WASHINGTON-Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) is pressing the White House to include funding for mobile phone-cancer research in the president’s fiscal 2001 budget proposal.
President Clinton is expected to submit his budget plan to Congress Feb. 7.
A Leahy aide said the senator’s staff has met with the White House on the matter and may follow up with a formal letter. There is no indication whether any agreement has been reached between Leahy and the Clinton administration.
John Podesta, Clinton’s chief of staff and a former Leahy aide, could have a say in the matter.
Last year, Leahy sought $10 million for mobile phone-cancer research as part of a bill to give local and state officials more say in health and environmental aspects of antenna siting.
The bill was referred to the Senate Commerce Committee, but Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.) to date has not scheduled the bill for hearings.
Clinton a week ago announced he would seek $4 billion in biomedical research for 2001, a $1 billion increase from last year’s funding level.
Under a controversial pact between the Food and Drug Administration and the cellular industry, government scientists have agreed only to try to replicate two studies with positive findings conducted by the industry-funded Wireless Technology Research and said they have no intention of pressing industry to do other research.
In past correspondences to Congress, FDA stated that lifetime animal radio-frequency radiation exposure studies were its top priority.
The cellular industry, despite some new data suggesting a possible cancer link, argues the predominance of science proves cell phones are safe.
