Barbara Boxer: “My amendment strikes two riders which are harmful and unfair to the American people. That is why 21 environmental groups…”

“My amendment strikes two riders which are harmful and unfair to the American people. That is why 21 environmental groups support the amendment. And the League of Conservation Voters has indicated they are going to score this on their environmental scorecard. The first rider delays the setting of a new standard for arsenic in drinking water. The National Academy of Sciences tells us we must act on a new standard for arsenic in water because arsenic is now a known carcinogen. They urge swift action because they tell us that the old standard was based on 1942 data. Arsenic causes cancer. That is science. We should not delay. The second rider gags the EPA from informing communities that their air quality is harmful to their health. That is, to me, in a democracy, an amazing thing that we would stand here and allow this to happen, where the EPA would be denied the free speech to go into communities and say: You have to watch out for your health. Gag rules on clean air and delays on arsenic standards are bad riders. I hope we will strike them.”