Jerry Brown: “for many years now I have been advocating that we make use of scientific and technological information in the…”

“for many years now I have been advocating that we make use of scientific and technological information in the formulation and implementation of public policy. Listening to the many calls for, and endorsements of, the use of sound science that have been made in the 104th Congress you would think that I would feel some sense of accomplishment. Instead, I am shocked and appalled at how far the rhetoric has diverged from reality. The gap has never been wider. Although many supporters of this legislation have emphasized to me their wish to have public policy based upon sound science I cannot reconcile the concept of sound science with the legislation before us. H.R. 961 contains provisions that demonstrate a flagrant disregard for that state of scientific and technological knowledge in the area of water quality. In many cases, it seems the Committee went out of its way to ignore scientific information. The wetlands classification provisions of this bill are but one illustration of this.”