Barbara Boxer: “But what Senator DeMint doesn't mention is that in this bill before us, because of the hard work of Senator Feingold and…”

“But what Senator DeMint doesn't mention is that in this bill before us, because of the hard work of Senator Feingold and others, we have now put into this bill an independent review process where there will be no projects going forward unless and until there is an independent report that the National Academy of Sciences will, in fact, oversee. We have gone light years from where we were before. That is why we have so much strong support for the bill. The Audubon Society supports the bill, along with the Clean Water Fund, the Conservancy of Southwest Florida, the American Shore and Beach Preservation Society, the National Water Resources Association, and on and on and on. The fact is, if we had allowed the DeMint request to go forward, we would be back to square one. We cannot afford that. It has been 7 long years. Again, the health of our communities is at stake. The safety of our families is at stake.”