AUGUST 28, 2017
**Translation
help: The Fluoride Action Network is looking for a volunteer who can
confidently translate a transcript from Spanish to English. This work
is important, and could help educate thousands about the dangers of
water fluoridation. If you would like to volunteer, please email: jaystandards@yahoo.com
H.R. 2422, called the Action for Dental Health Act of 2017, is the proverbial wolf in sheep’s clothing. This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to reauthorize and add to existing oral health promotion programs through 2022, at a cost of $160 million over 5 years for taxpayers. A significant portion of this money will most certainly be used by state dental associations to fund pro-fluoridation lobbying campaigns in communities that are currently not fluoridated, have recently rejected fluoridation, or are considering an end to fluoridation. No town with a public water supply in any state will be safe from fluoridation lobbying efforts if this passes.
At first glance, directing federal funds through CDC grants to innovative dental programs for the poor and underserved seems like a good idea. However, two vague sections of the bill, which don’t mention fluoridation specifically, are intended to authorize the use of federal funds for the promotion of the practice by state dental associations and their affiliated local and regional astroturfing campaigns. The American Dental Association (ADA) was instrumental in working with sponsors to develop this bill for their own benefit.
Section e(1)A authorizes grants “to stake holders to develop and implement initiatives…to improve oral health education and dental disease prevention, including through community-wide prevention programs…” Section e(2)A authorizes grants to dental lobbying organizations by making “eligible entities” out of “State or local dental associations,” and “community-based organizations.”
While fluoridation isn’t mentioned in the text, and wasn’t mentioned in the ADA’s lobbying materials or in their representative’s testimony in favor of the bill, it is a primary part of their Action for Dental Health Initiative, as well as the current federal law the bill amends. Effectively, by leaving controversial fluoridation language out of the bill, and replacing it with vague authorization, the ADA has successfully tricked House committee members.
Similar bills were introduced during the both of the past two congressional sessions, but failed, along with H.R.416; the sponsors of which had collected hundreds-of-thousands of dollars combined in contributions from the dental lobby over a two-year period. Just like before, with your help we can ensure this bill is either amended to prohibit funding for the promotion of fluoridation, or suffers the same fate as the previous legislation.
FAN’s lobby-day will take place following our two-day Citizen’s Conference on Fluoride. Our focus will be on killing or amending H.R. 2422, but we will also be calling for the suspension of all federal funding for the promotion of fluoridation, and a long overdue Congressional hearing and study of the issue. We hope that you can join us for this effort on Capitol Hill.
Whether you’re attending the lobby-day in September or staying home, please stay tuned for additional action requests for H.R. 2422. With a coordinated effort, both in local congressional districts and in D.C., we have a greater chance of killing this awful bill. For now, please email and call your federal officials, and share this campaign with friends, family, fellow campaigners, and on your social media profiles.
Please don’t delay making your appointments.
Latest Fluoride News
-Fluoride Expert Willing to Help Potsdam with Issue (New York)
-Potsdam Village Might Stop Fluoridating Water, Might Not (New York)
-Fluoride-Free Toothpaste Market Analysis 2017-2022 (International)
-Timaru Fluoride-Free Campaign Imelda Hitchcock Dies (New Zealand)
-Dr. Leonard Horowitz Responds to NHMRC Review (Australia)
-Albuquerque: County Water Authority Might Add Fluoride (New Mexico)
-Editorial: On Fluoridation, Water Authority Listened to Public (Pennsylvania)
For more fluoride related media, please visit FAN’s News Archive.
- Curacao
– On August 2, the Minister of Health, Environment, and Nature directed
the public water provider for the Caribbean island of 160,000+ people
to cease the addition of fluoridation chemicals to the drinking water.
The practice was found to be “legally unjustified,” according to the
Ministry of Health. The island has been fluoridated for over 60 years
with no discernable positive impact, but has come under fire from a
well-organized group of citizens opposed to the practice in recent
years. A committee led by local organizer Rudolf De Wit is still
planning to go forward with a lawsuit to permanently end fluoridation on the island perminantly.
- Poweshiek Water Association (PWA), Iowa – A water provider serving approximately 25,000 residents in 11 counties in rural East Central Iowa has discontinued water fluoridation, and even re-affirmed their decision after renewed lobbying by proponents. Concerned customers first brought the dangers of fluoridation to the PWA’s attention in 2013. After the board did their own research, they agreed that fluoride supplementation ought to be an individual choice. After making this decision, they were heavily lobbied by state and national dental lobbying organizations, as well as state and county health agencies. However, they didn’t hear from a single local water user who supported the practice, only from residents who opposed it. Since they serve locals and not out-of-town lobbyists they reaffirmed their rejection of the practice this July.
