News Bulletin
On Tuesday, July 23, members and supporters of the Open Your Mouth documentary team met with the Hon. Dan Burton (R-Indiana), Chairman of the House Committee on Government Reform, and the Hon. Diane Watson (D-California) at the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington.
Rep. Burton has held a series of hearings on the relationship of mercury preservatives in vaccines as a cause of autism. Two of his own grandchildren became autistic following large numbers of vaccinations received on one day; one, a girl, has improved but the other, a little boy, still exhibits traits of autism. His courage for addressing this issue is widely admired among environmental activists and people concerned about children's health.
During a lively taped interview with documentary filmmaker Kelly Gallagher, Rep. Burton stated that he will call a hearing in the fall of 2002 on mercury in dental amalgam and its impact on human health. Rep. Watson heartily congratulated him on this statement.
Rep. Watson, a true modern-day heroine, has submitted to the House the first bill to ban dental amalgam in pregnant women and children by 2004 and to ban its use in all Americans by 2006.
Charles Brown, attorney for Consumers for Dental Choice, said he was thrilled. "This is a major breakthrough nationally for the amalgam issue," he said. "Representatives Burton and Watson are influential and highly respected members of Congress, their interest will take the amalgam issue to a new level of public awareness."
The Open Your Mouth tour has been organized by documentary filmmaker Kelly Gallagher, Producer Nicole Landers (head of Ugottawanna Productions), and Anita and Pedro Tibau, California dental choice activists. The team is travelling across the US, videotaping interviews with key persons in the anti-amalgam movement. Also present at the meeting were Capt. Reese L Singleton III acting as cameraman; Freya Koss, Philadelphia anti-amalgam activist and staff member of Consumers for Dental Choice; and Dr. Lydia Bronte, a New York City DAMS coordinator and author of THE MERCURY IN YOUR MOUTH: The Truth About "Silver" Dental Fillings.
Please write to Reps. Dan Burton and Diane Watson to thank them and express your support for their visionary and courageous stand on this issue. This could provide the springboard that we need to break through the American Dental Association's media blackout on the amalgam issue.
Their addresses are:
Representative Dan Burton
Chairman, House Committee on Government Reform
2157 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
(202) 225-5074
Fax (202) 225-3974
Representative Diane E. Watson
2413 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
(202) 225-7084
Fax (202) 225-2422
www.house.gov/watson
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