Wolk calls chemical industry media blitz against baby bottle bill "toxic to the process"
California Political Desk
August 10, 2008
Misleading mailers and ads won´t sway Wolk´s vote to protect infants from toxic chemicals.
SACRAMENTO – Assemblywoman Lois Wolk (D-Davis) on Tuesday blasted a media campaign run by the American Chemistry Council to sway key legislators´ votes on legislation to restrict the chemical Bisphenol A (BPA) in plastic baby bottles and other baby food containers. Wolk called the misleading campaign counterproductive and "toxic to the political process."
"This is exactly the kind of deceptive lobbying tactic that I´ve been fighting since the day I arrived in the Legislature. It´s toxic to the political process," said Wolk, describing mailers sent in her district with an image of an empty shopping cart and claiming that if SB 1713 is passed "your favorite products may soon disappear."
"Totally untrue," said Wolk. "These mailers are grossly misleading and fail to even mention the most basic facts about this legislation -- that it applies only to food and beverage containers designed for consumption by infants. We are talking about babies and toddlers less than three years old. I´m not willing to gamble on their health, not when there are studies showing potential for great harm and there are proven safe alternatives."
The mailers, phone calls, and newspaper ads fail to mention that they were paid for by the American Chemistry Council, the lobbying arm of the chemical industry that produces BPA and is headquartered in Washington, D.C.
"When people call my office concerned, we tell them the whole story," said Wolk. "We tell them who paid for the mailer and what the bill is really about. Once they hear the facts, most change their position. And many are angry and annoyed at the Chemistry Council for misleading them."
Wolk believes she was targeted because she was considered a swing vote after she expressed concerns the bill was not drafted tightly enough to be sure it only applied to products for infants. Wolk requested clarifying amendments and the author will be amending the bill.
"I will be supporting the bill when it comes to a vote in the Assembly as I hope my colleagues will. We need to send a strong message that this type of misleading lobbying tactic is not rewarded."
"Two years ago I authored legislation (AB 2974) to require these corporate lobbying campaigns to identify themselves and publicly disclose their expenditures so at least the public would know who was behind them and how much they were spending. Not surprisingly, that legislation was killed by these same corporate lobbyists. I´ve concluded the best way to stop them is just to vote against them when they use this tactic. If it stops working, they´ll stop doing it," concluded Wolk.
SACRAMENTO – Assemblywoman Lois Wolk (D-Davis) on Tuesday blasted a media campaign run by the American Chemistry Council to sway key legislators´ votes on legislation to restrict the chemical Bisphenol A (BPA) in plastic baby bottles and other baby food containers. Wolk called the misleading campaign counterproductive and "toxic to the political process."
"This is exactly the kind of deceptive lobbying tactic that I´ve been fighting since the day I arrived in the Legislature. It´s toxic to the political process," said Wolk, describing mailers sent in her district with an image of an empty shopping cart and claiming that if SB 1713 is passed "your favorite products may soon disappear."
"Totally untrue," said Wolk. "These mailers are grossly misleading and fail to even mention the most basic facts about this legislation -- that it applies only to food and beverage containers designed for consumption by infants. We are talking about babies and toddlers less than three years old. I´m not willing to gamble on their health, not when there are studies showing potential for great harm and there are proven safe alternatives."
The mailers, phone calls, and newspaper ads fail to mention that they were paid for by the American Chemistry Council, the lobbying arm of the chemical industry that produces BPA and is headquartered in Washington, D.C.
"When people call my office concerned, we tell them the whole story," said Wolk. "We tell them who paid for the mailer and what the bill is really about. Once they hear the facts, most change their position. And many are angry and annoyed at the Chemistry Council for misleading them."
Wolk believes she was targeted because she was considered a swing vote after she expressed concerns the bill was not drafted tightly enough to be sure it only applied to products for infants. Wolk requested clarifying amendments and the author will be amending the bill.
"I will be supporting the bill when it comes to a vote in the Assembly as I hope my colleagues will. We need to send a strong message that this type of misleading lobbying tactic is not rewarded."
"Two years ago I authored legislation (AB 2974) to require these corporate lobbying campaigns to identify themselves and publicly disclose their expenditures so at least the public would know who was behind them and how much they were spending. Not surprisingly, that legislation was killed by these same corporate lobbyists. I´ve concluded the best way to stop them is just to vote against them when they use this tactic. If it stops working, they´ll stop doing it," concluded Wolk.
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