Polystyrene cup ban fails in House

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WASHINGTON, July 22 (UPI) -- Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives rejected a ban on polystyrene cups in the cafeteria Friday.

The House also turned down an effort to ban federal funds from being spent on compact fluorescent light bulbs in the Capitol complex, The Hill reported. Both proposals were offered as amendments to a legislative spending bill.

Two Democrats, Peter Welch of Vermont and Jim Moran of Virginia, introduced the cup ban in an effort to restore some of former Speaker Nancy Pelosi's "Green the Capitol" program. Republicans canceled it when they took control in January.

Rep. Glenn Thompson, R-Pa., sponsored the light-bulb amendment. He argued that CFLs can cause harm because they contain mercury, that most of the light bulbs are made in other countries and that energy-efficient halogen bulbs are an adequate substitute.

Thompson was one of the few Republicans to vote against an effort to repeal the 2007 law creating energy efficiency standards for incandescent bulbs. A spokesman said repealing the standards would have cost his district jobs.