[CPEO-MEF] PERCHLORATE: Former Senator lobbies

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

Rocket (Fuel) Man

By David Corn
Mother Jones
February 13, 2009

A decade ago, Nevada's congressional delegation won a grant from the 
Environmental Protection Agency to fund drinking-water improvements in 
rural areas of the state. The aim was to ensure the water supply in 
these locales was free of dangerous levels of various chemicals, 
including the rocket-fuel additive perchlorate, a potential health 
hazard. The amount of money was modest - $12.5 million - but that didn't 
stop the state's federal legislators from crowing about their 
accomplishment. Richard Bryan, one of Nevada's two Democratic senators 
at the time, proudly declared that Nevadans had a right "to safe, clean 
drinking water."

Ten years later, Bryan was a lobbyist for manufacturers of perchlorate.

How this happened is yet another tale of Washington's ever-spinning 
revolving door, which can turn politicians who pushed environmental 
initiatives into influence-peddlers for polluters. And in the new 
Washington governed by President Barack Obama and a Democratic Congress, 
K Streeters with Democratic credentials are poised to exploit their 
party ties more than ever. As they work their connections on Capitol 
Hill and at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, these administration-friendly 
lobbyists will pose a challenge to the new president, who vowed to 
change the pay-to-play ways of the nation's capital.

...

For the entire article, see
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2009/02/rocket-fuel-man?page=1

--


Lenny Siegel
Executive Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
a project of the Pacific Studies Center
278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
<lsiegel@cpeo.org>
http://www.cpeo.org



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