Brian Bilbray: “I would like to thank and congratulate the gentlelady from the great State of Texas for this amendment. As she knows, it…”

“I would like to thank and congratulate the gentlelady from the great State of Texas for this amendment. As she knows, it really reflects a strategy that has worked since 2000 when we did the original bill. And I want to thank her as the original author of this bill. And with this amendment, it brings in that cooperative effort between the local government and the Federal Government. Both the gentlelady from Texas and my background show that that kind of cooperative effort has been essential for the success of the BEACH bill for these last 7 years, 8 years now. The bill really does, with the amendment, talk about the fact that the best people to take care of the local environment are the local people, that Washington needs to be here supporting and encouraging local people to take control of their own environment. I think of the old statement that we used back in the sixties and seventies of 'acting locally.' It was essential for any success that we're going to have with environmental activities. This bill actually builds on that success that we have had in the past. A note of personal interest, Madam Chairman, is that you never know when and how your own legislation may affect you. And as the author of this bill from 2000, it was interesting to see that when my children were on the computer, they were not just checking out the water quality and if the beaches were open. They were also looking at real-time cameras to see how the surf was that day.”