On the recordNovember 3, 2015
I thank very much my colleague and subcommittee ranking member, Senator Ben Cardin, for taking the lead today on this opposition we are expressing to a very radical bill that will essentially, in my view, in many ways repeal the heart of the Clean Water Act. The Clean Water Act came about because the Cuyahoga River in Ohio went up in flames because there was so much pollution and there were so many toxins in the water there, and people recognized--this was in the 1970s--that we were endangering our families and the health of our families. So the Clean Water Act was written, and it basically said that if a river or a stream or a body of water found its way into a source of drinking water or a recreational body of water, the people who were dumping this stuff into this natural environment had to get a permit and had to show us that it was safe. It is as simple as that. That is why we have overwhelming support. I had a chart, and now I don't have it, reflecting 79 percent in support across this Nation for moving ahead with the clean water rule. Then comes the Barrasso bill, which has a beautiful name--protecting the waters of the United States--and it reminds me of the book ``1984'': War is peace, love is hate, and the rest. Big government is telling you what to think. Really, this is not a bill that protects our water. It is not. It is a bill that essentially protects polluters and endangers 117 million people who want to drink clean water.…
