Grothman and Republicans throw children under the bus to protect out of state lead paint companies

Lead paint poisoning is a national public health catastrophe that has irreparably harmed tens of thousands of children.

Lead paint manufacturers knew that lead pigment in paints was a deadly poison as early as the beginning of the Twentieth Century. They even marketed lead free paint to farmers who were concerned that paint with lead in it was poisoning their cows. Yet, the paint manufacturers continued to produce and market lead paint for residential use and refused to warn consumers about its dangers. As a result, tens of thousands of children have suffered brain damage and other cognitive disabilities.

Currently, 173 Wisconsin children, the victims of lead paint poisoning, are suing the producers of lead paint for the severe and permanent injuries they suffered because of the paint companies’ negligence.

Last week, only 2 hours after the 7^th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago heard oral arguments about the Constitutionality of these cases, Lance Burri, Senator Glenn Grothman’s aide, directed the Legislative Reference Bureau to introduce legislation that would circumvent the Courts and deny these children their day in court.  Senator Scott Fitzgerald, one of four Senators who is being recalled, is co-sponsoring the bill.

 This legislative maneuver is an outrageous and overt attempt to change the law in midstream so that the six companies responsible for this public health catastrophe can walk away “scott” free while the tax payers of Wisconsin pick-up the tab for cleaning up their mess - - hundreds of millions for special education, environmental inspections, higher rents and unaffordable housing caused by lead paint clean-up costs.

  

Glen Grothman, Scott Fitzgerald and the Wisconsin Republican Party have developed a disturbing pattern of simply changing laws that they find inconvenient.  In this case, they are willing to throw the legal rights of 173 Wisconsin children under the bus to protect six multi-billion dollar companies that do not even deny they produced paint with white lead carbonate in it or that it is harmful to children.

Who is Senator Grothman representing-the people of Wisconsin or multi-billion dollar out of state corporations like Sherwin Williams, DuPont, and BP-Amoco?

 Do the citizens of Wisconsin really want out of state corporations and their silk stocking attorneys writing and rewriting Wisconsin’s laws?

 The Senate Judiciary Committee is holding a hearing on this bill on Wednesday.

Senator Pam Galloway, another Senator who is being recalled, is also a member of the Judiciary Committee. She is a physician who, like all physicians, has taken an oath to practice medicine ethically.

 Is Senator Galloway loyalty to her Party and out of state corporations so strong that she will ignore the Hippocratic oath? Or will she vote against this unethical bill that sacrifices disabled children on the altar of corporate greed.

 Please contact your legislators who serve on this committee and tell them that you don’t want out of state corporations undermining the rights of Wisconsin citizens.

 Tell them the rights of the Wisconsin people are not for sale.