Health Care Without Harm Says Passage of TRAIN Act Puts "Rhetoric Before Science, Industry Profits Before Health"

"Health Care Sector Reduced Mercury, Why Not Coal Plants," Cohen Asks

WASHINGTON, Sept. 23, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Gary Cohen, President and Founder of Health Care Without Harm, has issued the following statement on the passage of the "Transparency in Regulatory Analysis of Impacts on the Nation (TRAIN) Act of 2011."

"Health Care Without Harm is profoundly disappointed at the passage of the TRAIN Act by the U.S. House of Representatives.  Again, we are seeing Members of Congress put politics before responsibility, rhetoric before science, and short-term industrial profits before the health of our nation.  We are especially disappointed in the passage of provisions to put on hold the Mercury and Air Toxics Standard for power plants.  The U.S. health care sector has conducted a very successful voluntary effort to reduce mercury toxins in health care—in equipment such as thermometers and blood pressure monitors—and now health care sectors in other countries are following suit.  We feel that if our sector can achieve mercury reduction, it is fair to ask the coal powered energy plants to do so as well.  We call on the Senate to reject this legislation and all such efforts in the future to weaken the important regulations put in place by the EPA to protect public health, and ask President Obama to veto any such legislation if passed."

HCWH is an international coalition of more than 430 organizations in 52 countries, working to transform the health care industry worldwide, without compromising patient safety or care, so that it is ecologically sustainable and no longer a source of harm to public health and the environment. For more information on HCWH, see www.noharm.org.  

SOURCE Health Care Without Harm