards and the disproportionate impact that environmental hazards have on low-income communities and communities of color. Just in the last few weeks, a number of articles on children's environmental health have highlighted:

* The links between environmental hazards and cancer and neurological disorders,
* The well-known effects of lead poisoning,
* The growing concerns over chemical endocrine disruptors,
* And the role pollution plays in the growing rate of asthma in our children.

These reports show clearly that concern for the environment is a major public health issue that affects the health and future of millions of our children. In order to fully protect the health of the next generation, we must prevent injury from environmental hazards for the fetus, infant, child, and adolescent.

Because of the significance of these concerns for our children's future and our national future, I/we would greatly appreciate being able to share your response, in writing, to other concerned parents and children's advocacy organizations.

Below are some questions I/we believe our future Congressional Representatives should address:

* Will you urge the new President to protect children from environmental hazards, including maintaining the Executive Order on children's environmental health signed in April 1997? Will you support Administration decisions and activities to protect children's environmental health?
* Do you explicitly support considering children's unique susceptibilities, as strongly emphasized by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the National Academy of Sciences, in the setting of safety and environmental standards? Why or why not?
* Do you think that added margins of safety to protect children, such as that in the Food Quality Protection Act, should be more generally incorporated into regulations? Why or why not?
* Will you oppose Congressional efforts, similar to legislation introduced in the current Congress, that would undermine the EPA's implementation of the child-health protective provisions of the Food Quality Protection Act? Why or why not? 
* Will you support the continuation of the EPA's Office of Children's Health Protection? Why or why not?
* What specific policies will you support to protect children most at risk to environmental hazards due to multiple exposures, income level, access to health care, or racial/ethnic background?

I/we would welcome your response to these questions and other aspects of children's environmental health concerns.


Sincerely,

TOP
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