TAKE ACTION TO KILL BILL IN CONGRESS
Legislation
has passed out of the Congressional Energy and Commerce Committee that
could waste millions in federal tax-dollars on grants to state dental
lobbying organizations’ efforts to force fluoridation on states and
municipalities across the country. H.R. 2422, called the Action for Dental Health Act of 2017, is the proverbial wolf in sheep’s clothing. This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to reauthorize and add to existing oral health promotion programs through 2022, at a cost of $160 million over 5 years for taxpayers. A significant portion of this money will most certainly be used by state dental associations to fund pro-fluoridation lobbying campaigns in communities that are currently not fluoridated, have recently rejected fluoridation, or are considering an end to fluoridation. No town with a public water supply in any state will be safe from fluoridation lobbying efforts if this passes.
At first glance, directing federal funds through CDC grants to innovative dental programs for the poor and underserved seems like a good idea. However, two vague sections of the bill, which don’t mention fluoridation specifically, are intended to authorize the use of federal funds for the promotion of the practice by state dental associations and their affiliated local and regional astroturfing campaigns. The American Dental Association (ADA) was instrumental in working with sponsors to develop this bill for their own benefit.
Section e(1)A authorizes grants “to stake holders to develop and implement initiatives…to improve oral health education and dental disease prevention, including through community-wide prevention programs…” Section e(2)A authorizes grants to dental lobbying organizations by making “eligible entities” out of “State or local dental associations,” and “community-based organizations.”
While fluoridation isn’t mentioned in the text, and wasn’t mentioned in the ADA’s lobbying materials or in their representative’s testimony in favor of the bill, it is a primary part of their Action for Dental Health Initiative, as well as the current federal law the bill amends. Effectively, by leaving controversial fluoridation language out of the bill, and replacing it with vague authorization, the ADA has successfully tricked House committee members.
Similar bills were introduced during the both of the past two congressional sessions, but failed, along with H.R.416; the sponsors of which had collected hundreds-of-thousands of dollars combined in contributions from the dental lobby over a two-year period. Just like before, with your help we can ensure this bill is either amended to prohibit funding for the promotion of fluoridation, or suffers the same fate as the previous legislation.
FAN’s lobby-day will take place following our two-day Citizen’s Conference on Fluoride. Our focus will be on killing or amending H.R. 2422, but we will also be calling for the suspension of all federal funding for the promotion of fluoridation, and a long overdue Congressional hearing and study of the issue. We hope that you can join us for this effort on Capitol Hill.
Whether you’re attending the lobby-day in September or staying home, please stay tuned for additional action requests for H.R. 2422. With a coordinated effort, both in local congressional districts and in D.C., we have a greater chance of killing this awful bill. For now, please email and call your federal officials, and share this campaign with friends, family, fellow campaigners, and on your social media profiles.
MAKE APPOINTMENTS FOR LOBBY DAY
If
you're attending the conference this September, please make sure to
schedule appointments with your elected officials for lobby day as soon
as possible. You can find your Representative and Senators' contact
information here:
- You can determine who your U.S. Representative is (and contact them) using the U.S. House of Representative's WriteYourRep page.
- You can also examine online maps of the Congressional Districts maintained by GovTrack.
- The U.S. Senate's list of all Senators is provided here.
Call
their DC offices and say that you are a constituent and will be in
Washington, D.C. on September 18 and would like an opportunity to meet
with the Representative or Senator if possible, as well as meet with the
staff member in charge of health policy.
Ideally,
they will offer you at least a 20-minute time slot with the staffer and
a photo opportunity with your elected official. A mid-morning meeting
is ideal, but don't turn down an afternoon meeting if that's the only
time they have available.
If
they ask what you would like to meet about, don’t be afraid to tell
them water fluoridation, and specifically H.R.2422, which has been
passed out of committee and could be heading for a floor vote in the
coming weeks.
When
you make your appointment, ask for the email address of the staffer you
will be meeting with. This way, as we get closer to the conference,
you can email information about H.R 2422 to them, as well as an
invitation to Saturday's conference presentations focused on the latest
fluoride science and studies.
Please don’t delay making your appointments.
Latest Fluoride News
-Potsdam Village Might Stop Fluoridating Water, Might Not (New York)
-Fluoride-Free Toothpaste Market Analysis 2017-2022 (International)
-Timaru Fluoride-Free Campaign Imelda Hitchcock Dies (New Zealand)
-Dr. Leonard Horowitz Responds to NHMRC Review (Australia)
-Albuquerque: County Water Authority Might Add Fluoride (New Mexico)
-Editorial: On Fluoridation, Water Authority Listened to Public (Pennsylvania)
For more fluoride related media, please visit FAN’s News Archive.
Sincerely,
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