ANNOUNCED AGREEMENT TO REPEAL THIMEROSAL LIABILITY SHIELD BY MODERATE REPUBLICAN SENATORS APPLAUDED BY GROUPS

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ANNOUNCED AGREEMENT TO REPEAL THIMEROSAL LIABILITY SHIELD BY MODERATE REPUBLICAN SENATORS APPLAUDED BY GROUPS

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, WASHINGTON,, Jan. 10 -/E-Wire/-- The announcement today by Senators Snowe, Collins and Chafee that an agreement was reached today with the Senate leadership to eliminate the thimerosal liability shield from the Homeland Security Act was welcome news to Safe Minds and the Mercury Policy Project. The groups applauded the efforts of those interested in reestablishing justice and legal recourse for the vaccine-injured children.

"We applaud Senators Chaffee, Snow and Collins in their continuing efforts to right a terrible wrong doing taking away the legal rights of autistic children," said Michael Bender of the Mercury Policy Project. "We look forward to seeing the vaccine compensation act amended within the next six months so that it is more "family friendly. However, we are wary that this same nightmare liability shield provision may reappear again and would hope that these moderate Republicans will prevent this."

"We hope the agreement announced today is a positive sign for families of autistic children whose right to go to court were taken away in the Homeland Security Bill by a corporate special-interest provision for pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly," Lyn Redwood, President of Safe Minds. "We call on President Bush, as well as House and Senate leaders, to support Senators Chafee, Collins and Snowe and the other members of Congress who are working to protect families and individual rights."

SAFEMINDs and the Mercury Policy Project look forward to learning more about the details of the agreement and remain hopeful that Congress will not only repeal the Eli Lilly provision, but to amend VICA so that congresses original intent for this program is fulfilled.

Mercury Policy Project and SAFEMIND are non-profit organizations dedicated to reducing and eliminating mercury exposure and improving children's health and environmental outcomes through the elimination, treatment and scientific investigations of mercury, regardless of its source, including thimerosal in medical products.

Both organizations strongly support legislation to be introduced session by Burton-Waxman as the most effective way of fixing the glaring inadequacies of the current Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. For more information, see: http://www.safeminds.org http://www.mercurypolicy.org

Mercury Policy Project

Lyn Redwood, Safe Minds, [REDACTED-PHONE],

Michael Bender, Mercury Policy Project,

http://www.safeminds.org

http://www.mercurypolicy.org

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