Informant38

Republicans, fresh off their victory in last Tuesday�s elections are moving quickly to pass the new Homeland Security bill. Mr. Bush and the Republicans campaigned hard on the issue.

Mr. Bush went so far as to repeatedly allege that Democrats were not interested in the security of the American people. In New Jersey, during the campaign, Mr. Bush suggested that the Democrats were obstructing the Homeland Security bill to favor special interests. Fox News reported:
"The House responded" to the White House version of the bill, Bush said in New Jersey, "but the Senate is more interested in special interests in Washington and not interested in the security of the American people."
Also during the campaign, the Republicans benefited by a million dollar ad campaign paid for by the drug companies supporting the Republican version of the Prescription Drug bill.

When the Homeland Security Bill was presented, the soon to be retired Dick Armey inserted a special provision into the bill. As the Times reported:
In one last-minute addition, Representative Dick Armey, Republican of Texas, inserted a provision that was apparently intended to protect Eli Lilly, the pharmaceutical giant, from lawsuits over thimerosal, a mercury-based vaccine preservative that some parents contend has caused autism in their children.
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In the 1990s, at the same time as the increase in the incidence of autism, pediatricians began giving additional vaccines to infants. The total number of vaccinations rose from 8 to 20 by the 1990s.

Among the new vaccinations being given in the 1990s was one for hepatitis B. The hepatitis B shot, like some other vaccines, contained the preservative thimerosal. Thimerosal is 50% by weight ethyl mercury. At some levels of exposure, mercury is known to cause brain damage.

The new vaccinations tripled the total amount of mercury contained in shots given to infants. During the 1990s, thirty million American children received vaccinations containing levels of mercury that exceed EPA guidelines.We are not yet sure that mercury in vaccines causes brain damage and/or autism. More studies are needed. Thimerosal is no longer used as a preservative in vaccines. If thimerosal was the culprit, the incidence of autism should now drop as a result of its removal from the vaccines.

Nonetheless, the question remains: