Inside the Beltway

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By Jennifer Harper INSIDE THE BELTWAY

Get ready to expand the family list of scary stuff. Along with sun exposure and E. coli, it's now time to fear children's Halloween face makeup.

There's lead - a "potent neurotoxin" - in kiddie makeup kits, along with nickel, cobalt and chromium, says one lawmaker and the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, a coalition of eight nonprofit health groups that includes Friends of the Earth and the Clean Water Fund. The California-based group tested 10 makeup samples.

"Lead and other hazardous chemicals have no place in face paints kids use for dress-up and play on Halloween or any other day of the year," says Rep.Jan Schakowsky, Illinois Democrat, who advises we strengthen "cosmetic laws" and dole out enforcement authority to the Food and Drug Administration.

All eight samples contained lead; six contained nickel, cobalt and/or chromium. Something called Snazaroo Face Paint, labeled as "nontoxic" and "hypoallergenic," contained some of the highest levels of lead, nickel and cobalt, the study said.

Here at the Beltway Paranoia Desk, we were poised to blame China for everything. A closer examination of the research revealed that four of the offending facepaints were produced in China, four in the U.S., one in Spain and one in Britain. Want a look-see? It's all here: http://safecosmetics.org/downloads/PrettyScary_Oct2709.pdf.

TAKE TWO ASPIRIN

Wait ... there's a GOP Doctors Caucus?

Apparently so. The group - "13 Republican members of Congress with backgrounds in the health care profession" - debuts Wednesday in a Capitol Hill hearing, primed to examine health care reform and chaired by Reps.Tim Murphy of Pennsylvania and Phil Gingrey of Georgia - a child psychologist and an obstetrician, respectively.

"Physicians to review symptoms and offer diagnosis of health plan," they say.

Note to docs: If C-SPAN is there, wear a stethoscope.

POLL DU JOUR

• 73 percent of Republicans trust the military to given an accurate picture of Afghanistan.

• 25 percent do not have much trust in the military for the news.

• 33 percent of Republicans trust the press for accurate news from the nation.

• 66 percent do not trust the press.

• 54 percent of Democrats trust the military for accurate news on Afghanistan, 45 percent do not.

• 52 percent trust the press for the news, 47 percent do not.

Source: A Pew Research Center survey of 1,004 adults conducted Oct. 16-19.

• Accolades, loud huzzahs, terse commentary to jharper@ washingtontimes.com.