Doug Bereuter: “the current Safe Drinking Water Act is a disaster and must be fixed as it is reauthorized. This Member is committed to…”

“the current Safe Drinking Water Act is a disaster and must be fixed as it is reauthorized. This Member is committed to supporting legislation which will inject more common sense into the way that public drinking water supplies are tested, monitored, and treated. It is certainly encouraging that the distinguished gentleman from Virginia [Mr. Bliley], the new chairman of the Commerce Committee, has indicated his intention to place a high priority on revising and improving Safe Drinking Water Act. Mr. Speaker, there is a growing financial crisis for communities across the country that becomes more evident each year as new water testing and treatment deadlines are imposed. These unfunded mandates hit small communities especially hard. Not only are these mandates costly, they often do nothing to ensure safe drinking water. It is clear that States and communities must be allowed to identify and focus on those contaminants which present an actual health risk in their geographic area. Without question, the safety of this Nation's drinking water must be vigorously protected. However, in these days of tightening budgets on the local, State, and Federal levels, it is more important than ever that this goal be reached in a realistic cost-effective, and efficient manner.”