Vaccine Bills

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Dear Firend of ASO:

Information on two bill introduced at the Federal level regarding vaccines. FYI - Please share.

Sincerely,

Barbara C. YavorcikPresidentAutism Society of Ohio701 S. Main St.Akron, OH 44311(330) 376-0211fax: (330) 376-1226email: askASO@...home: byavorcik@...web: www.autismohio.org2005 ASO Bi-Annual Conference"Reaching Beyond the Horizon - Challenging the Autism Spectrum"Friday and Saturday, October 14-15, 2005 Kingsgate Marriott in Cincinnati, Ohio Please note: This is provided for information purposes only. The ASO does not endorse or recommend any providers, methodologies or services. Providing this information should not be construed as an endorsement by the ASO, either explicit or impiled.

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Bill S 3 was recently introduced into the Senate. The title is "Protecting America in the War on Terror Act of 2005". The bill has specific language to change the National Vaccine Compensation Program. The bill proposes that Vaccine makers cannot be held responsible for vaccines themselves or any components used to make vaccines. The Vaccine Compensation Program allows for parents who believe that their children were injured by vaccines (from Thimerosal, a preservative used in some vaccines that contains mercury) to "opt" out of the program in which our government provides $250,000 to people injured by vaccines. Parents who choose to "opt out" can then file suit against the vaccine makers.

This kind of legislation was added as a provision to the Homeland Security Bill. Many legislators saw the injustice of the provisions and overturned them. The architects of those provisions have made five attempts to add similiar language to other bills and have been repeatedly rejected. The same people and the same language has been reintroduced in S3. Currently there is a federal Omnibus Proceeding on autism to determine if there is a causal link between autism and Thimerosal. If these bills are passed, the decision in court will be meaningless and vaccine makers will have no accountability. Please contact your senators and congressperson and tell them to reject S3

Senators:Mike DeWine140 Senate BuildingWashington D.C. 20510phone:(202)224-2315fax:(202)224-6519 Voinovich317 Hart Senate Office BuildingWashington D.C. 20510phone:(202)224-3353To find your congressperson and their contacts you can go to www.house.gov Enter your representative and you will be able to get all their contact information.Additionally, there a few key members of congress that you may want to contact as well.Arlen Specter (U.S. Senate)711 Hart BuildingWashington DC 20510phone: (202)-224-4254fax: 202-228-1229Senator Chuck Grassley135 Hart BuildingWashington DC 20510phone: (202)-224-3744fax: (202) 228-1703

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Weldon/Maloney Introduce LegislationBanning Mercury From VaccinesLegislation Eliminates This Exposure For Children and Pregnant Women(Washington, D.C.) - U.S. Reps. Dave Weldon, M.D. (R-FL) and Carolyn Maloney(D-NY) reintroduced H.R. 881 today eliminating mercury from vaccines. Givenincreasing concerns about mercury exposures and the body's ability toeliminate mercury, this bill will virtually eliminate the mercury exposurefrom vaccines.In 1999 the Public Health Service and the American Academy of Pediatricsrecommended removal of thimerosal from child vaccines. Five years later,thimerosal (50% mercury) remains in childhood vaccines. Last year, the CDCrecommended that children receive the flu vaccine without recommending thatinfants and pregnant women get only the mercury-free dose."Our bipartisan legislation is necessary to stop CDC from rolling back theclock when it comes to eliminating this mercury exposure to for infants andpregnant women," said Rep. Weldon, a physician. "Our bill sets in place alaw giving vaccine manufacturers and public health officials a realistic butfirm timetable for elimination of mercury.""It's a simple concept: kids shouldn't be given anything that's toxic. Thepharmaceutical industry is starting to get the mercury out, but we need toknow that it's gone without any doubt," said Maloney.Mercury is a neurotoxin and is harmful to the developing central nervoussystem of fetuses and infants. The EPA found that 1-in-6 infants are bornwith a blood mercury level above the level considered safe by the EPA.Furthermore, the Food and Drug Administration and the EPA have warnedpregnant women and young children to limit their consumption of certain fishin order to reduce mercury exposures.The Legislation:Requires that beginning with the 2006/07 flu season, the flu shots forchildren under age three and pregnant women may not contain more than 1microgram (mcg) of mercury;Requires that beginning with the 2007/08 flu season, the flu shots forchildren under age six and pregnant women may not contain more than 1mcg ofmercury;Requires by July 1, 2006, all other routinely administered childhoodvaccines, may not contain more than 1mcg of mercury and on Jan 1, 2009, allpediatric, adolescent and adult vaccines that contain more than 1mcg ofmercury are banned;Expresses the Sense of the Congress that the CDC should incorporate into itsvaccine promotion messages, a recommendation against administering amercury-containing vaccine to pregnant women.