Political Quotes

“I introduce the Safe Drinking Water Amendments of 1994. This Senator is clearly on the record in support of protecting safe drinking water as one of the keys to a high quality of life in a developed nation like the United States. However, as I have stated in the past, the current regulatory scheme amounts to overkill, and places unsustainable financial drains on public water systems and the communities they serve. As many Senators will recall, I have previously come to this floor to seek simple and clear modifications to the existing Safe Drinking Water Act that will harm no one and relieve many of the economic burdens I mentioned. I return today to introduce legislation that will accomplish this goal by making two significant changes to the implementation of the existing law. First, this bill will write into the law the flexibility EPA and the States need when protecting drinking water. In exercising their respective authorities, EPA will be able to set standards for contaminants considering both public health benefits and cost while States can establish monitoring requirements based on occurrence data. This means that regulatory requirements will be triggered by the actual presence of a contaminant in a particular drinking water system. By eliminating the need to monitor for contaminants that, in fact, do not occur in a particular drinking water system, enormous costs can be avoided.”