Edolphus Towns: “I would like to first point out that what we are doing this time is very different than what we did last year. So what I…”

“I would like to first point out that what we are doing this time is very different than what we did last year. So what I would like to do is to offer the amendments that I think strengthen the bill because I am trying to find a way to support the bill. This en bloc amendment is designed to remedy a serious flaw. It would exempt from the coverage of this bill any Federal law or regulation that regulates States and local governments regarding interstate matters that significantly impact the health or safety of the residents of other States or local governments. The problem is very simple. Suppose one State is dumping raw sewage from a treatment plant into a water supply that is endangering the health of the residents of an adjoining State. Under this bill, if the Federal Government ordered the polluting State to stop dumping the sewage into the water and orders the polluting State to clean up the mess it created, if the cost of the cleanup was a billion dollars, the polluting State would not have to fully clean up the water unless Congress gave them a billion dollars. This is outrageous. This is not the kind of law that we should be identified with or sending out to other States or municipalities.”