Volume 141, No. 129 covering the 1st Session of the 104th Congress (1995 - 1996) was published by the Congressional Record.
The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“LOOKING TO THE FUTURE OF VERMONT'S ENVIRONMENT” mentioning the Environmental Protection Agency was published in the Senate section on pages S11437-S11438 on Aug. 4, 1995.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
LOOKING TO THE FUTURE OF VERMONT'S ENVIRONMENT
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, one of the most important aspects of the quality of life in my native State of Vermont is the quality of our environment. We can swim in our lakes, fish in our streams, camp on public lands, hike through the woods, and breathe fresh air without risking our health. The quality of Vermont's environment is recognized nationally and drives much of the economy for us in Vermont.
Vermont's environmental quality depends on Federal environmental laws to set standards and fund cleanups--this is an undisputed fact. The Clean Air Act has reduced air lead levels by 99 percent, carbon dioxide emissions by 50 percent, sulfur dioxide by 40 percent, and acid rain chemicals by 27 percent. However, many cities have experienced ozone levels this summer that are twice the maximum healthy limit. Some Americans simply cannot take an afternoon walk without experiencing breathing troubles. Polluters do not have the right to deprive people of an afternoon walk, and as a Senator from a State downwind of one of the country's biggest ozone generators in the country, New York City, I am concerned. Clearly, we have more work to do.
In 1970, 60 percent of Vermont's communities discharged raw sewage into the State's waterways and bacteria consumed so much oxygen that many of the State's streams could not support fish. Through the Clean Water Act and other efforts, we have provided at least secondary waste treatment facilities for all communities and reduced point-source phosphorus pollution by 80 percent. With the Department of Agriculture's help, more than 400 Vermont farmers have contributed a total of $5.8 million to match $13.4 million of Federal funding to reduce the phosphorus runoff from farms. On the other hand, 1,500 hazardous waste sites in Vermont threaten the groundwater for some of the 120,500 public and private wells, and the State recently had to issue a mercury warning for Vermont fish. We still have work to do to protect our children and our communities from water pollution.
Vermont's fish and wildlife populations are relatively healthy because of international wildlife treaties and domestic efforts to protect habitat in Vermont. Where we once had abandoned farms and woodlots during the Depression, we now have the Green Mountain National Forest--350,000 acres of habitat for black bears, songbirds, and even Atlantic salmon. In 1985 Vermont had its first nesting pair of peregrine falcons since the 1950's; last year 11 pairs fledged 31 peregrine chicks. Still, nine species of native mussels are threatened by the zebra mussel, and heavy metals such as cadmium have been found in moose and deer liver. Without constant vigilance, certain fish and wildlife populations may slip into decline as they have in other parts of the country.
I am proud to share these successes, and hope that others will join me in enjoying the fruits of our efforts to protect the environment. The results of our hard work have made Vermont a better place to live for families. Vermont's quality environment provides activities like swimming, snowmobiling, boating, fishing, hunting, hiking, and camping that keep us refreshed and entertained all year long. Many of these activities are Vermont traditions which have been passed from generation to generation. I do not want to give these up.
I also want to make people aware, however, of an effort to turn back the clock on these successes. There is a new four-part strategy in Congress to dismantle environmental protections in our great country. The antienvironment lobbyists and some Members of Congress are using indirect, backdoor efforts to gut the statutes that have helped us clean up and protect our environment. I want people to understand what the new majority is doing so that we can turn back these attacks.
The first step in this strategy is to cut the funding of environmental and natural resource agencies. This year alone, the House of Representatives cut the Fish and Wildlife Service by almost 25 percent, the National Biological Service by 30 percent, and the Environmental Protection Agency's [EPA] enforcement budget by 50 percent. Without officially repealing the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Water Act, or the Clean Air Act, the new majority has made it nearly impossible for the Government to carry out these goals.
Their second step is to create regulatory gridlock. The so-called Regulatory Reform Act forces agencies to do study after study, each one subject to lawsuits from well-financed corporate industries. The EPA estimates that the studies will require hundreds of new staff and delay new environmental rules by several years, if not indefinitely. By cutting the budget but increasing the workload, it is clear that some people want to tie the hands of the EPA so it is powerless to protect the environment. They are saying, ``Go ahead and pollute because we don't give a hoot.''
The third part of the attack on the environment is the unfunded mandates law that the 104th Congress has already passed. This bill says that the Federal Government cannot ask State governments to enforce environmental laws unless the Federal Government provides the funding necessary to implement and enforce them. While the bill does not affect current laws, we would not have our Safe Drinking Water Act, Clean Water Act, or Clean Air Act if this law had been in place 25 years ago.
The final piece of the four-part attack is the so-called takings legislation. This legislation is based on the premise that anybody can do anything they want on their land, regardless of what the impact is on their neighbors, their community, and their country. Senator Dole's takings bill forces the Government to pay cash to landowners who are asked to do something to protect the environment, such as putting a filter on a smokestack or not cutting trees within 50 feet of a river. Essentially, the bill forces the Government to pay a landowner not to pollute, not to harm endangered species, and not to fill in wetlands. Since our Government has a deficit already, it is clear that the proponents of takings legislation believe that the bill will force the Government to allow polluting since we cannot afford to pay people to stop.
This is only the tip of the iceberg. There are other bills to open hundreds of thousands of acres of wilderness to mining and oil drilling, perpetuate the golden giveaways in the 1872 mining law, turn over more public land to subsidized ranchers, and suspend environmental laws that regulate national forest logging. I am afraid that we face a difficult challenge protecting the environment in the 104th Congress. But I know that the environment is important to the American people. And I believe people will not tolerate these attacks. Everyone who shares even a remote concern for the environment and the world our children will inherit needs to be aware of the efforts underfoot. There are many ways that Americans can come together to stop the antienvironment effort. The people of this country did not ask this Congress to turn back the clock. They should not try and we should not let them.
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