Dems look to ban polystyrene from House cafeterias

Two House Democrats plan to introduce legislation on the House floor that would ban polystyrene products from Congressional cafeterias.

Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.) and Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) are slated to introduce an amendment to the FY 2012 Legislative Branch Appropriations Bill after the proposed legislation passed the Rules Committee on Wednesday evening.

In a 26-18 vote, a similar amendment was defeated along party lines during an Appropriations Committee markup hearing last week.

{mosads}In a “Dear Colleague” memo circulated Thursday, Moran and Welch urged fellow lawmakers to support the amendment, “which would limit the funds made available in the Legislative Branch Appropriations Bill from being used to obtain polystyrene containers for use in the food service facilities of the House.”

The amendment is the latest attempt by House Democrats to rid Congress of polystyrene products after the House Republican majority reintroduced them earlier this year. The change was viewed as the first move toward the Republican majority phasing out the environmental Green the Capitol program put into place under former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).

Members of the House Administration Committee defended the decision at the time, citing a joint report from the House inspector general and chief administrative officer that concluded that the House’s prior composting program wasn’t achieving its goals of reducing energy consumption.

House Democrats have cited health and environmental risks associated with polystyrene products since the switchover, however. Among the concerns are that the material is “practically unrecyclable,” and “cancer-causing chemicals are used during its manufacture,” according to the Dear Colleague memo.

The amendment is not the first step taken by Moran to rid the House of polystyrene. In March, he was one of 105 lawmakers to send a letter to House Speaker John Boehner (Ohio) and other Republican leaders complaining that the material was harmful.


“Congress should be setting the standard for sustainability in the 21st century,” Moran and Welch wrote Thursday. “We should be leading by example, and this amendment provides one small way through which we can demonstrate leadership to the thousands of constituents who dine in our cafeterias each year.”

A spokeswoman for Moran said the legislation, which had been scheduled for Thursday afternoon, will now likely be introduced on Friday.